NCJ Number
72896
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1980) Pages: 10-14
Date Published
1980
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The commonly accepted hierarchy of police values which place protection of life first and obtaining praise last is often upset by administrative conflicts, officers' personal values, and changing values in society.
Abstract
A commonly accepted hierarchy of police values, culled from an analysis of police examinations, covers nearly all situations: (1) saving or protecting life and limb, (2) orders in an emergency, (3) protection of property, (4) routine orders, (5) maintaining one's role, (6) efficiency, and (7) praise or criticism. However, errors in police decisionmaking often indicate the existence of a value system different from the above. Moreover, changes in society's value system causes conflicts for the police. For example, since society now values psychological well-being, police must take psychological factors into account when making decisions. Administrative procedures may also conflict with police values in that penalizing patrolmen for leaving their beat, for example, may discourage them from responding to citizens in trouble. Although administrative values, (i.e., obtaining praise and avoiding criticism), are lowest in the hierarchy, administrative reward and punishment systems often greatly affect the police officer. Thus, police agencies are often criticized for being efficient but not effective. Personal values of police officers, the media, and how the police role is defined also encourage or discourage proper police values. Nontheless, persons from police families are most likely to have personal values corresponding with proper police values, although selecting too many of them as officers leads to a police force isolated from society's values. One reference is provided.