Trust, Blame and Confidence in Police Organizations: A Deliberative Case Study

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The research I propose to conduct will explore the occurrence of feelings of trust, blame and confidence within police organisations, specifically South Wales Police. It will explore the consequences of a potential 'blame culture' by an intensive case study into the police force's formal and informal working practices. It will focus on the cause and extent of risk aversion, exploring staff fears of a blame culture within the organisation. It will seek to understand the effects of current practices on the culture and workings of the force, and how these impact upon feelings of organisational justice and police legitimacy by its employees. The research will supplement an existing body of literature that has been conducted into the existence of an internal 'blame culture' and will expand on this by exploring the experiences of the participants as to how this culture is represented and the effects it has. The research is important for thisreason and will aim to provide insight into why such feelings occur. This research project aims to deepen our existing understanding via the following research questions:How are attitudes to risk, blame and scrutiny formed?To what extent are issues of blame, risk aversion and lack of trust and confidence an issue for staff within South Wales Police?What influences these attitudes and how do they affect behaviour?Have methods for addressing these problems already been identified? If so, have they been implemented, and if not, why not?What barriers exist at present to prevent changes from occurring?These questions aim to identify and explore the source and extent of any 'blame culture', and what problems it specifically causes for South Wales Police. It is important to subsequently identify what solutions may solve these issues, but also what has been proposed in the past, whether this has been implemented, and what the results were. It will be key to explore why these solutions have not been utilised, in order to avoid repetition of any past work.