Communicating rights: the language of arrest and detention

Organisations which act on behalf of society are expected to act fairly, explaining themselves and their procedures to people they encounter. For the police, explanation is routine and repetitive. It is also extremely powerful. Rights Communication provides an unusual opportunity to observe different speakers and writers explaining the same texts in their own words in British police stations. Data analyses cast explanation not as a skill but a technology, a rich resource for making meaning, representing identities and organising social participation.