Stefan Soeparman

Addressing the baseline or the frontline? : The multiform character of credible police performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the different and competing demands on police, and how they affect the credibility of police performance. The paper also looks at a possible way out of situations with competing claims.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a research project that focused on the interactions of police with their environment. In total, 40 qualitative, open‐ended interviews were obtained with people who had been in contact with the police in the previous 12 months. These interviews were transcribed and analysed with the help of qualitative data analysis software.Findings – This analysis led to the discovery of four types of facets within these interactions which the authors labelled: situational, symbolic, institutional and professional. These are aspects of the horizontal relationships within the police environment, but at the same time police also have a vertical relationship (a “baseline”) with their superiors that is highly important.Research limitation...