Cybercrimeology

Policing Street Trolls: Navigating Cop Baiting and Digital Extremism

Episode Summary

In this episode of Cybercrimeology, we speak with Dr. Laura Huey, Professor of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, about the rising phenomenon of cyber cop baiting and its impact on law enforcement. Dr. Huey delves into the difficulties faced by police officers, the spread of misinformation, and the role of right-wing extremism in targeting police offline for online. Join us as we explore the complexities of policing in the digital age and the importance of evidence-based research in addressing these challenges.

Episode Notes

Notes:

• Dual Research Focus: Dr. Huey historically focused on policing and victimization, particularly in marginalized communities.
• Burnout and Shift: Burnout from trauma research led her to shift focus to applied policing research around 2012-2013.
• Economics of Policing: The federal government's focus on the costs of policing and the "economics of policing" initiative influenced her new research direction.
• Research Gaps: Realized that existing policing research in Canada had little practical value for informing policing practice and policy.
• Evidence-Based Policing: Joined the Society for Evidence-Based Policing (SEBP) in the UK to produce actionable research for police and policymakers.
• Right-Wing Extremism: Discussed the rise of right-wing extremism and its new tactic of targeting police officers, including cop baiting.
• Cop Baiting Incidents: Examples include interventions by Romana Didulo at the Peterborough Police Service and incidents in Vancouver during trans rights celebrations.
• Operational Stress: Emphasized the operational stress injuries faced by police officers due to regular exposure to horrific incidents.
• Public Misconceptions: Highlighted the issue of public and media criticism of police without a full understanding of the complexities involved.
• Misinformation: Explained how misinformation and disinformation spread about police actions, leading to doxxing and harassment of officers.
• Cyber Sleuths: Described incidents where online activists exposed personal information about police officers, increasing the risks they face.
• Convoy Protests: Referenced research on convoy protests and the targeting of police, emphasizing the reality versus media portrayal.
• False Narratives: Pointed out the persistence of false narratives, such as those surrounding the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, which continue to spread online despite being disproven.
• Call for Applied Research: Called for more applied research to address specific issues in policing and cyber-security rather than broad theoretical studies, stressing the need for better public education to combat misinformation.

About our guests:

Dr. Laura Huey

https://sociology.uwo.ca/people/profiles/Huey.html

Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:

Huey, L., & Ferguson, L. (2024). ‘No one wants to end up on YouTube’: sousveillance and ‘cop-baiting’ in Canadian policing. Policing and Society, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2024.2329239

Huey, L., & Ferguson, L. (2024). “All These Crazies”: Right-Wing Anti-Authoritarian Politics and the Targeting of Public Police. Deviant Behavior, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2024.2338890

Huey, L. (2024) The Cascade Effect: An Oral History of the Policing of the Convoy Protests, Independant: 979-8882979859

Other:

Dr Huey provided her own ‘bleep’ noises for this episode to save me the work of having to add them in post production.