During the course of their lives, people take on various social positions: they may, for instance, be members of a family alongside being employees and, in their spare time, being members of a sports club. Different roles are linked to each of these functions, i.e. notions of expectations and appropriate behaviour. The various functions and corresponding roles give colour and depth to life: the life of a person in this regard is just as colourful as the striking skin of a chameleon. After all, a person is more than 'the son or daughter of so and so' and life would be monotonous if personal identity were only affected by a job or a hobby. But a varied life in which people take on various functions also generates tension because expectations of behaviour may clash, or even contradict one another. Individuals may find themselves in a tight spot because notions about loyalty in one's own family, for instance, may be at odds with the dedication and integrity that an employer relies on.

These are the kinds of dilemmas that this book is about. The central theme focuses on the involvement of police officers in honour-related cases. Involvement here does not refer to the work that police officers carry out in the context of investigations or law enforcement in such cases of violence. Here it concerns incidents in their private lives or at work: incidents that may lead to police officers themselves to become personally involved in an honour-related conflict as the suspect or victim, or in some other way. Book jacket.