Atribuciones y Competencia

For this research, I had 19 English and Welsh participants. As highlighted in figure 4.1, I had 10 cisgender participants and 9 trans participants. Initially, I began seeking research participants by sending out emails to the public affairs officers at the 43 constabularies in

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England and Wales requesting access to their officers for research purposes72. Additionally, I emailed the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and asked for research assistance. A representative from ACPO forwarded information to LGBT+ liaison officers and other officers who would be able to assist me. I also emailed various police associations in an effort to seek further participants. Below is a list of the associations I emailed:

Association of Muslim Police Atheist Police Association Black Police Association

British Association for Women in Policing Christian Police Association

Gay Police Association Jewish Police Association

National Trans Police Association

I knew from personal experience that police officers are typically very untrusting of outsiders and are a hard-to-research group. While most of those whom I contacted chose not to participate, they often politely directed me to an individual who could assist in my research. This in turn created a fast-paced ‘snowballing’ effect, with participants contacting me about my research through word of mouth. I found this stark difference between the attitudes towards participation in the United States and in England and Wales to be an interesting research discovery in itself.

During this standardised email process in America, England and Wales, I disclosed my previous employment as a detective within a large police agency in America. I stressed very clearly that as a former officer, I understood how important it is to protect personal identities and their departments/constabularies at all times. Attached to the research consent, I affixed a photo of myself in patrol uniform which clearly showed my face, name, agency and former rank.

72 _{The Gay Police Association refused to assist me with this research due to “a previous researcher’s}

actions”. I was not sure what that entailed, but I was quite disappointed by their response. Notably, the Jewish Police Association and the Muslim Police Association were very helpful and friendly in assisting and gaining access to participants, unlike the Christian Police Association who were not.

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Figure 4.3 Photo Attached to Participants’ Recruiting Emails

This photo, used with permission from my previous agency, was taken after I worked the presidential detail protecting President Obama. I believed that attaching the above photo to contact emails sent to potential constable participants would aid in building rapport with those who participated. I chose a photo that showed my smiling face clearly and where I was not wearing a patrol hat, which I believed to portray that I could be perceived as unthreatening, trustworthy, friendly, more approachable and maybe empathic. Officers who might have felt apprehensive about participating were able to attach a face to the researcher, making my role more human, so that I would not be perceived as somewhat anonymous and detached from those I was researching. Additionally, I believed that showing myself in uniform, with my rank and my previous agency affiliation, demonstrated that I was an officer and understood police culture on a more intimate level, and would protect their confidentiality at all times.

It was not until I contacted two trans-specific police organisations – the Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs (TCOPS) in the USA and the National Trans Police Officer Association (NTPA) in the UK– that I began to get participants who identified as trans. Initially, members of both organisations were very untrusting of who I was and what I was actually researching. I had one organisation run a background check on my previous employment to confirm that I was not a news reporter. Additionally, besides sending out standardised emails, I began attending trans-specific events where trans police might be present73 in a further attempt to make myself and my research known to potential transgender participants.

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4.8 “Cop Turned Researcher” Qualitative Skills

As a “cop turned researcher”, I possess a specific skill set that was beneficial in conducting qualitative interviews on a sensitive topic. St-Yves (2006) highlighted specific basic interview skills that police officers utilise in investigations, these are keeping an open mind while remaining objective and building rapport. While keeping an open mind and remaining objective should be imperative in any academic and police interview, within policing it is instilled that first contact with an interviewee is often decisive. It is during this first contact that both parties (the interviewee and the interviewer) form initial opinions of one another (St-Yves, 2006). Therefore this subjective perception will have a strong influence upon how the interview unfolds. As such, who I am as a researcher has an impact on how and what is disclosed74.

During this process, interviewers often engage in an interview management process which includes reciprocity, rapport-building, and closure of an interview (St-Yves, 2006; Shepherd, 2007). First, typically when we receive something from someone we feel obliged to reciprocate by giving something back (Shepherd, 2007). This is the basis for conversation, relationship building, power sharing, and constructive listening75. It is during this process that knowing what to self-disclose is vital. When interviewing areas sensitive in nature, a mutual trust must be established for reciprocation to be successful and to foster a psychological bond. If an interviewee discloses something upsetting or personal, the interviewer must ensure that any conveyed emotion will not be exploited. For example, in one interview I had a participant disclose his negative feelings about gay and transgender identities yet I conveyed to the interviewee that I was not a judgemental listener. For example:

I understand what you are saying, but could you tell me why you believe you feel this way (Researcher field notes, 2012).

In a police interview it would be something like this:

Nothing you can tell me will bother me…I just want to get a better understanding of how and what happened.

This is a common tactic used by police investigators interviewing sexual offenders. If reciprocity fails during the interview, then what the interviewee further discloses will be censored. Therefore, to be a successful interviewer (in policing and research) on sensitive topics one must cope with emergent anomalies, admissions, disturbing and distressing detail without taking it personally.

74 _{This will be revisited in detail in section 4.11.} 75 _{See section 4.9.}

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4.9 Process and Strategy of Interviewing: Power Sharing and