Den professionelt empatiske politibetjent: Politistuderendes håndtering af følelser i arbejdet

Resumé

Denne artikel omhandler de personlige, sociale og følelsesmæssige krav, som stilles til politibetjente i dag. I artiklen undersøges hvilke kompetencekrav der stilles til Politiskolens ansøgere; hvordan de ønskede personlige kompetencer identificeres under optagelsen og opøves under uddannelsen, herunder hvorledes politistuderende bringer disse kompetencer i anvendelse i mødet med borgere. Videre belyser vi, hvordan kravet om empati forhandles og balanceres mod andre krav, samt hvordan belastninger i forbindelse med følelsesarbejde opleves og søges håndteret. I politiarbejdet gøres der meget ud af at skulle tage hensyn til politiets image, således at politibetjente strækker sig langt for at vise sig som tålmodige, venlige og hjælpsomme. Men hensynet til image udadtil kan blive understøttet af en vis barskhed backstage. Politibetjentene er udfordret på at være personlige i deres kommunikation (displayed emotions, med Hochschilds begreb) samtidigt med, at deres person (og felt emotions) skal holdes udenfor. Uniformen kommer til at fungere som en ”regnfrakke”, hvor forskellige typer af belastninger får lov til at prelle af. Artiklen bygger på dokumentanalyse, interviews med rekrutteringsansvarlige, undervisere og praktikkoordinatorer samt observation af studerende. Endvidere inddrages svar fra en spørgeskemaundersøgelse blandt politistuderende om disses oplevelser og håndteringer af følelsesmæssige krav og belastninger under deres praktikperioder. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Lotte Bloksgaard and Annick Prieur: The Empathetic Police Officer: Police Students’ Handling Emotions at Work This article analyzes the personal, social and emotional demands on police officers today. It examines the requirements for entrance to police education: how personal suitability is identified at the entrance examination, and how this is trained during the education. This includes how police students use their skills in encounters with citizens. We also shed light on how the demand for empathy is negotiated and balanced in relation to other demands, and how strains in connection with emotional work are experienced and handled. In police work there is concern for the image of the police force, and this concern makes police officers go to length to show themselves as patient, friendly and ready to lend a hand. The concern for this image may be sustained, however, by a certain roughness backstage. Police officers are challenged by the requirement of being personal (displayed emotions, with Hochschild’s concept) at the same time as their own person (and their felt emotions) should be kept out of the work situation. The uniform serves as a ”rain coat” making different strains rebound. The article draws on document analysis, interviews with recruiters, teachers and practice term coordinators as well as observations of the students. In addition data from a survey among police students concerning their experiences and handling the emotional demands and strains are included. Keywords: police, police education, empathy, social skills, management of emotions, emotional strains.