‘It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back’: the impacts of anti-police sentiment on police officer identity in Australia

Rising anti-police sentiments pose a clear threat to officer safety and efficacy. Impacts likely extend beyond operational concerns, posing potential identity threats as officers reconcile criticisms of their profession with their own identity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 former Australian police officers to explore the impacts of anti-police sentiment on their personal and professional identities. Using a revised framework of identity work, we explored officers’ perspectives of what anti-police sentiment is; when anti-police sentiment presents an identity threat; and officers’ motivations and techniques for managing these threats. Findings suggest that anti-police sentiments primarily pose an identity threat to police officers through repeated experience and are compounded by organisational responses. Ultimately, findings outline how Australian police officers conceptualise, experience, and manage anti-police sentiment, expanding domestic and international literature and outlining research and practice opportunities for managing anti-police sentiment harms in the Australian policing organisational and operational landscape.