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‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic. / De Camargo, Camilla.
In: Police Practice and Research, Vol. 24, No. 2, 04.03.2023, p. 129-146.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

De Camargo, C 2023, '‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic', Police Practice and Research, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 129-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389

APA

De Camargo, C. (2023). ‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic. Police Practice and Research, 24(2), 129-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389

Vancouver

De Camargo C. ‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic. Police Practice and Research. 2023 Mar 4;24(2):129-146. Epub 2022 Oct 6. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389

Author

De Camargo, Camilla. / ‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’ : Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Police Practice and Research. 2023 ; Vol. 24, No. 2. pp. 129-146.

Bibtex

@article{5c1e0a9d9e364d7a9e99b463b0b560b9,
title = "{\textquoteleft}Wait! Don{\textquoteright}t touch me!{\textquoteright}: Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic",
abstract = "Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of {\textquoteleft}dirty work{\textquoteright} with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased fear and anxiety about virus contraction, particularly when officers were not prioritised for testing and vaccinations at the time. The possibility of transmitting COVID-19 to family members motivated officers to treat their uniforms differently, and they undertook purification rituals to mitigate violations of the physical and symbolic space around the body. Fear and anxiety of {\textquoteleft}the unknown{\textquoteright} is a motivator for discussions about long-term effects of officer well-being, and the significance of learning to prepare for future pandemics.",
author = "{De Camargo}, Camilla",
year = "2023",
month = mar,
day = "4",
doi = "10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389",
language = "English",
volume = "24",
pages = "129--146",
journal = "Police Practice and Research",
issn = "1561-4263",
publisher = "Routledge",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’

T2 - Police uniforms, family anxiety, and rituals of purification in the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - De Camargo, Camilla

PY - 2023/3/4

Y1 - 2023/3/4

N2 - Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of ‘dirty work’ with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased fear and anxiety about virus contraction, particularly when officers were not prioritised for testing and vaccinations at the time. The possibility of transmitting COVID-19 to family members motivated officers to treat their uniforms differently, and they undertook purification rituals to mitigate violations of the physical and symbolic space around the body. Fear and anxiety of ‘the unknown’ is a motivator for discussions about long-term effects of officer well-being, and the significance of learning to prepare for future pandemics.

AB - Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of ‘dirty work’ with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased fear and anxiety about virus contraction, particularly when officers were not prioritised for testing and vaccinations at the time. The possibility of transmitting COVID-19 to family members motivated officers to treat their uniforms differently, and they undertook purification rituals to mitigate violations of the physical and symbolic space around the body. Fear and anxiety of ‘the unknown’ is a motivator for discussions about long-term effects of officer well-being, and the significance of learning to prepare for future pandemics.

U2 - 10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389

DO - 10.1080/15614263.2022.2125389

M3 - Journal article

VL - 24

SP - 129

EP - 146

JO - Police Practice and Research

JF - Police Practice and Research

SN - 1561-4263

IS - 2

ER -