Journal article
‘It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back’: the impacts of anti-police sentiment on police officer identity in Australia
Police Practice and Research, Vol.27(5), pp.701-726
2026
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Rising anti-police sentiments pose a clear threat to officer safety and efficacy. Impacts likely extend beyond operational concerns, posing potential identity threats as officers reconcile criticisms of their profession with their own identity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 former Australian police officers to explore the impacts of anti-police sentiment on their personal and professional identities. Using a revised framework of identity work, we explored officers’ perspectives of what anti-police sentiment is; when anti-police sentiment presents an identity threat; and officers’ motivations and techniques for managing these threats. Findings suggest that anti-police sentiments primarily pose an identity threat to police officers through repeated experience and are compounded by organisational responses. Ultimately, findings outline how Australian police officers conceptualise, experience, and manage anti-police sentiment, expanding domestic and international literature and outlining research and practice opportunities for managing anti-police sentiment harms in the Australian policing organisational and operational landscape.
Details
- Title
- ‘It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back’: the impacts of anti-police sentiment on police officer identity in Australia
- Authors
- Katie Davenport-Klunder (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyKelly Hine - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyNadine McKillop - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Publication details
- Police Practice and Research, Vol.27(5), pp.701-726
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1080/15614263.2026.2636672
- ISSN
- 1477-271X
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991209281302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Criminology & Penology
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