Abstract

Today’s widespread use of camera-equipped smartphones means that anyone may easily be filmed in public, and - through social media - exposed to a large audience whilst conducting their daily work. Police officers belong to an occupation that frequently has to encounter this situation. The police is a public authority with a broad societal mission aimed at reducing crime and increasing security in society, but is also entitled to make use of force at work. The latter is a fact that places high demands on them to organize and conduct their work in accordance with applicable laws and guidelines to ensure legal security for citizens, and to provide transparency and accountability. We intend to investigate what consequences citizens’ use of this wearable technology with built in cameras have on police officers’ individual practices. This research in progress paper will therefore address the question: How do police perceive citizens’ use of cameras to document them while conducting work? To answer the question, we conducted a qualitative study using the Swedish Police as a case, where in-depth interviews with police officers constitute the main data source. Theoretically, we draw upon on research on technological affordances, accountability, surveillance and sousveillance.

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