In the Sticks

This ethnographic study of West Mercia Constabulary shows how cultural identity is defined in the semi-closed culture of a rural police force. After twenty-five years police service on urban Tyneside, the author–a social anthropologist–transferred, on promotion as Superintendent, to West Mercia Constabulary. The arrival of this 'import' coincided with monetarist demands for efficiency and effectiveness, a political thrust which came hard up against rural ideas of hierarchy, paternalism, and a cultural belief that denied validity to outsiders - such as those in the adjacent West Midlands Police. Detailing the way West Mercia operated and justified some bizarre practices, the ethnography shows how cultural identity was defined and deployed on a daily basis and explores the diverse and rich cultural baggage the rural world sustained even in the face of intense calls for the management of change. Reflecting on the lack of financial control he found, the author links all this to the racism he observed–to a xenophobic means of maintaining social boundaries, defending edgy environments and preserving a semi-closed culture from the intrusions of outsiders.