Drawing on a Norwegian research project investigating the possible existence of police racism, this article explores challenges related to conducting research in such sensitive sites as the police with reference to methodological and institutional obstacles. The project featured participant observation, in-depth interviews with ethnic minority men, and in-depth interviews with police officers and lays the basis for a discussion of the diverging perspectives on police racism held by the police and by members of ethnic minorities. The degree to which research (...) on the police can reveal the ‘truth’ of policing and thereby contribute to changing police practice is problematised and questions are asked about the extent to which research can contribute to facilitating change within the police that might be of benefit to the relationship between the police and ethnic minorities. A key question raised is whether the existence of a specific police culture, featuring loyalty, a hierarchical organisational structure and the use of discretion may prevent such research methods from revealing ‘true’ data, as well as organisational change. A discussion of problem-oriented policing illustrates some of the obstacles to implementing changes. The article concludes that the police in Oslo do not demonstrate evidence of institutional racism though there is evidence of derogatory language use and stereotyping where ethnic minorities are stereotyped in homologous ways to other marginalised groups who come into contact with the police such as drug users. (shrink)

Norway has a highly developed welfare system with increasing provision of public childcare and a strong public normative emphasis on gender and social equality. Despite an 84 percent coverage in public childcare, au pair immigration has increased greatly in recent years, especially from the Philippines. This article addresses why Norwegian families choose to employ an au pair and their experiences with the arrangement. It especially focuses on the tension caused by employing domestic help in an egalitarian state. Focus is directed (...) on the context and rationale for au pair employment in Norway and the ways in which families legitimize au pair employment in a society where employing domestic help is generally unacceptable. Families do this by claiming to ‘not outsource care’, professionalizing the relationship, calling it ‘micro aid’ and emphasizing the fictive family relationship. The article concludes that au pair immigration serves to lower the threshold Norwegian families would otherwise have for employing domestic help and challenges Norwegian norms of social and gender equality. (shrink)