Microaggression within the patrol service – a barrier against ethnic representation?

ABSTRACT Despite a growing body of research on experiences of discrimination and racism within the police, literature showing how these experiences impact on ethnic representation remains scarce. In this article, I explore which forms of microaggression ethnic minority officers in Norway experience ‘behind the scenes’, from colleagues, and how these experiences affect ethnic representation in the patrol service. A crucial test of whether passive representation translates into active representation is whether police officers make use of their cultural and linguistic competence during police work. Fieldwork observations of and narratives from ethnic minority police officers show that minority officers, on their own initiative, make use of their cultural and linguistic skills in specific situations. Thus, experiences of microaggression impact the use of cultural and linguistic competence among minority officers in a less negative manner than expected.