Police Subculture Essay

The police officer’s requirement to enforce morality laws such as traffic laws usually leads to citizens denying his authority and raising his threat level (Skolnick, p.4). Skolnick states, “The kind of man who responds well to danger, however, does not normally prescribe to the codes of puritanical morality.” Because of this, many people view police officers at hypocrites, which gives the police community further reason to isolate as well as further reason to build strong rapport between themselves (Skolnick, p. 4). Skolnick points out that it appears that British police are better about following procedural guidelines than are American police, but that the reason is that they face less dangers than do the police officers of the United States, thus they are better at creating

“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.

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

The topic of police in general, and the brutal beatings, shootings, and arrests that have occurred over the past couple of years in the United States has hit the media full force, leaving many wondering what actions should be taken to keep the peace. Many question the system as a whole, and the training police officers receive, as well as their mental health. Across the borders, police are trained differently and follow various policies that may seem ridiculous or foreign, however, when comparing and contrasting two police systems, the similarities may be alarming, and the differences may be great, but knowing the strengths and weakness of each different system, can help towards progressing to have a better system and better training for police officers.

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

From a police standpoint and societal stand point, police deviance includes many different activities that are inconsistent with social norms. Some social norms that people feel that the police should abide by are simply following the code for ethics. The code for ethics helps people with the understanding of decision making skills, which may appear to be right and wrong, based on their own decisions as a police officer. Police deviance can take place all

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).

Police “officers work and live in a constantly changing environment in which they are exposed to a myriad of ethical conflicts. When either unprepared or unaware, police officers are more likely to “go with the flow” than they would be if they were adequately prepared to face potentially ethical risks.” (Gilmartin & Harris, 1998) Most ethical violations are committed because the officer is exposed to a situation in which he was inadequately prepared. The lack of time to think about the situation before committing an ethical violation has detrimental life changing consequences. Police work can be very exciting and very rewarding but if not properly prepared and trained an officer can easily find himself involved in an ethical violation. Understanding the issues and being mentally prepared will help police officers become more responsible and make better

Although, a small percentage of officer keep their common sense and independent decision making skills in their job performance; to avoid becoming an outcast officers adhere to the “code of silence” out of survival. In many cases, retaliation is not an option for officers because this is their lively hood for their

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

Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2014). Policing in america (8th ed.). (S. Decker-Lucke, Ed.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Anderson Publishing. Retrieved January 2017

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

Police forces or Law enforcers have been used for centuries all around the world but America took particular interest in the English’s policing system. America’s policing ideas and process began

Some argue that corrupt police officers are simply the product of a corrupt culture of the agency they work for. These officers are socially introduced to a number of informal rules when they begin employment. This process and these rules serve two main purposes. First, this process is designed to minimize the chances of external or internal controls being mobilized to address the behaviors and, secondly, to keep corrupt activities at a level that is acceptable and likely undetectable. The rule most often referred to in this connection, is the “Code of Silence.” Officers are socialized into not cooperating with investigations regarding fellow officers. Whether or not the officer participates in corrupt activities for financial gain, an officer’s adherence to the “Code of Silence” places them squarely amongst the corrupt of the profession (Price, 1972).

Deviance, as it pertains to this theory involves behaviors that violate the socially accepted norms of law enforcement, civil rights, and social norms. Conformity is considered the social construction many of us consider normal. Without a basis of conformity, our behaviors would direct our deviant behaviors. Many organizations develop policies practices, and laws based from on codified acts of deviance. Further, criminal justice agencies develop codes of ethics or standards of what is acceptable practices.