NCJ Number
25799
Date Published
1972
Length
20 pages
Annotation
THE POLICEMAN'S COGNITIVE PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD ARE INFLUENCED BY TWO IMPORTANT VARIABLES - DANGER AND AUTHORITY - WHICH DIFFERENTIATE HIM AND HIS PERCEPTIONS FROM SOCIETY AND ITS 'NORMAL' WAY OF WORKING AT THINGS.
Abstract
THE AUTHOR EXPLAINS HOW THE HYPOTHESIS EMPHASIZING THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE POLICEMAN'S 'WORKING PERSONALITY' IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE IDEA THAT POLICE DIVISION OF LABOR IS AN IMPORTANT ANALYTIC DIMENSION FOR UNDERSTANDING OPERATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. THE PROCESS BY WHICH THIS 'PERSONALITY' IS DEVELOPED MAY BE SUMMARIZED: THE POLICEMAN'S ROLE CONTAINS TWO PRINCIPAL VARIABLES, DANGER AND AUTHORITY, WHICH SHOULD BE INTERPRETED IN THE LIGHT OF A 'CONSTANT' PRESSURE TO APPEAR EFFICIENT. THE ELEMENT OF DANGER SEEMS TO MAKE THE POLICEMAN ESPECIALLY ATTENTIVE TO SIGNS INDICATING A POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE AND LAWBREAKING. AS A RESULT, THE POLICEMAN IS GENERALLY A 'SUSPICIOUS' PERSON. FURTHERMORE, THE CHARACTER OF THE POLICEMAN'S WORK MAKES HIM LESS DESIRABLE AS A FRIEND, SINCE NORMS OF FRIENDSHIP IMPLICATE OTHERS IN HIS WORK. ACCORDINGLY, THE ELEMENT OF DANGER ISOLATES THE POLICEMAN SOCIALLY FROM THAT SEGMENT OF THE CITZENRY WHICH HE REGARDS AS SYMBOLICALLY DANGEROUS AND ALSO FROM THE CONVENTIONAL CITIZENRY WITH WHOM HE IDENTIFIES. THE ELEMENT OF AUTHORITY REINFORCES THE ELEMENT OF DANGER IN ISOLATING THE POLICEMAN. TYPICALLY, THE POLICEMAN IS REQUIRED TO ENFORCE LAWS REPRESENTING PURITANICAL MORALITY, SUCH AS THOSE PROHIBITING DRUNKENNESS, AND ALSO LAWS REGULATING THE FLOW OF PUBLIC ACTIVITY, SUCH AS TRAFFIC LAWS. IN THESE SITUATIONS THE POLICEMAN DIRECTS THE CITIZENRY, WHOSE TYPICAL RESPONSE DENIES RECOGNITION OF HIS AUTHORITY, AND STESSES HIS OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO DANGER. THE KIND OF MAN WHO RESPONDS WELL TO DANGER, HOWEVER, DOES NOT NORMALLY SUBSCRIBE TO CODES OF PURITANICAL MORALITY. AS A RESULT, THE POLICEMAN IS UNUSUALLY LIABLE TO THE CHARGE OF HYPOCRISY. THAT THE WHOLE CIVILIAN WORLD IS AN AUDIENCE FOR THE POLICEMAN FURTHER PROMOTES POLICE ISOLATION AND, IN CONSEQUENCE, SOLIDARITY. FINALLY, DANGER UNDERMINES THE JUDICIOUS USE OF AUTHORITY. WHERE DANGER IS RELATIVELY LESS, THE JUDICIOUS APPLICATION OF AUTHORITY IS FACILITATED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)