NCJ Number
208829
Date Published
2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This chapter analyzes key elements of the police occupational milieu as they combine to produce distinctive cognitive and behavioral responses in police to constitute a "working personality."
Abstract
The police officer's role consists of two main variables, danger and authority, which exist within a constant pressure to appear efficient. The awareness of danger alerts the officer to signs of the potential for violence and lawbreaking, making the officer a generally "suspicious" person who looks for threats and deviousness in people and situations. This tends to isolate the police officer not only from those people he/she regards as potentially dangerous but also from law-abiding citizens. The element of authority reinforces the element of danger in isolating officers from civilians. The officer is required to enforce laws that regulate the behavior of citizens who may consider compliance with certain laws inconvenient and intrusive. Officers are thus responsible for controlling the behavior of reluctant citizens who resent their authority. Having the authority and responsibility for controlling the behavior of others according to the law, however, means that citizens are particularly upset when they believe that police have themselves violated the law, particularly when police overreact to perceptions of danger and use excessive force against a citizen. Overall, the police occupational milieu leads to social isolation with respect to civilians, both on and off the job. This social isolation combined with the constant pressure to meet the community's and agency's expectations of production and efficiency tends to mold a conservative "working personality" who is highly controlled and committed to preserving the status quo. 29 notes