- Police science in the Nordic countries is growing, but it is also facing fundamental questions regarding disciplinary identity, academicization, practical relevance, and critical independence in a time of significant societal changes, say Lundgaard and Gundhus.
They invited researchers to submit article ideas for a special issue of Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing. The finalised special issue, titled Today and Tomorrow: Police Science in the Nordic Countries, consists of an editorial, six peer-reviewed research articles, and two essays. Authors from all the countries currently represented in the journal are included - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
An Important Contribution
Pro-rector for research and dissemination at the Norwegian Police University College, Lene Bomann-Larsen, praises the initiative.
- Police science engages many of the academic communities here at the Norwegian Police University College. I am delighted that we now have a dedicated special issue addressing this topic in a Nordic context, and I am confident it will be read with great interest by many people, myself included, she says.
Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing is owned by the Norwegian Police University College and is a collaboration between police education institutions in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The journal’s primary aim is to contribute to the development of police research, as well as to disseminate this knowledge to relevant audiences, including practitioners, leaders, educational institutions, public authorities, and the media.
Academia, Profession and Organization
Some of the articles are review articles showing the range of Nordic police research, while others focus more specifically on specific issues within police science. The contributions demonstrate how research, education, and professional development have evolved differently in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, while at the same time reflecting a shared ambition for knowledge-based, democratic, and legitimate policing.
Three overarching themes run through the special issue. The first is about the relationship between professionalization and academicization. Academicization can strengthen the status, autonomy, and knowledge base of the police profession, but it can also produce tensions between academic and occupational forms of knowledge, between universities and police organisations, and between critical inquiry and instrumental expectations.
The second theme addresses the relationship between research, education, and practice. Police science is research on police and policing, but it is often also expected to contribute to police education and for the improvement of policing. Such collaboration can create valuable and practically useful knowledge, but it may also raise questions about researchers’ independence and their room for and ability to maintain a critical perspective.
The third theme is the interdisciplinary character of police science. Police research is conducted in criminology, sociology of law, law, history, political science, psychology, philosophy, education studies, and other disciplines. This plurality is necessary because policing encompasses a wide range of issues, but it also raises questions about disciplinary identity and makes it challenging to distinguish police science from neighbouring fields.
Who is Police Science for?
The editors argue that police science must be both practically relevant and critical, and it should contribute to reflecions on the police’s knowledge base, exercise of power, and democratic accountability in a changing society.
While this special issue may answer some questions, it also raises new ones. What is the purpose of police science, and who is it for? How can we balance the desire for immediate usefulness against curiosity-driven research that may generate knowledge we did not know we needed? The editors hope that the special issue will contribute to a continuing Nordic discussion about the present and future of police science.
-With this special issue, we want to strengthen the community among police research environments across the Nordic countries. What is the current status? Which themes do we have in common, and what sets us apart? This issue serves both as an opportunity to take a step back and reflect, while also inviting future discussions and collaborations," the editors state. -We now hope that as many people as possible will join the launch event and continue these important discussions.
There will be a launch event for the special issue January 11th.
Read more about the launch event here
Parts of this text is based on the editorial Today and Tomorrow: Police Science in the Nordic Countries.