Training Day: Police Subculture

Alonzo says that he would have Jake’s blood falsified in exchange for Jake’s cooperation. Jake has to agree at this point. Alonzo again urges Jake to drop his naïve view of police work. Alonzo abuses his “authority, power, persuasion, and force” (187, Pollack) throughout this entire film.

The movie Training Day presents various scenarios of ethical issues and dilemmas. Denzel Washington plays the role of crooked undercover narcotics detective Alonzo Harris, while Ethan Hawke plays new recruit officer Jake Hoyt, who is fighting to do the right thing. Detective Harris believes in street justice while Hoyt disapproves. He exposes officer Hoyt to many situations where he has to decide if he wants to be a part of the team or stand up for justice. Officer Hoyt will have to use his morals and ethical judgment to help him battle through training day.

Serpico testified against fellow police officers, breaking the “blue code of silence”, which is an unwritten rule among police officers not to report fellow officer wrongdoings, to the Knapp Commission on May 10, 1971. "I hope that police officers in the future will not experience the same frustration and anxiety that I was subjected to for the past five years at the hands of my superiors because of my attempt to report corruption. We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around. The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which honest

Lack of training and policing standards are closely linked to the myriad problems bedeviling police work, especially in small departments (Brodeur, 2010). All over the country, police departments report cases of officers being caught in uncompromising and unprofessional situations, resulting in disciplinary actions such as redeployment, suspension or sacking. These cases of unprofessionalism have led to questions being asked about policing, occasioned by recurring series of questionable and controversial encounters with police officers (Brodeur, 2010). The consequence of such encounters is increasing public distrust in law enforcement agencies.

The composition by recruiting officers is to manufacture loyalty and conformity by implying the craving to seek approval during training and later by experienced officers during their career. Leading officers frequently influence new recruits by their unethical behavior and poor decisions making. Many officers are aware of the wrong behaviors, while others justify their actions by the principles “us versus evil” that “justifies all that police do to control their turf, including righteous abuse of suspects and malcontents” (Crank, 1998). Most officers will follow their footsteps out of fear, rejection, and becoming cut off from the organization.

Among police, there are stark differences between male and female officers. Cara E. Rabe-Hemp researched these sex differences by conducting a series of interviews with policewomen. These interviews reveal how policewomen cope with the seemingly impossible task to find a balance between feminine values that they were raised to uphold and masculine values that their male-dominated field demands. According to the individual perspective, employees’ performance is more shaped by their unique personal experiences as opposed to standardized formal training (Britt 185). Since neither police officers’ formal training nor their subculture reduce or eliminate the differences between policemen and policewomen, sex differences have a much more significant

To begin we need to understand the police subculture that is involved throughout the events of Training Day. To do this we look at the characters involved. Jake Hoyt is an officer that is attempting to join the narcotics division of his police service. Throughout the beginning of the movie he is interested in establishing a relationship with his new

In the article, “Police Academy Socialization: Understanding the Lessons Learned in a Paramilitary Bureaucratic Organization”, Chappell and Lanza-Kaduce discuss the positive and negative effects that occur with type of recruit training, as well as, the outcomes of transitioning towards community policing training. The paramilitary structure entails hard physical training, performing under stress, defense tactics, the use of force, and mastering weapons skills. This paramilitary form of training focuses on being “able to mold them to accept the organizational culture”, drilling recruits on the basics, while preparing them for the demandingness of the job (Chappell, 189). There are numerous pros, which include a prominent chain of command, understanding

Police Officer, also commonly known as policewoman, police agent, or police employee is a warranted law employee of a police force by definition. Their main duties are to protect and serve the United States. They keep their streets safe and enforce the rules to keep our country under control. Police officers work under a department or a city. The ranks that police officers can be very between places. In a city the ranks can be; Chief of Police, Deputy or assistant chief, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Commander, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, inspector, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant, Corporal, Master police officer, police officer, Trooper, Detective, Recruit, Cadet, Trainee, or Probationary officer. Frank's can be skipped or emitted and structure is often determined by individual municipalities. State and local law enforcement agencies employed more than 1.1 million people on a full-time basis including about 765,000 sworn personnel back in 2008. In 1838 the city of Boston established the first American Police Force followed by New York City and 1845 Albany New York and Chicago in 1851.

Each year citizens die in encounters with law enforcement officers. It is reported that “Americans are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist” (Rucke, 2013). Although there is no official data base tracking these occurrences it is estimated that between 500 and a 1,000 people are killed by police officers each year. To put this in greater perspective this number equals approximately 5,000 since the 9/11 terror attack which is roughly the same number as U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq (Rucke, 2013). This statistic is justifiably concerning. The cause of police related killings are multifold and cannot be attributed to only one factor. Many deaths may be unavoidable and perhaps, dependent on the situation, necessary. I contend, however, that many of these deaths may very well be preventable.

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

In the beginning of the movie, Jake Hoyt is introduced to the audience with his wife and 9-month-old daughter. Hoyt is told over the phone by Alonzo Harris, the 13 year veteran narcotic agent to not follow department rules and go to roll call but to meet in at a certain location. Jake being the well-mannered person he is follows the agent who he will be training him, his orders. The initial meeting with Alonzo and Jake is very upfront. Alonzo quickly shows sign of disrespect by cutting Jake off while speaking saying things to make Jake feel uncomfortable. However, Jake being unsure of how the day will pan out he continues with his day of training.

Alonzo is by no means a soft hearted police officer, feared by the neighborhood in which he lives, officer Harris is known to have the power to bring down anyone who opposes him. At one point, he enters a private resident using a Chinese menu as a ploy for a fake warrant, steals what he knows is drug money. All this in order to pay off city officials to get a warrant on a large drug distributor he had

Throughout history laws and regulations have formed for society to abide by to avoid a world full of absolute chaos. Ultimately leading to the creation of police officers who would enforce these laws and regulations. However, this is one of the world’s most dangerous and stressful professions. Mainly because police officers are expected to put their lives on the line every single day to protect and serve society. Even though this is the case, becoming a police officer has always been a goal of mine. Edward Conlon book called, “Blue Blood” provides amazing insight on what it’s like to be a police officer. This is because Edward Conlon was previously a police officer and based this book around his personal experiences while he was on the job. Since this book is based around first-hand experience and written as they were happening it made me enjoy the book even more. Mainly because these events weren 't over exaggerated. However, since the book is based around stories within stories, I sometimes found it difficult to follow. This book presented many examples of issues that the police face daily and showed that sometimes these issues aren’t easy to handle. Three specific issues that Edward Conlon faced as a police officer that relates to my issues in policing class is dealing with the mentally ill, using discretion, and police training.

When this loyalty to the subculture becomes too strong, the unity that follows can adversely affect the ethical values of the officers (Martin 2011). This type of work environment causes officers to feel like they are doing what is wanted by their organizations and the public and the officers may continue with the behavior because the pressure to produce results is greater than that to follow the rules. A law enforcement department might choose to punish an individual, but the fear of punishment usually is not enough to change unwanted behavior (Martin 2011).