Abstract
Based primarily on a paper presented at a 2023 conference in police studies, this chapter builds also on the extensive research concerning the complex relationships between humour and cruelty conducted in 2019-2023 by its author and by Prof Ársæll Már Arnarsson, i.e., the multi-volume project entitled Humour and Cruelty published by De Gruyter. The chapter's aim is to illustrate and evince thought-provoking insights from the recurrent and characteristic encounters of police officers with cruelties of the worst kind, not least deadly ones involving innocent victims. As the reader is going to gather, despite the mournful and morbid connotations of these encounters, humour has regularly been recorded as an effective means of coping with such horrors. Thus, the experiences and evidence provided by police studies corroborate one of the key 'competitors' as regards comprehensive theories of laughter and humour, i.e., the theory of relief.
| Original language | American English |
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| Title of host publication | Death and Anti-Death. Volume 21. |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2024 |