Unpacking Racial Relevance in Emergency Calls

Psychological research has extensively explored the consequences of racial categorisation, contributing to the emergence of race-related issues. However, research has largely overlooked the examination of how individuals orient and mobilise race categories, which is an aspect crucial to the development of racial issues. Given that race-related issues are fundamentally rooted in people’s utilisation of racial categories as a foundation for social action, it is of relevance to investigate the pertinence of these categories in people’s talk. This involves not only investigating the explicit mentions of racial categories but also delving into the inferences and common-sense knowledge packaged with them in interaction. In this thesis, I used the theoretical framework of discursive psychology to apply both conversation (CA) and membership categorisation analysis (MCA) to examine where and how race becomes relevant in institutional talk, specifically in emergency calls reporting family harm and violence. Although literature conducting CA and MCA on race is existent, literature has been focal on race talk in ordinary interaction as opposed to institutional settings. Therefore, this thesis analyses racial relevance in the institutional talk of emergency calls. Examining emergency calls is advantageous as it captures both representatives of the institution (call-takers) and members of the public (callers) orientation and mobilisation of race categories in interaction. This thesis analyses the intricate dynamics of racial expression and the utilisation of racial common-sense in the context of either seeking or providing emergency services.

In my thesis, race was found to be initiated in various phases in the emergency call, particularly within the interrogative series of person descriptions. When describing the subject of the complaint, inquiries for racial categories were utilised as predicates of appearance, mobilising common-sense understandings of the visual attributes tied to race categories. The call-taker employed a diverse array of linguistic strategies to broach discussions on racial categories. These linguistic strategies highlighted the necessity for a careful and deliberate approach when inquiring about race, orientating to race as a sensitive and delicate topic of discussion. Furthermore, a notable deviant case is presented wherein the description of the person differed from other calls that included race as a pertinent descriptor within the series of person descriptions, to demonstrate how certain race categories can be treated as relevant and identifiable compared to others. My thesis findings bear academic significance, as they contribute to the limited body of literature addressing racial relevance in emergency services and offer empirical implications and practical applications for improving the responsiveness of these crucial services.