RT Article
T1 Police union political communications in Canada
JF The British journal of criminology
VO 62
IS 1
SP 90
OP 105
A1 Duncan, Jamie
A2 Walby, Kevin 1981-
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/178660275X
AB The political communications of police unions in the digital age deserve more attention from criminologists. This article examines the communications of two Canadian police associations in Toronto and Winnipeg. Using multimodal discourse analysis, we describe how police unions tactically engage with multiple forms of media to disseminate strategic narratives that reflect police identity and ideology. We conceptualize the mobilization of ‘thin blue line’ narratives and maintenance of a ‘blue wall of silence’ as forms of boundary work, which serve to favourably delineate the role of police in their communities while sidestepping critical views. The proliferation of digital media amplifies the unions’ capacities to influence local politics by undermining elected authorities and community activists while advancing a police-centric view of society.
K1 Police unions
K1 Political communications
K1 multimodal discourse analysis
K1 boundary work
DO 10.1093/bjc/azab043