Situational Disparities And Individual Officers Thought Processes

In dealing largely with disorderly elements of the society, some people working in law enforcement may gradually develop an attitude or sense of authority over society, particularly under traditional reaction-based policing models; in some cases the police believe that they are above the law. In other cases, police corruption and misconduct may be explained by individuals and individual faults- behavioral, psychological, background factors, and so on.

This essay discusses the effects of the police organizational culture on a Police officer’s ability to make independent decisions.

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

The way in which a police officer reacts to a situation relies on the characteristics of the suspect and location, and the personal beliefs of the police officer. The characteristics of a suspect include the individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, economic status, and behavior. These aspects play a single role in a law enforcement officer’s behavior under a nerve-wracking situation. People will argue that an officer judging by a suspect’s characteristics is sexist, racist, etc., but, truth is, everyone judges by

. . the dominant position of men and the subordinate position of women” (Rabe-Hemp 94). As policewomen tend toward their stereotypes, they strengthen the patriarchal organization of the police subculture: the practice of females assuming “roles that male officers have historically not defined as ‘real police work’ . . . devalue[es] the tasks female officers engage in” (Rabe-Hemp 97). Conversely, “women who dare to challenge these roles are isolated [and] harassed” (Rabe-Hemp 94). Therefore, the police subculture strengthens the differences between male and female police officers that society has pre-established through gendered stereotypes. These findings can be viewed from an individualist perspective as opposed to an organizational perspective because the police officers were exposed to these stereotypes as they grew up, long before they began training. Although the police subculture does make it more difficult to break out of these sex-based stereotypes, these stereotypes do not originate from the subculture itself; as a result, the organization has less of an influence on worker performance than the individual’s

Police behavior plays a gigantic role in whether or not an officer will be willing to use excessive force against a suspect such as their background, training, morals, and composer in stressful situations. In Worden’s article he explains three theories about police behavior that comprise of existing research on police behavior and they’re training. These are sociological, psychological, and organizational theory. He explains sociological theory as the premise that police behavior is

Police officers in a crime prone region and in areas with extreme rowdy criminal behavior may develop some degree of dislike for the law breakers and their approach to dealing with the criminals may be brutal. In such situations, the police officers enforcing law and order act based on their emotions rather than their professional expectations.

As a police officer, the major objectives are to maintain order, enforce the law, protect one’s property, and to save lives. In addition, police are divided into two roles based on how they perform their duties. The two roles of a police officer are a public servant and a crime fighter. A police officer whose role as a public servant is to serve all types of people, as well as criminals. Public servants regularly provide advice and make judgments as to the degree of risk they should take with the public. Many decisions involving risk are relatively easy to make, but others are complex and significant consequences (Kernaghan and Langford, 2016). These risks may involve using force and the consequences could be media backlash or a potential termination. Public servants abide by the oath and uphold the integrity and honor of the organization as an officer. Also, public servant officers like to play it safe because they like to be known as ordinary citizens who like to go home to their

Special units in police forces are essential to the function of any organization, however some of these special units might evolve into feeling superior to the rest of the agency. The mentality of doing it their own way sets in and more likely than not this behavior is not cohesive with the policies and procedures in place by the agency. Unfortunately, this attitude develops from not being checked, and leads to the unit feeling as though they are untouchable. When not having checks and balances

The study shows, “This shift in discourse has been motivated by two factors—first, the recognition by public officials that increases in the professionalism of the police and dramatic declines in the rate of crime have not led to increases in police legitimacy, and second, greater awareness of the limits of the dominant coercive model of policing and of the benefits of an alternative and more consensual model based on public trust and confidence in the police and legal system.” Tyler, Tom R., et al. "The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States." Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 16, no. 3, Dec. 2015, pp. 75-109. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1529100615617791. There are also statements of how a police officer’s behavior has effects on the community and how the perceive the

The history of policing can be traced back to the beginning of time. When looking at the subject of police work there is a large culture and history that follows along with it. There are many topics that can be analyzed when identifying, and describing the elements and the significances that are associated with policing. A large element of the police job that plays a large factor in the work and attributes to the policing culture is the amount of stress that an office will face while performing on the job. Another part of the job that plays a large part in the culture

Although officer are only human, they are the role-model of society held to the highest of standards due to the very nature of the political and social force of legal authority placed upon them as public servant. Therefore, any situation surrounding one officer’s abuse of authority for personal gain, criminal conduct, dishonesty, excessive force, and discriminatory practices often diminishes the public’s trust and support needed to maintain and enhance public safety. In the past, agencies recognized patterns of unethical issues stemming from the basis of officer recruitment that focused more upon physical abilities instead of the need for diversity, training, and educational values to support a higher level of professionalism (Ortmeier, 2/1/2009, p. 82). While the professionalization of the law enforcement subculture is highly recognized today as an important value in promoting better police conduct and accountability, misconduct still exists in some areas of the law enforcement subculture.

Role schema, which is the cognitive structure that organizes one’s knowledge about appropriate behaviors, tells the audience that the police officer initial purpose was to help Chris and Rose. The role and expectations associated with these categories are commonly referred to as stereotypes – mental representations of social groups and their members that are widely shared. (Hamilton & Sherman, 1994; Macrae, Stangor & Hewstone, 1996; and Stangor & Lange, 1994). Expectations from our memory tell us how police officers are to act through real life situations we experience and from what we are taught. We then make inferences and judge whether the officer is acting “correct” based upon these experiences and teachings. The term ‘correct’ is subjective, and define differently from out group members to stigmatized group members. Police officers’ purpose is to protect and serve civilians; however, social expectation theory challenges the role schema of police.

Initially formulated by criminologists such as Travis Hirschi and Walter Reckless in the late 1960’s, control theories suggest that people instinctively refrain from deviant and criminal behaviour because of different diverse reasons that control their impulses to break social norms. Reckless categorised these factors as either internal or external controls; the former refers to personal motives such as conscience, values, morality and integrity whereas outer control is concerned with stigma and physical reputation such as the police, family, friends and religious authorities. With this outline being used as a basis, other sociologists have developed upon these ideas over time creating a diverse understanding of what the control theory is.

Societal reactions.Social control agencies responses towards the deviant, greatly affect deviance outcomes. Instead of minimising deviance the police can cause deviance to be amplified. (Marshall,