Camilla R De Camargo
Biographic Data
| ID | 5238439 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Camilla R De Camargo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Camilla R |
| FAMILY NAME | De Camargo |
| SIGNATURE | DE CAMARGO C R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Kingston University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4779-777X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
When I went for a fitting, I was told I was too fat for a stab vest, so I didn’t have one for seven years’
This article examines the lived experiences of female police officers in relation to uniform provision, particularly body armour, in England and Wales. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the study draws on interviews and focus groups with 88 women across five police forces in 2023-24 to explore how the police uniform fails to accommodate women’s bodies, resulting in pain, discomfort, and restricted movement - especially for tho…
You can’t bend down, can’t breathe’
This article contributes to the growing literature on gendered challenges in policing by examining how uniform design—specifically standard-issue police trousers—impacts the embodied experiences of women officers and staff. Drawing on qualitative data from 88 participants across five police forces in England and Wales (2023–24), the study highlights a range of physical and psychosocial harms that participants attributed to poorly fitting trousers…
‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’
Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of ‘dirty work’ with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pand…
The weaponising of Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a radically changed world for everyone, but its effects on police officers has been particularly acute. Officers have been subject to increased cough and spit attacks as offenders have sought to weaponise the coronavirus, and forces have responded by encouraging officers to use enhanced methods of contamination prevention. The controversial argument of whether using ‘spit hoods’ is a necessary tool in policing h…
The postcode lottery of safety
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes to police working practices involving the enhanced wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), and ways of working inside and outside of police stations. The safety guidance released by the various government agencies has been conflicting, confusing and unhelpfully flexible, and there are significant discrepancies between some of the 43 forces of England and Wales. This article draws on pri…
We were the Guinea pigs’
The regulations introduced under the UK's Coronavirus Act 2020 to help curb the spread of COVID-19 caused considerable confusion due to conflation between what was regarded as ‘guidance’ and what was ‘law’. The fast-paced nature of the pandemic meant that restrictions on public liberty and increased police powers to enforce the new ‘rules’ led to accusations of over-zealous enforcement behaviour of some officers, including a record number of Fixe…
It's tough shit, basically, that you're all gonna get it
Policing is a high-risk occupation that can cause a myriad of psychosocial problems to its workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, officers have experienced increased rates of anxiety around contracting the virus, and these fears have been mirrored by their families, due to the largely unknown nature of the virus and mounting reports of police deaths across the world. Using data from 18 police officer interviews from a range of roles and forces in…
There’s always got to be a villain’
The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded the opportunity for key workers in some traditionally ‘dirty’ occupations to experience elevated levels of prestige. Although public perceptions of certain key workers have evolved in this way not all occupations have benefitted from comparable narratives. Using data from 18 police officer interviews, we theorise that the police are constructed as the ‘villains’ of the pandemic, tasked with the ‘dirtier’ respons…
The mythologisation of key workers
Purpose Key workers are deemed “essential” for keeping the country going while the rest of us have been resigned to the safety of our homes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, key workers have become the exalted symbol of the pandemic; although, during pre-pandemic many of these roles were considered “low skilled” and were (and still are) low paid. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses newspapers as data sources to discuss occupational pre…
They wanna be us ’; PCSO performances, uniforms, and struggles for acceptance
Police community support officers (PCSOs) in England and Wales have become an integral part of neighbourhood policing since their national roll-out in 2008. The research reported here is based on the first-hand accounts of PCSOs from a four-month ethnographic study in a northern police force. Using Erving Goffman’s theoretical framework and concept of performances, this paper argues that PCSOs still face ongoing pressures from inside the organisa…
The mythologisation of key workers
Purpose Key workers are deemed “essential” for keeping the country going while the rest of us have been resigned to the safety of our homes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, key workers have become the exalted symbol of the pandemic; although, during pre-pandemic many of these roles were considered “low skilled” and were (and still are) low paid. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses newspapers as data sources to discuss occupational pre…
It's tough shit, basically, that you're all gonna get it
Policing is a high-risk occupation that can cause a myriad of psychosocial problems to its workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, officers have experienced increased rates of anxiety around contracting the virus, and these fears have been mirrored by their families, due to the largely unknown nature of the virus and mounting reports of police deaths across the world. Using data from 18 police officer interviews from a range of roles and forces in…
There’s always got to be a villain’
The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded the opportunity for key workers in some traditionally ‘dirty’ occupations to experience elevated levels of prestige. Although public perceptions of certain key workers have evolved in this way not all occupations have benefitted from comparable narratives. Using data from 18 police officer interviews, we theorise that the police are constructed as the ‘villains’ of the pandemic, tasked with the ‘dirtier’ respons…
We were the Guinea pigs’
The regulations introduced under the UK's Coronavirus Act 2020 to help curb the spread of COVID-19 caused considerable confusion due to conflation between what was regarded as ‘guidance’ and what was ‘law’. The fast-paced nature of the pandemic meant that restrictions on public liberty and increased police powers to enforce the new ‘rules’ led to accusations of over-zealous enforcement behaviour of some officers, including a record number of Fixe…
They wanna be us ’; PCSO performances, uniforms, and struggles for acceptance
Police community support officers (PCSOs) in England and Wales have become an integral part of neighbourhood policing since their national roll-out in 2008. The research reported here is based on the first-hand accounts of PCSOs from a four-month ethnographic study in a northern police force. Using Erving Goffman’s theoretical framework and concept of performances, this paper argues that PCSOs still face ongoing pressures from inside the organisa…
The mythologisation of key workers
Purpose Key workers are deemed “essential” for keeping the country going while the rest of us have been resigned to the safety of our homes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, key workers have become the exalted symbol of the pandemic; although, during pre-pandemic many of these roles were considered “low skilled” and were (and still are) low paid. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses newspapers as data sources to discuss occupational pre…
It's tough shit, basically, that you're all gonna get it
Policing is a high-risk occupation that can cause a myriad of psychosocial problems to its workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, officers have experienced increased rates of anxiety around contracting the virus, and these fears have been mirrored by their families, due to the largely unknown nature of the virus and mounting reports of police deaths across the world. Using data from 18 police officer interviews from a range of roles and forces in…
There’s always got to be a villain’
The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded the opportunity for key workers in some traditionally ‘dirty’ occupations to experience elevated levels of prestige. Although public perceptions of certain key workers have evolved in this way not all occupations have benefitted from comparable narratives. Using data from 18 police officer interviews, we theorise that the police are constructed as the ‘villains’ of the pandemic, tasked with the ‘dirtier’ respons…
The weaponising of Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a radically changed world for everyone, but its effects on police officers has been particularly acute. Officers have been subject to increased cough and spit attacks as offenders have sought to weaponise the coronavirus, and forces have responded by encouraging officers to use enhanced methods of contamination prevention. The controversial argument of whether using ‘spit hoods’ is a necessary tool in policing h…
The postcode lottery of safety
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes to police working practices involving the enhanced wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), and ways of working inside and outside of police stations. The safety guidance released by the various government agencies has been conflicting, confusing and unhelpfully flexible, and there are significant discrepancies between some of the 43 forces of England and Wales. This article draws on pri…
We were the Guinea pigs’
The regulations introduced under the UK's Coronavirus Act 2020 to help curb the spread of COVID-19 caused considerable confusion due to conflation between what was regarded as ‘guidance’ and what was ‘law’. The fast-paced nature of the pandemic meant that restrictions on public liberty and increased police powers to enforce the new ‘rules’ led to accusations of over-zealous enforcement behaviour of some officers, including a record number of Fixe…
‘Wait! Don’t touch me!’
Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of ‘dirty work’ with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pand…
You can’t bend down, can’t breathe’
This article contributes to the growing literature on gendered challenges in policing by examining how uniform design—specifically standard-issue police trousers—impacts the embodied experiences of women officers and staff. Drawing on qualitative data from 88 participants across five police forces in England and Wales (2023–24), the study highlights a range of physical and psychosocial harms that participants attributed to poorly fitting trousers…
When I went for a fitting, I was told I was too fat for a stab vest, so I didn’t have one for seven years’
This article examines the lived experiences of female police officers in relation to uniform provision, particularly body armour, in England and Wales. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the study draws on interviews and focus groups with 88 women across five police forces in 2023-24 to explore how the police uniform fails to accommodate women’s bodies, resulting in pain, discomfort, and restricted movement - especially for tho…
Political science (9 works) · Policing Practices and Perceptions (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Criminology (5 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Pandemic (5 works) · Public relations (5 works) · Psychology (4 works) · 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak (3 works)