”Jag jobbar som polis men jag brukar inte säga att jag är en polis” : En kvalitativ studie om polisyrkets påverkan på den enskilde individen med fokus på roller samt emotioner

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding about the police profession's impact on the singular individual, with a focus on roles, regions and emotions. The main question is to understand if and then so, how individuals outside of work will be affected of the profession and professional events. In order to answer this question I carried out six semi-structured in-depth interviews with police officers who worked at the main office in a police region in a midsize city in Sweden. To ensure reliability and allow readers to conduct their own assessments the quotations in this study are anonymous. The analysis of the collected material is based on selected parts of Goffman's theories about dramaturgical perspective as well as selected emotion theories. Those theoretical frameworks are focused to explain, understand and see the consequences for the individual roles, role characters, emotions and the emotional work; which is what this study focuses on. Previous researches has brought inspiration for this study purpose and question, but also given me a deeper understanding of the professionalism of the Police. This study confirms that a certain distinction about the professional role and the individual role is desirable when a small or no personal distinction at all regarding the occupation or workplace can result in stress or burnout. The study shows that Police employees may also be imposed on the front region professionally, when interacting with others when the audience knows the profession of the individual, which results in a lack posterior region where the individual is forced to act upon the audience's expectations of police professionalism. The fact that it is the audience that decides the region and role definition as well as the persona identity of the police together with the social norms and legislation that the police is obliged to act upon it shows that it is hard for the police to step out of the profession and the role of the police even out of duty. The study also shows that the police profession also could be seen thru an emotional aspect where the emotions of the individual both are bought and sold. The emotions of the police could be restricted to the time duty when the police are inclined to act with confidence, respect and self-control.