The symbolic crusade of policing drugs : an ethnography on local drug policing and the self-legitimacy of drug detectives
(2023)
- Author
- Steven Debbaut
- Promoter
- Tom Decorte (UGent) and Sofie De Kimpe
- Organization
- Abstract
- Drug detectives are the guardians of the drug prohibition policy and the question is raised to what extent, and on what basis, drug detectives feel their power is morally correct. Ethnographic fieldwork, which included 40 epistemic-confrontational interviews, was carried out over 10 months in two cities in Belgium among drug detectives operating at street level and in local drug investigation units. The work of Michel Foucault inspired the theoretical and analytical framework of the research. The study finds that drug detectives derive their self-legitimacy primarily from subjectivation in the eradicative drug discourse and from endogenous elements such as being good at your ‘craft’ and seeking validation of this from colleagues. It is argued that an endogenous construction of self-legitimacy co-produces and strengthens some (dysfunctional) core characteristics of police culture. Furthermore, drug detectives’ underlying motivation is rarely fuelled by a belief in the effectiveness of their actions in reducing drug use or selling, but by the conviction that they have to take action because ‘otherwise things would get out of hand’. Building on these results, several societal and political implications are offered.
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01GQ5599JPVBK721JAHQG7X0C0
- MLA
- Debbaut, Steven. The Symbolic Crusade of Policing Drugs : An Ethnography on Local Drug Policing and the Self-Legitimacy of Drug Detectives. Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology, 2023.
- APA
- Debbaut, S. (2023). The symbolic crusade of policing drugs : an ethnography on local drug policing and the self-legitimacy of drug detectives. Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology, Ghent, Belgium.
- Chicago author-date
- Debbaut, Steven. 2023. “The Symbolic Crusade of Policing Drugs : An Ethnography on Local Drug Policing and the Self-Legitimacy of Drug Detectives.” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Debbaut, Steven. 2023. “The Symbolic Crusade of Policing Drugs : An Ethnography on Local Drug Policing and the Self-Legitimacy of Drug Detectives.” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology.
- Vancouver
- 1.Debbaut S. The symbolic crusade of policing drugs : an ethnography on local drug policing and the self-legitimacy of drug detectives. [Ghent, Belgium]: Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology; 2023.
- IEEE
- [1]S. Debbaut, “The symbolic crusade of policing drugs : an ethnography on local drug policing and the self-legitimacy of drug detectives,” Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology, Ghent, Belgium, 2023.
@phdthesis{01GQ5599JPVBK721JAHQG7X0C0,
abstract = {{Drug detectives are the guardians of the drug prohibition policy and the question is raised to what extent, and on what basis, drug detectives feel their power is morally correct. Ethnographic fieldwork, which included 40 epistemic-confrontational interviews, was carried out over 10 months in two cities in Belgium among drug detectives operating at street level and in local drug investigation units. The work of Michel Foucault inspired the theoretical and analytical framework of the research. The study finds that drug detectives derive their self-legitimacy primarily from subjectivation in the eradicative drug discourse and from endogenous elements such as being good at your ‘craft’ and seeking validation of this from colleagues. It is argued that an endogenous construction of self-legitimacy co-produces and strengthens some (dysfunctional) core characteristics of police culture. Furthermore, drug detectives’ underlying motivation is rarely fuelled by a belief in the effectiveness of their actions in reducing drug use or selling, but by the conviction that they have to take action because ‘otherwise things would get out of hand’. Building on these results, several societal and political implications are offered.}},
author = {{Debbaut, Steven}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{VIII, 174}},
publisher = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology ; Free University of Brussels. Law and Criminology}},
school = {{Ghent University}},
title = {{The symbolic crusade of policing drugs : an ethnography on local drug policing and the self-legitimacy of drug detectives}},
year = {{2023}},
}