The British Journal of Sociology
Volume 53 No 1 March 2002
pages 67-87
Abstract
This paper draws upon a range of empirical data to consider the ways in which police murder investigations are symbolically constructed, both within and outside of the police organization. It is argued that a range of communicative formats serve to produce the activities associated with police murder investigations in a way that serves to legitimate the police function to both members of the public and police officers alike. A particular emphasis is placed upon understanding the connections between informal and formal communications, and the instrumental and expressive objectives that variously underpin them.
Keywords: Murder investigation, policing, organizational communication, distancing strategies, symbolic interactionism
Martin Innes
Department of Sociology University of Surrey