Diskussionen om att akademisera polisutbildningen i Sverige har under en tid förekommit främst på regeringsnivå. Ett förslag angående att införa en kandidatexamen på polisutbildningen har även framförts av Polisförbundet, där de uttrycker ett positivt förhållningssätt till akademiseringen. Till följd av detta har ett kvalitativt förhållningssätt tagits för att erhålla en fördjupad bild kring ämnet ur ett polisiärt perspektiv. Studien syftar således till att undersöka vilka uppfattningar, i form av möjligheter och begränsningar, som yrkesverksamma poliser och polisstudenter har kring en akademisering av polisutbildningen. Vidare har även eventuella likheter och skillnader mellan dessa undersökts. Studien baseras på elva fokuserade intervjuer där materialet illustrerar flertalet möjligheter och begränsningar samt likheter och skillnader. Materialet har analyserats tematiskt och resulterade i två teman där ett behandlar polisutbildningen och det andra berör det efterföljande yrkeslivet. Resultatet berör möjligheter och begränsningar samt likheter och skillnader gällande de sökande till utbildningen, utbildningens innehåll, den teoretiska och praktiska kunskapen som erbjuds under utbildningen samt den kandidatexamen som diskuteras att införas. Dessutom berör resultatet även de yrkesroller och arbetssätt som förekommer inom Polismyndigheten, forskning inom det polisiära arbetet samt allmänhetens tilltro till polisen. Sammantaget visar resultatet att den polisiära yrkesutövningen upplevs främst som praktiskt, men där teoretiska ämnen och inriktningar även anses vara väsentliga för både utbildning och yrkesutövning. En kandidatexamen kan vara fördelaktig för vissa yrkesroller och för dem med teoretiskt eller akademiskt intresse, men har samtidigt ansetts kunna bidra med flera problematiska aspekter. Exempelvis lyfts en farhåga för att det praktiska ska åsidosättas eller att praktiska individer avstår att söka utbildningen. Trots att flera möjligheter belyses anses en akademisering av polisutbildningen på programnivå vara omotiverad, där andra förslag på alternativa vägar lyfts som bättre alternativ. / An academic police education in Sweden has been discussed on the state level. Polisförbundet has proposed to implement a bachelor’s thesis in police education where they express a positive approach to an academic police education. This study has a qualitative approach to obtain a deeper understanding from a police perspective. The study aims to investigate the perceptions of possibilities and limitations that working officers and police students experience regarding a police education with a bachelor. It also investigates potential similarities and variations between these. This study is based on eleven focused interviews where many possibilities and limitations, but also similarities and variations, are illustrated. The material has been analyzed thematically and resulted in two overarching themes where one processes police education and the other refers to the upcoming life of work. The results refer to possibilities and limitations, and also similarities and variations, regarding the applicants, the content of the education, the theoretical and practical knowledge during the education, and also the potential bachelor’s degree. The results also refer to the professional roles and working methods in Polismyndigheten, research on police work and the public’s trust in the police. All together the result shows that the police practice is experienced as practical, but theoretical subjects are also essential for the education and police practice. A bachelor’s degree can be favorable for some professional roles and for those who have more theoretical and academic interest. It has also been considered to contribute with problematic aspects with concerns that practical aspects were being set aside or that fewer practical individuals will apply. Even though there are several possibilities, an academic police education including a bachelor thesis is considered unmotivated. Other alternative educational routes are suggested to be a better option.

Si les développements technologiques dans le domaine de la science forensique améliorent sans contredit les capacités de détection et la précision des appareils et des analyses effectuées, la qualité, l’intégrité, l’efficacité et l’efficience de l’exploitation des traces matérielles à des fins judiciaires et sécuritaires demeurent avant tout tributaires de décisions humaines prises tout au long du processus forensique, de la scène d’incident au tribunal. À ce sujet, bien qu’ils soient désormais reconnus comme des acteurs au premier plan du déploiement des efforts forensiques, les techniciens en identité judiciaire responsables de l’investigation des scènes d’incident n’ont fait l’objet que de très peu d’études empiriques. Pourtant, les quelques études qui sont disponibles mettent en lumière un degré élevé de variabilité dans leurs pratiques et leurs performances en matière de recherche et de collecte de traces matérielles, suggérant ainsi un processus décisionnel sur lequel nous ne savons toujours que très peu de choses. Dès lors, la thèse se propose de mieux comprendre, à travers une lentille théorique inspirée de certains concepts-clés issus de la sociologie de l’expertise et de la sociologie de la police, l’orientation des stratégies de recherche de traces matérielles par les techniciens en identité judiciaire. Plus précisément, elle cherche à approfondir les mécanismes de prise de décision et le système de savoirs occupationnels auquel se réfèrent les techniciens en identité judiciaire pour guider et justifier leurs actions, les processus de construction et d’acquisition de ces savoirs occupationnels ainsi que l’étendue du pouvoir discrétionnaire des techniciens en identité judiciaire et les conditions sous-jacentes à sa reconnaissance. Pour ce faire, la thèse repose sur une enquête de terrain de type ethnographique réalisée auprès de 19 techniciens en scène de crime du Québec entre 2020 et 2022, combinant 18 entretiens semi-directifs (35 heures) et 200 heures d’observation participante (au poste et sur de véritables scènes d’incident). Les résultats de la thèse révèlent, d’une part, que l’orientation de la recherche de traces matérielles par les techniciens en identité judiciaire est dépendante d’un système de savoirs occupationnels tacites largement ambigu, voire contradictoire par endroits, nécessitant l’interprétation des mandats, des normes informelles et des méthodes à privilégier pour prendre ou justifier une décision. D’autre part, ils suggèrent que ces savoirs seraient principalement issus, aux yeux des techniciens en identité judiciaire, de l’expérience pratique (à titre de policier et de technicien en identité judiciaire) et des échanges avec les pairs expérimentés, traduisant un discours soutenant le primat de la socialisation professionnelle informelle sur la formation et l’éducation formalisée. Enfin, les techniciens en identité profiteraient d’un important pouvoir discrétionnaire de facto leur permettant d’exercer plutôt librement leur jugement professionnel et de définir les savoirs qui sont considérés comme légitimes. Mis ensemble, ces constats proposent de comprendre la prise de décisions des techniciens en identité judiciaire en matière de recherche de traces matérielles au prisme de l’interaction entre un pouvoir discrétionnaire dynamique et un système de savoirs occupationnels ambigu et plus ou moins partagé. / While technological developments in the field of forensic science are undoubtedly improving detection capabilities and the accuracy of the equipment and analyses performed, the quality, integrity, effectiveness, and efficiency of the exploitation of material traces for judicial and security purposes remain above all dependent on human decisions made throughout the forensic process, from the crime scene to the courts. In this regard, although they are now recognized as key players in the deployment of forensic resources, crime scene examiners responsible for investigating incident scenes have only been the subject of very few empirical studies. Yet, those that are available highlight a high degree of variability in the practices and performances of crime scene examiners regarding the search for material traces, suggesting a decision-making process about which we still know very little. This thesis therefore aims to gain a better understanding of the orientation of crime scene examiners’ strategies for searching material trace through a theoretical lens inspired by key concepts of the sociology of expertise and the sociology of policing. More specifically, it seeks to investigate the decision-making mechanisms and occupational knowledge system to which crime scene examiners refer, the processes of construction and acquisition of such occupational knowledge, and the extent of crime scene examiners’ discretionary power and the conditions underlying its recognition by other stakeholders. The thesis is based on an ethnographic fieldwork among 19 Quebec crime scene examiners between 2020 and 2022, combining 18 semi-structured interviews (35 hours) and 200 hours of participant observation (at the office and at actual incident scenes). The results of the thesis reveal, on the one hand, that the orientation of the search for material traces by crime scene examiners depends on a tacit system of occupational knowledge which is largely ambiguous, even contradictory in places, leaving room for interpretation of mandates, norms, and preferred methods for making or justifying a decision. On the other hand, they suggest that such knowledge is mainly acquired, in the eyes of crime scene examiners, from practical experience (as a police officer and crime scene investigator) and exchanges with experienced peers, reflecting a discourse supporting the primacy of informal professional socialization over formalized training and education. Finally, crime scene examiners would benefit from a significant de facto discretionary power, enabling them to exercise their professional judgment rather freely and to define the knowledge that should be considered legitimate. Taken together, these findings suggest that the decision-making process of crime scene examiners in the search for material traces can be understood through the prism of the interaction between a variable discretionary power and an ambiguous, more or less shared, system of occupational knowledge.

This study captures the transformation of a research methodology module and the workplace learning resulting from teaching research to senior police officers. Using ethnography, the study explores the initial development and transformation of the research module content and the ways in which the police trainers developed their practices to teach research methodology in the regulated police work environment. Through interviews, observations, document analyses and an ethnographic essay, the researcher uncovers the experiences and construction of knowledge at a SAPS Academy where research was taught and in the workplace during the ensuing experiential learning. The study revealed how the research module evolved through compensations made for shortcomings in the initial design. This was done by addressing changing organisational expectations and responding to specific needs of the adult learners. The trainers subsequently adapted their teaching approaches to cater for the specific needs of the learners and the organisation. At the same time, they also protected the reputation of the organisation and the integrity of the research module. The findings indicate that informal learning, constructed unintentionally, was more prominent in the workplace than the intended development of research skills. Evidence suggested that learning is indeed reliant on personal agency and that learning in communities of practice is very effective for the community. However, culture can become a barrier to learning when newcomers resist entry into such community or when its sub-culture conflicts with that of the bigger organisation. These experiences and lessons enabled the construction of a new three-phased research teaching model for organisations that wish to inculcate research as a problem–solving mechanism. The study has implications for policy-makers and educators as it emphasises the need to understand the theory of workplace learning and the necessity of making a deliberate effort to support learning in the workplace. When learning is not supported, employees develop undesirable skills to cope with the pressure of having to work and learn simultaneously. The study contributes to the existing knowledge of workplace theory, ethnographic research in police settings and research teaching pedagogy. The study highlights the need for further exploration of knowledge construction in communities of practice in regulated work environments where sub-cultures are in conflict with the organisational culture. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)