NCJ Number
85566
Date Published
1981
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The Canadian article examines police use of social rules in the context of their organizational activity to explore why an officer would be judged deviant.
Abstract
Police officers operate with several sets of rules (departmental, criminal law, etc.) from different sources. They can bend these rules and use them for deviance only if they do so in accordance with the organization's 'appearance code.' If they violate this code, the administration can apply an array of disciplinary rules against them in the same selective way that they use laws against citizens. Police remain committed to keeping up appearances because they eventually hope to be promoted or selected for some special duty. This situation creates organizational hypocrisy and makes police secretive, cautious, suspicious, and conservative. Further research on deviant rules and possible changes to them is needed before it can be decided what particular rules might be deviant in what circumstances and what changes might be necessary in the reallocation of discretion within the criminal process and society at large. Notes and about 70 references are supplied.