Academic lecture by Prof. dr. Janet Chan about Police culture

7 May 2008, Ghent University

Guest speaker:

Professor Janet Chan Professor Chan has a substantial track record of successful ARC grants and quality publications in social research. The distinctiveness of her work lies in its methodological and theoretical innovations. Her research on police culture is regarded as ground breaking in the sociology of occupations and organisations. Her expertise in the study of how information technology has impacted on police practices (‘smart information use’) is of special relevance to the Centre’s research program. Her research to date focuses on the sociology of creativity. Transactions between agents although innovative for the occasion are nevertheless directed by implicit institutional subtexts and narratives. The emergence of these two factors provides the experimental focus of investigations into the narrative reasoning that governs interactive relationships. Current Appointment : 2002- Professor and Head, The School of Social Science and Policy, The University of New South Wales, Australia.

Source: http://www.icinema.unsw.edu.au/bios/zbio_chan.html

Themes:

• What are the essential characteristics of police culture? 
• Based on which empiric research ? 
• To what level cultural police changes can be a necessary element of reform?  
• What are components of reform that influence police culture?  
• What is the impact of police eduction on police culture?