An Ethnography of Professional Integration: The Examples of Gardiens de la Paix in France and Police Constables in the United Kingdom

The article compares police training for gardiens de la paix and police constables in France and in England, concentrating on an element rarely studied : the stage of training undertaken on the public streets during training. Drawing from an ethnographic study undertaken in both countries, it is possible to show that the welcome given to the trainees, their integration into the police station, their mentoring by police tutors and the motivation of the tutors is completely different in France from England. These differences also apply to the type of recruitment practices and the organisation of police work, as well as to the ways in which police officers are deployed, which are distinct on each side of the Channel.