Using narrative to construct accountability in cases of death after police contact

David Baker

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

1 Citation (Scopus)
49 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper examines the use of narrative verdicts in the coronial system in England and Wales to record findings in cases of death after police contact. It uses a data set of 68 verdicts into such cases in the period 2004-2015. The paper considers how regulation is constructed in a way that makes complex cases comprehensible through narrative. The construction of these narratives is affected by legal structures, institutional structures, but also the structures imposed by narrative convention. The paper argues that the relationships between these structures affect what type of narrative is constructed in the aftermath of a death after police contact. It further suggests that devices within narratives enable the construction of a comprehensible narrative verdict in such cases.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)60-75
Number of pages16
JournalAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology
Volume52
Issue number1
Early online date20 Apr 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2019

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Social Responsibility
Police
police
contact
death
narrative
responsibility
Wales
England
Equipment and Supplies
regulation
Datasets

Keywords

  • Accountability
  • coroners’ courts
  • deaths
  • narrative
  • police

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Social Psychology
  • Law

Cite this

Using narrative to construct accountability in cases of death after police contact. / Baker, David.

In: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Vol. 52, No. 1, 03.2019, p. 60-75.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Baker, D 2019, 'Using narrative to construct accountability in cases of death after police contact' Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865818767227
Baker D. Using narrative to construct accountability in cases of death after police contact. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. 2019 Mar;52(1):60-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865818767227
Baker, David. / Using narrative to construct accountability in cases of death after police contact. In: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. 2019 ; Vol. 52, No. 1. pp. 60-75.
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  • Post-PrintAccepted author manuscript, 752 KBLicence: Unspecified