Presenting a uniformed self: Symbols of safety in police auxiliary members' perceptions
| Author | Kaylee Kosarolo,Tyler Frederick,Christopher D O'Connor,Jacek Koziarski,Victoria Baker |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211032614 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
Presenting a uniformed self: Symbols of
safety in police auxiliary members’
perceptions
Christopher D O’Connor
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
Jacek Koziarski
Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Tyler Frederick
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
Kaylee Kosarolo
Western Sydney University, Australia
Victoria Baker
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
Abstract
Volunteers havealways played a prominent role in policing. Although known by many names worldwide, auxiliary police in
Canada are one particular group of formalized volunteers that have received little research attention. Therefore, through
an exploratory survey utilizing both closed and open-ended questions, this article adds to the literature on volunteer
police by focusing on how auxiliary members perceived their safety at a police service located in Canada. The findings
show how auxiliary members’perceptions of safety were intricately connected to their uniforms, received trainings
and associated accoutrements. More specifically, we find that these key elements act as symbols connecting auxiliary
members to the extended police family and when they are absent members can feel distanced. Further, safety concerns
were expressed as a result of such distancing. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords
Volunteer police, auxiliary police, extended police family, uniforms, safety
Submitted 3 Feb 2021, Revise received 18 May 2021, accepted 7 Jun 2021
Introduction
In recent decades, the increasing amount of civilianization
and pluralization of police duties has increased opportu-
nities for members of the public to volunteer for their
local police service (Johnston, 2007; Kiedrowski et al.,
2019). Police volunteers are generally welcomed and
valued within policing, particularly as part of agencies’
Corresponding author:
Christopher D O’Connor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities,
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North,
Oshawa, ON L1H 7K4, Canada.
Email: christopher.oconnor1@ontariotechu.net
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(1) 15–26
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14613557211032614
journals.sagepub.com/home/psm
To continue reading
Request your trial