Representations of policing in Swiss police image films: Legitimising police forces and drawing the boundaries of membership

Abstract

While the use of media by police forces has been widely studied, films produced by public police organisations have only been scarcely researched. Such films, however, allow us to observe how police forces seek to reproduce their symbolic power. Through a qualitative content analysis, this article examines image films produced by Swiss police forces, a genre of film that aims to represent the operation of an organisation, focusing on how they represent policing. The research shows that Swiss police forces present themselves as crime-fighters, as organisations with unlimited tasks and as helping and listening to the public. Officers are portrayed as well-educated, professional and courteous, as human and as part of the local community. This conveys an image of police forces and officers as legitimate and trustworthy. At the same time, police forces are portrayed as consisting of and interacting primarily with white Swiss German speakers. In this way, these films delineate the boundaries of membership through a selective inclusion of these demographic groups.