Personal Narrative: True Believers

In “A Sketch of the Policeman’s Working Personality,” Jerome Skolnick discusses and analyzes how a police officer’s personal outlook is affected by his or her involvement in police work, creating an “us versus them” mind-set, as well as the frequent inability to “turn off” the police mentality outside of a work environment. While he states that a person’s work has an impact on his or her outlook of the world according to a recurring theme in the sociology of occupations, police work has a particularly strong impact on those cognitive lenses (Skolnick, 1966, p. 2). Because of the nature of their job, police have a tendency to look at the world in a way that makes it

In this paper I will discuss the history of the NYPD Corruption. I will address the founding of the department in 1845 and a few early scandals. The New York City Police Department officially is the largest municipal police force in the United States Established in 1845, the agency has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City.The NYPD is one of the oldest police departments established in the U.S tracing its roots back to the seventeenth century. The NYPD has specialized services, including the Emergency Service Unit, K9, harbor patrol, air support, bomb disposal, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-gang, anti-organized crime, narcotics, public transportation and public

In order to apply the understandings of Industrial and Organization Psychology within the workplace, I interviewed retired police officer Jasmine Bird and her position in the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) as an officer of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). She was chosen for the interview because she is a 15 year veteran with massive experience within the department. The NYPD is the biggest department in the country with over 35 thousand officers. Officers are trained paramilitary, meaning they adhere to the rules and regulations as that of the military. They are trained in all aspects such as combat, shooting, verbal judo, sensitivity training and operating weapons of mass destruction. Within the first years on the job, you start

The Philadelphia Police Department faced many issues due to Prohibition, not only within the city of Philadelphia but also within the Police Department itself. During Prohibition, Police Officers were considered such a necessity that the Police Academy was shut down by the director of public safety in order to get more law enforcement out on the streets. Following the issues regarding Prohibition, corruption was common and members of the Police Department were held accountable for their actions. Just as corruption was common, as was a notable issue of racism between the citizens and officers. Many made known the fact that the Police Department was primarily a ‘white-male institution.’ Throughout the many problems the Philadelphia Police Department faced, it continually served to be the law enforcement of the city of Philadelphia.

First, between 1890 and 1930, the management of the police force was centralized. Virtually every decision had to go to the top for approval, with the goal of limiting the low-level officer’s exposure to temptation. To reinforce the hierarchy, specialized units were created to deal with such problems as drugs, youth, guns, and gangs. As Bratton described it, [The department] was divided into little fiefdoms, and some bureau chiefs didn’t even talk to each other…. Each bureau was like a silo: Information entered at the bottom and had to be delivered up the chain of command from one level to another until it reached the chief’s office.

Police “working personality” is limited by an unquestionable tacit within the police subculture, surrounded by shifting perceptions, depending on the situation.

On December 16, 2013, LVMPD Dispatch received calls from witnesses. One witness stated it appeared woman was being kidnapped, the second witness conveyed they had seen a male and a female arguing, matching the description of the first caller. Officers were dispatched to the area and made contact with the witnesses. The first witnesses stated the female was only wearing a bra and a male, later identified as Evans Tutt, the defendant was physically putting the female into the car. The second witness stated the female was “jumping” out of the vehicle and was bleeding from the face. One of the witnesses was able to provide the license plate number of the vehicle.

Naraidu ascended to the NYPD in 1990, an organization he distinguishes as “very structural with lots of history where policing was nothing new and no days were alike.” The institutional weight molded his conscientious bold charisma, “people looked up to you being part of such a prestigious organization, it raised the challenge for my lifestyle.”

On November 3, 2007, a crime was committed in Hapeville, Georgia. A mother and her son heard a commotion outside their residence house. When mother discover a man sitting inside her orange and white truck, the man threated her at gunpoint with a pistol. The female victim was told to go back inside her property. Female victim son called the police immediately to notify them of situation. Hapeville Police Department officers were dispatched to the home. A Hapeville officer on duty spotted the stolen truck less than a half mile from the location vehicle was taken from. The officer pursue the truck, and the thief exit the vehicle and started running. However, despite the fact that Atlanta Police helicopters were used in the search to cover more range, officers failed to apprehend the suspect. According to one officer’s official report, “Officers have not currently located

Corruption within the New York Police Department is a quickly growing phenomenon; to an extent, this is largely due to the cop culture that encourages silence and draws the line at honesty. The good, honest officers are afraid to speak up against co-workers and in the process become corrupt themselves. When police departments were first established in the mid-nineteenth century, corruption quickly followed suit. It began with minor acts of misconduct and today deals with serious criminal activities. Scholars have noted that there is a strong correlation between the officers taking part in corrupt acts and officers wanting to fit in with the culture. In this paper, I argue that the deeper an officer in the New York police department gets into the police culture, the more likely it is that they become involved in narcotic corruption

A 2010 article in the journal American Criminal Law Review found numerous instances of police officers making statements—even under oath—which video evidence later revealed to be false. The article claims our legal system views police officers as “impartial fact gatherers … rather than biased advocates attempting to disprove innocence, which is the reality.”

First of all, it is important that the officers provide documented evidence that the criminal informant used, who provided the tip, is reliable. The entire case they are building is solely based on his tip, without any type of evidence.

As I watched the show COPS, I came across a couple cases that were interesting to hear. In Kansas City, a White male around the age of 30-35 years old ran from the law. The suspect was driving a blue four door pick up truck. At first the officers suspected the vehicle was stolen, they later came to a realization that the suspect had a clean record and the car the suspect was in was not stolen. They chased him down for thirty minutes, he finally pulled over his vehicle and ran into the woods. The cops called for backup and K9 dogs, when the dogs arrived they found the man hiding in the woods. The dog attacked the man to the floor while the cops told the suspect to put his hands behind his back. The suspect told the officers he thought that

Police officers spend most of their time on duty around other officers. Overtime a subculture can form in response to constant exposure to each other. Police subculture consists of a combination of shared norms, values, goals, career patterns, lifestyles, and occupational structures (Dempsey and Forst, date). It is noted that traits exist in this subculture, such as clannishness, secrecy, honor, loyalty, individuality, and isolation from the public (Dempsey and Forst,). In correlation to the Michael Dowd case, police officers assigned to the seven five precinct formed their own secret group, where loyalty was expected. For instance, Dowd entrusted other NYPD officers to help him engage

Last but not least, personally for me, belief is believing who you are. When I was in middle school. I was a girl who extremely lack of confidence, trying my best to avoid others’ attention. I felt my body shape was embarrassing. Therefore, I put on a jacket and wore a long pants every single day, even in forty Celsius degree hot summer. Even though everyone around me, my family and friends, were convincing me to take the clothes off to myself more comfortable, I was as firm as a marble, refusing to get any advise. However, the night before I was going to graduate from high school, I was in my bed, picturing my future and thinking who I am. I told the story to my roommate. Without saying any words, she got off her bed and brought me to the