Rethinking Vulnerability through a Governmentality Lens: Rethinking Vulnerability

Vulnerability has become a central concern within contemporary policing, yet there remains little agreement about what vulnerability is or how it should be identified in practice. While policing policy increasingly emphasises safeguarding and protecting vulnerable people, frontline officers are often left to navigate these expectations in situations characterised by uncertainty, limited information and competing demands. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted within a rural police force in Wales, this paper explores how response officers understand, identify and govern vulnerability in their everyday work. Existing research has highlighted the growing role of the police in responding to welfare concerns, mental health crises and safeguarding needs, often in the context of wider pressures on public services (Crawford, 2024). At the same time, rural policing presents particular challenges, including geographic isolation, limited resources and reduced access to partner agencies (Yarwood and Cozens, 2005; Payne and Ware, 2025). The paper argues that vulnerability is not simply recognised by officers but interpreted through organisational expectations, professional judgement and local context. Rather than treating vulnerability as a fixed characteristic, officers draw on experience, informal knowledge and risk-based frameworks to determine who requires intervention and how that intervention should take place. In doing so, they contribute to the governance of vulnerability, shaping how vulnerability is understood, managed and responded to in everyday policing practice. By focusing on the realities of rural policing in Wales, the paper contributes to wider discussions about vulnerability, discretion and the changing role of the police. It also reflects on the implications of understanding vulnerability as something that is actively governed rather than simply identified. Considered through the lens of growth, responses to vulnerability play an important role in sustaining rural communities by enabling individuals to remain safely within their local areas and access appropriate support. Vulnerability also shapes the activities of public, private and third-sector organisations, influencing the development of safeguarding practices, partnership working and service provision.

References
Crawford, A. (2024) ‘Vulnerability and Policing: Rethinking the Role and Limits of the Police’, The Political Quarterly, 95, pp. 431-441.
Payne, J. and Ware, J. (2025) ‘Unique challenges faced by rural police officers: A scoping review and thematic analysis’, The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, pp. 1-20.
Yarwood, R. and Cozens, C. (2005) ‘Constable Countryside? Police Perspectives on Rural Britain’. In: Kneafsey, M. and Holloway, L. (eds.) Geographies of Rural Cultures and Societies. London: Routledge, pp. 145-170.