Fallet Missing People Sweden: Gemeinschaft och Gesellschaft i en frivillig sökarorganisation

Abstract

Voluntary policing represents unexplored territory within the field of civil policing, which as a whole is relatively underresearched. Missing People Sweden (MPS) is a voluntary policing organisation that was founded in 2012, and has since expanded greatly. This study explores meaning-making activities within that organisation, with an aim to contribute to the theoretical understanding of civil policing organisations, while also presenting the reader with a detailed case description of what participation in the organisation's activities means to its members. Lastly, the study aims to lay a foundation on which an improved cooperation between MPS and the police can be built. Bricolage, Mythologies, Logic of appropriateness, Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, Voluntary policing A total of eight semi-structured interviews were completed during March, 2014. The interviews were conducted with people that had participated in the organisation's activities in various capacities, and included novice volunteers as well as veteran members. A further four participant observations of organisational activities were made. Two recruitment events, one board meeting, and one search and rescue operation were observed. A total of 18 documents were collected from the organisation and subjected to textual analysis. Lastly, a heterogenous material was collected from media sources to build a background for the study, and to generate questions that could be discussed in the interviews. Results: The results expand on Yarwood's (2011) previous findings of different organisational forms coexisting within one voluntary policing organisation, through demonstrating how the organisation MPS at once could be understood as a Tönnesian Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. A few guidelines for an efficient cooperation between the police and similar voluntary policing organisations are also suggested.