Defining power margins: a classification of power within the discourses of police and civilian in a crime 'hotspot community' in Northern Trinidad

摘要

The article is part of a continuing research project on power manifestations in the discourses of police officers and civilians from a specific marginalized community in Trinidad and Tobago. The larger research draws on multidisciplinary knowledge frameworks to assist in the description and explanation of communicative negotiations at the community level. This paper looks specifically at describing power within the context of police and civilian interaction at the community level. It explores existing philosophies, definitions and frameworks with the aim of providing a definition relevant to the context of police and civilian interaction within a specific context -suburban, low-income, labelled, high-crime communities in a developing country. Data for the study were collected from interviews and recorded footage of police/ civilian interaction within one of the 'hotpot communities' in Trinidad and Tobago. The study resulted in the identification of seven categories to account for manifestations of power in the discourses of police and civilians from crime 'hotspots' during interaction.