Law Enforcement Officers : Working Personality Essay

There are twelve qualities that Dennis Nowicki believed that are authoritative for entry-level police officers: “Enthusiasm, Good communication skills, Good judgement, Sense of humor, Creativity, Self-motivation, Knowing the job and the system, Ego, Courage, Discretion, Tenacity, and Thirst for knowledge” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137-138). First, enthusiasm is mostly about having faith “in what one is doing and going about even routine duties with a certain vigor that is almost contagious” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137). Second, having good communication skills is “having a highly developed speaking and listening skill that helps interacting equally well with a wealthy person or someone lower on the socioeconomic ladder” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137). Third, good judgement

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.

Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement by Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. is a book that seeks to inform and instruct those seeking to be in law enforcement, law enforcement professionals and their families of the realities of a career in law enforcement- professionally and personally. And how to best prepare for emotional survival of “on-duty and off-duty” life. It also compares and contrasts what happens to officers at the beginning of this journey and what typical happens to officers overtime; focusing mainly on what happens to officers that don’t know the techniques of emotional survival. Though it

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

“Somebody didn’t sleep through ethics training” (Ayer and Fuqua, 2001). This statement made by an officer in the movie Training Day, best exemplifies a major theme of the movie. Training Day should be shown to rookie officers as an example of how a police subculture can allow officers to abuse power. The movie is an over exaggeration, but provides depth and detail into certain situations officers may find themselves in. This paper will look at the specific concepts of a police subculture that officers may encounter.

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

New officers need to know that no profession demands a higher ethical standard than law enforcement. Whether or not there are other careers that require a similar dedication to doing the right thing, it is undeniable that there is a tremendous degree of expectations placed upon police officers. Every officer knows, or at least should know by now, that they live in a fishbowl. Friends, relatives, neighbors and strangers watch every move law enforcement officers make, both on and off duty. The fact is that the public scrutinizes police officers more than most other professions, either because they are cynical or hope to catch them screwing up or because they are hopeful

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

Law enforcement officers have a different lifestyle than other careers also. The lifestyle of a LEO involves their fellow LEO’s and their families, outside of work. A police officer works long and difficult hours. Making arrests and dealing with the public making bad decisions, takes its toll on the LEO. The person becomes more aware of what is happening in neighborhoods. The LEO knows different people that have previously been arrested. Because of their knowledge, a police LEO has a hard

Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with

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).

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

Stress is a term used by many, is somewhat misunderstood, and often used to describe a negative condition or emotional state. People experience various forms of stress at home, work, in social settings, and when engaged in activities to simply have fun, such as playing sports. Police officers experience stress the same as others, but also in ways much different than the average citizen. The dangers, violence, and tragedy seen by officers result in added levels of stress not experienced by the general population.

Gathering data and researching material is very important within the criminal justice system. No matter what profession one may have within the judicial system, researching information is something that has to be done at one time or another. Within this paper I plan on discussing what I’ve learned about research for criminal justice and its criteria. Emphases of this paper are to give some informational data on police officers and why they choose protecting the community a profession.