The Police Subculture - Research Paper Example

? Police Operations This research presents a well expanded model of acculturation amid old and new environments by the new police officers. Accordingly, this study demonstrates certain models of the acculturation process which have facilitated to discover a number of findings. Notably, the findings obtained through the study advocates that the acculturation process is the conversion technique which helps people to change their own culture or behavior and adopt the new culture. In this regard, different law enforcement agencies help in order to make the process conversant for the new police officers. Introduction ‘Acculturation’, as a term, is commonly utilized in the discussions which surround refugees and immigrants, focusing on the cultural changes needed to be made in the behavioral traits of the immigrant groups to get imbibed in their host nation’s culture. To be noted, the present acculturation technique is used in the various organizational departments such as fire and police departments. In the year 2004, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) defined acculturation as “the progressive adoption of elements of a foreign culture (ideas, words, values, norms, behavior, institutions) by persons, groups or classes of a given culture” (Sam & Berry, n.d, p.11). In recent times, acculturation has often been regarded as an important and well organized area of study. Acculturation is a kind of dual process of psychological and cultural changes that take place as an outcome of contact among two or more diverse cultural groups and their respective individual members. The conventional definition of acculturation was offered by Redfield, Linton and Herskovits as “acculturation comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups” (Berry, 1997, p.5). In this present context, the notion of acculturation has eventually turned out to be broadly used in the cross-cultural psychology studies, principally as a subject of condemnation. It is fundamentally because of the steady erosion of the original meaning of the idea, so that it has become synonymous to assimilation. With the process of acculturation, police officers will be benefitted by the adaptation of the behavioral patterns of the surroundings (Berry, 1997; Berry, 2005). The new police officers also develop the manner of acculturation which allows them to work in the new environments. Police officers mainly deal with the dimension of criminology, which needs intense pressure handling ability along with logical thinking which can be quite difficult for the new entrants or new officers. Correspondingly, this process of acculturation has been introduced so that new police officers can get habituated to work in the new environment. This research study deals with the way of applying acculturate to the new police officers. In this study comments on present research, subculture of policing along with the consistent cultures that most law enforcement agencies possess, based on critical explanations (Berry, 1997). In the earlier period, acculturation was viewed as a process of change, leading to certain specific outcomes. Originally, acculturation was conceptualized mostly as a linear and uni-dimensional procedure with the practice occurring on a continuum. Modified perspectives have enlarged the view of what the potential outcomes might entail. Instead of a single linear continuum, a multidimensional or multi-linear model focuses on an individual position on the both new as well as original cultures norms (Trinh, 2009). Acculturation Process A General Framework of Understanding Acculturation (Berry, 2005) New officers can never be acculturated with the lack of an appropriate process. According to the above framework, there are cultural acculturations in the group level and psychological acculturations in the individual level, which need to be satisfied by the police officers. For example, a group of newly appointed police officers first need to adopt the culture which will need certain changes to be imbibed in their psychology before they become fully habituated to the new environment. Emphasized on this aspect, the four fold model had been introduced to classify acculturation approaches on the basis of two dimensions. The first dimension deals with the denial or retention of a person’s native or minority culture; while, the second approach relates to the acceptance or the rejection of the dominant host or group culture. There are four common kinds of assimilation strategies such as assimilation, separation or rejection, integration and marginalization. In accordance with the study of assimilation by police officers, the professionals can adopt the cultural norms of a host or dominant culture, apart from their own culture. According to the second strategy of separation, the professionals need to discard the dominant or host culture in support of upholding its culture of origin. Likewise, integration strategy deals with the adaptation of the culture of the host or dominant country along with conserving or maintaining its own culture of origin. However, rejection of both the cultures happen in the assimilation strategy named marginalization. These are the most appropriate strategies needed to be applied to the police officers (Berry, 2005). Irrespective of these variations in factors bringing about acculturation, the conclusions derived advocate that the fundamental procedure of adaptation is mostly general for all the groups. What varies is the way of acculturation, the level of difficulty and to a certain degree, the ultimate result of acculturation. Additionally, the three factors of permanence, voluntariness and mobility, all contribute to this distinction (Berry, 2005). Acculturation Strategies (Berry, 1997) Acculturation decisions are quite dependent upon the psychological characteristics of the individuals and groups. According to the above figure replicating the acculturation strategies, there are two issues relating to the decisions of the participating groups. Issue 1 suggests that certain individuals maintain their own culture in this process; whereas according to the issue 2, one desires to maintain relationship with the wider society as it provides better value. Individual police officers & groups of them may hold varying attitudes toward these four ways of acculturating. Accordingly, their actual behaviors may differ correspondingly (Berry, 1997). A strategy can be taken to divide the entire group of police officers into two main groups; i.e. one group adopting the cultures of the larger group and another group maintaining their own traditions. Comments on Present Research Current debate in relation to the topic of acculturation serves great significance, as with the change in time, human psychology has also been changing, which further signifies the evaluation of the existing acculturation procedures. Acculturation is generally conducted through the intense training program. Current debates in the research of acceleration are greatly concerned with the special characteristics and nature of acculturation. Specifically, researchers of the acculturation process have initiated more innovative methods which can effectively assess the multifaceted and fluctuating nature of the construct. Along with this, researchers also believe that a greater attention needs to be rendered in respect of the environmental or contextual factors, which in turn is quite likely to greatly influence acculturation. It is generally defined as an active and multidimensional process of the cultural maintenance and accusation when dissimilar cultures obtain continued contact (Lorentzen, Gonzalez, Chun & Do, 2010). Cultural change is a vital as well as central element of the idea of acculturation. Definitions of acculturation continuously indicate the changes in the own culture which are outlined by the acculturating individuals. In recent times, acculturation research has diverted away from the prevailing unidirectional framework of change towards more nuanced concepts of multidimensional change, building orthogonal and bicultural styles. However, the underlying notion that acculturation is a prominent form of the social change, remains primary to all these approaches. In the early period of 20th century, the idea of acculturation was clearly conceived in terms of social appraisal. Accordingly, the acculturating individuals were understood to be moving from a prehistoric cultural orientation towards a more contemporary one (Hunt, Schneidera & Comerb, 2004). After analyzing the measurement as well as theoretical issues of recent acculturation research, Escobar and Vega (2000) stated that a new era of multiple inquiry was needed that would revisit fundamental assumptions about acculturation and rethink the operational concerns. Till the time, these assumptions would have the explanation of vital matters of acculturation. Escobar and Vega (2000) further suggested suspending judgments regarding the requirements entailing acculturation measurements in peer review based researches or presuming the values and implications of acculturation measures in the absence of a precise theoretical rationale for its embracement. It was also recommended that a utilitarian and pragmatic approach needs to be considered on the basis of the objective variables to be used either distinctly or in amalgamation and tested as early predictors of outcomes of the interest (Escobar and Vega, 2000). In this regard, Landrine and Klonoff (2004) depicted that the data on ethnic minority health and acculturation, points out that acculturation has reverse effects on the same health behavior among different ethnic groups; reverse effects on different health behaviors inside an ethnic group; contrary effects on the same health behavior for the man versus the women of the majority ethnic groups; and no effects whatsoever on some health behaviors for certain ethnic groups. Subculture of Policing No societal organization so critically associates government to the citizens like police. This arm of the government defends against disorders and preserves the rules related to law and due procedure in a democratic society. Policing, as a kind of institution, therefore replicates the feasibility and health of its societal fabric. An organized, ethically just, well-run and even-handed police department persistently dedicated to ensure excellence and provide quality service to the individuals it serves, contributing considerably to a location well represented by its respective government (Malmin, 2012). Policing naturally offers law enforcement employees the opportunity to either misrepresent or represent those ethics and values of the democratic government. How community perceives law enforcement’s performance, also serves as a measurement tool for a community’s sense of well-being and peace. Police subculture is an enormously vital concept in the description of police behaviors and attitudes. When poverty, political turmoil, social injustice and crime lead to social turbulence that challenge the extreme pillars of the democratic system, society asks the police to interfere to restore order, safeguard property and protect lives (Malmin, 2012). The following figure depicts different types of policing style and below mentioned explanation is taken into consideration regarding the policing subculture by a law enforcement agency such as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Police Styles Source: (Garner, n.d.). Historically, due to the implementation of the English policing system of vigilante, the US system has grown and is unhealthily considered by the limited authority (legitimacy problems), decentralization (local variation and control) and fragmentation (one hand is not concerned the matter of what the other is doing) (Garner, n.d.). Core Beliefs Police is the only genuine crime fighters Barely the police understands police Loyalty depicted to one another is supreme The "War on Crime" can solely be attained by mending some rules The public does not support the police Patrol work is like the lowest point whereas detective work is a glamorous one Source: (Garner, n.d.) The Police Personality Professionals in the police department possess the personalities such as authoritarian, dogmatic, suspicious, hostile, racist, conservative, insecure and cynical (Garner, n.d.). Characteristics Policing subcultures define the characteristics such as clannishness, cynicism, isolation from others and secrecy (Garner, n.d.). As policing subculture defines the above unique policies, characteristics and personalities of them, the incorporation of the notion of acculturation on police seems to be a complex task. It is in this context that new police officers need to embrace the above believes in them to accomplish the process of acculturation. There are different law enforcement agencies in the US such as The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency among others. Law Enforcement Subculture Law enforcement is general, but risky subculture poses one of the major risks to the wellness and health of its employees in the police departments of the US. This subculture leads police officers to believe that they require performing as though they can do deal with everything. It accentuates personal strength and freedom, which inspires employees to maintain a concealment of impregnability (Malmin, 2012). Training of New Recruited Police Personnel Officers grow to be indoctrinated into this subculture of policing and the accompanying mind-set previously in the careers of new police officers, typically during the field training program that they commence instantly after graduating from the police academy. The training that new recruits obtain in the academy, actually differs from what the police officers experience during the above mentioned field training. In the current prospects, instead of remaining inside a classroom or firing range, they are on the streets, learning to turn into independent and competent officers (Malmin, 2012). Thus, recruited officers receive lessons not from the classroom instructors but from the experienced officers also known as Field Training Officers (FTOs) who generally accompany them on their particular shifts. FTO in general provides on-the-job instructions to the newly recruited police officers. During the training period, new police officers get the exposures of the real life distressing police work (Malmin, 2012). Consistent Cultures Consistent cultures in the police department denote the prevailing working culture. It is worth mentioning that policing culture is quite tough, strict, complex and ruthless in nature. Certainly, for new police officers, it becomes quite challenging for them to get accustomed with the current facets of the police departments. For instance, police officers serve for the country. They accomplish a number of tasks which involve high risks. The concept of consistent cultures serves great importance because police officers have to work under the prevailing cultures of the police departments. To become accustomed with the prevailing cultures, different law enforcement agencies train polices officers. These training programs are conducted in various phrases including theoretical as well as field oriented sessions. As a consequence of the hard and often hazardous duties that police officers’ job role engages, the occupational pressure that officers face is cumulative consuming and debilitating. Yet, occasionally, law enforcement agencies offer only inadequate resources to help officers to deal with this distress. Worse still, organizations, such as Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) typically exhibit a strongly entrenched policing subculture that allows the need for such support deliberating that employees are its most valued resource; as such, officers need to merit all the aid and provision the agency can render them to uphold their wellness and health (Malmin, 2012). Conclusion Newly recruited police officers build up a conduct of behaving that allows them to operate in their newly emerged environment. This process is usually referred as acculturation. Acculturation mainly deals with the adaptation of the current cultures and the prevailing environment of the organization. Police services involve a range of disciplines around the cultures of the police department owing to which the concept becomes vital in this sector. When new police officers get recruited in the police department, they find a lot of difficulties in adopting the new culture as they seem to be accustomed with their old or inborn civil cultures. To diminish the difficulties in them, on field training programs are organized by the field training officers who help the new officers to adopt the policing cultures. Behavioral and cultural shifts also occur through these training programs. Correspondingly, different law enforcement agencies are there to assist the legal departments of a country. For example, FBI of the US also conducts various acculturation programs to train new officers in a more practical way so that the new officers get real life experiences. These training initiatives serve a major purpose to the police departments aiding the acculturation of police officers. A number of models have been determined that demonstrate the way in which acculturation actually works. There are a few law enforcement agencies such as U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms which continuously review the process of acculturation. Conclusively, it can be stated that acculturation not only helps individuals to adopt new cultures but it also facilitates the group of individuals and department as a whole. References Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 29, pp. 697-71. Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review 46 (1), pp.5-68. Escobar, J., & Vega, W. (2000). Mental health and immigration’s AAA’s: Where are we and where do we go from here? The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders 188, pp. 736–740. Garner, T. V. (n.d.). The police subculture. Retrieved from http://cstl-hhs.semo.edu/keena/police_subculture.htm Hunt, L. M., Schneidera, S., & Comerb, B. (2004). Should ‘‘acculturation’’ be a variable in health research? A critical review of research on us Hispanics. Social Science & Medicine 59, pp.973-986. Landrine, H. & Klonoff, E. A. (2004). Culture change and ethnic-minority health behavior: An operant theory of acculturation. Journal of behavior Medicine, 27, pp. 527-555. Lorentzen, L. A., Gonzalez, J. J., Chun, K. M., & Do, H. D. (2010). Religion at the corner of bliss and nirvana: politics, identity, and faith in new migrant communities. United States: Duke University Press. Malmin, M. (2012). Changing police subculture. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/april-2012/changing-police-subculture Sam. D. L., & Berry, J. W. (n.d.). The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Trinh, N. H. (2009). Handbook of mental health and acculturation in Asian American families. United States: Springer. Bibliography McIntosh, C. Y. (2008). Cross-cultural paradigm in psychology: the acculturation of Caribbean immigrants in Canada. United States: Proquest. Romero, H. R. (2009). Time perspective, acculturation, and psychological well-being in Mexican Americans. United States: Proquest. Read More