Police Subculture and Cops and Cop Critics - Essay Example

Police Subculture 2006 Introduction According to Brooker (2003), culture is understood as consisting of those shared assumptions which have an active, shaping influence upon ideas, attitudes, and experience. In this sense, culture is a signifying system which represents a 'whole way of life of a social group or whole society'. Speaking about uniforms, Fussell (2003) stays that it also set a certain structure and the way of thinking - police uniforms were designed to stand straight up in, not to be worn sitting down; they were designed for carrying out punishment or demeaning tasks. Police subculture is often portrayed as a pervasive, malign and potent influence on the behavior of officers. The working personality of the police is defined by the threat of danger and the need to establish and maintain one's authority. [Goldsmith, 1990] The culture of the police service is inculcated through the initial training process ('the planned efforts of the organisation to transform recruits into novice members' [Fielding, 1988; p. 1]) and consolidated through informal socialisation occurring in contact with existing members (Fielding, 1988). In essence socialisation represents the process of identity transformation (Fielding, 1988). This process of training and socialisation exposes informal rules of policing such as the code of silence and loyalty to fellow officers, but, nevertheless, there appear to be many extreme examples connected with the anti-social behaviour of policemen. They were noted, for instance, at Hendon Police Training Academy (Marzouk, 2004) where Commander Stephen Allen of the Metropolitan Police Diversity Directorate, confirmed a problem with racism and bullying within the centre. Proko & Padavic's (2002) notes about the service specifically embraces of gender equality. Fielding's research (1988) shows that the police practices are based on the grounds that 'whatever the police organization dishes out the public can exceed' (Fielding, 1988; p.68), thus, making a strong division between the police and the public, as 'us' and 'them'. The situation could have been changed since that time, but more recent researches have highlighted similar activities. [Archer, 1999] Cain (1973) points out that the role of police officer sets individuals apart from society and that it is difficult for them to manage non-police relationships which might be compromised by the requirements of the job or which, according to Stanley (2002), might compromise their job. Chan (1997) documents Australian police and offers new conceptualization of police culture. The author notes that policeminority relations have engaged substantially with reform, and 'the routine brutalism of the cops' seemed to signal not for the need for reform but its failure. She criticises their existing conceptualizations for 'their inability to account for differences in culture, their neglect of the active role played by officers in the reproduction or transformation of culture, their failure to situate police culture within the political and social context of policing, and their silence about the scope and possibility for cultural change' (Chan, 1997; p.12). Police officers working at the 'street' level function in a highly stressful and dangerous professional role. Numerous studies have examined whether police officers exhibit personality traits different from those of the general population (e.g., Carpenter & Raza, 1987; Fenster & Locke, 1973; Hanewicz, 1978; Lefkowitz, 1975; Sheppard, Bates, Fracchia, & Merlis, 1974; Simon, Wilde, & Cristal, 1973). Adlam (1982) concluded that the personality and social attitudes of police personnel change over time. Veteran police officers are more cynical, suspicious, and socially isolated than other people (e.g., Goolkasian, Geddes, & DeJong, 1985; Niederhoffer, 1967; Norvell & Belles, 1990; Skolnick, 1976). Officers are exposed to much more tragedy and human suffering over time than the vast majority of the general population. In addition, police officers become increasingly aware that many citizens feel uncomfortable interacting with them, even when they are off duty; some people actively dislike the police. [Newburn, 2005] Police subculture is often considered as both a cause of police deviance and an obstacle for police reform. It's important to note that the style of policing in any community is affected by a mixture of values and attitudes in the community, the philosophy that the police chief inspires in the police organization. [Wilson, 1978; Brown, 1981] Over the past 15 years the situation within police departments has changed - while white male officers continue to form the majority population, there also many women, Blacks, Hispanics and Orientals came onto police forces. Each group brings a variety of cultural traits, thus, forming the police sub-culture. [Haarr, 2001] Leadership is said to play a key role in defining the organizational culture. When values are not held and articulated by the command staff, officers on the streets are not likely to be influenced by them. [Greene, 1990; Alpert and Styles, 1992; p.189] This leadership provides a 'glue' to hold all parts together. Culture itself is defined as the unique whole-the shared ideas, customs, assumptions, expectation, philosophy, traditions, mores, and values-that determines how a group of people will behave. [O'Toole, 1995; p.71-72] That's why police subculture is sustained through the way new members are selected, trained, and accepted into the police ranks. Here much depends on the leader's activities, and inner philosophy of the department every cop is attached to. Training courses greatly form the mental structures of the hired ones - most of the courses tend to support the cultural notion of the dangerousness of police work. Such cases make them be suspicious of people. [Reuss-Ianni, 1984] A considerable amount of police researches over the past thirty years have viewed the tendency for police to become isolated from previous friends, the community, the legal system, even their families, which are perceived as the protection again real and perceived dangers, loss of personal and professional autonomy, and social rejection. [Drummond, 1976; Skolnick, 1966] Police outlook is formed by 'us-them' point of perceive, thus, increasing their isolation from the citizens. Harrison (1995) notes that police leadership can set the tone for openness and inclusion versus one of organizational isolation. One of the most police cultural values, suggested by Goldsmith (1990), is police solidarity. In an environment perceived as hostile and unpredictable, this police culture value offers police members reassurance that the other police officers will defend and assist their colleagues. [Goldsmith, 1990; p.93] The formed 'we-they' attitude among officers make them believe that any indiscretions on their part, such as drinking too much alcohol at a party, would be viewed by non-police as hypocritical. This tendency makes them more isolated, thus, forming a subculture, where they tend to socialize together and begin to count on each other for support. [Skolnick, 1996; p.102] Lanza-Kaduce and Greenleaf (2000) research resistance of citizens to the police and stayed that older white officers had fewer problems with resistance that young and non-white ones. Van Maanen, investigating police subculture, discusses in his work the great pains he went through to establish rapport with the police officers and become an 'insider'. In writing about his experiences, he chooses to focus on specific incidents that occurred during his stay. For example, he describes a case with two police officers who handled one disturbance call involving a black man who refused to leave a bar where he had been accused of causing a commotion. The two officers used excessive force to get the black man into the patrol wagon. [Van Maanen, 1978] Moreover, he also provides an example how one teenager was thrown to the pavement by an officer after the teen gave the officer the middle finger. [Van Maanen, 1978] Van Maanen claims that the out-of-door and presumably adventurous qualities of police work strongly influence and attract recruits to the job, and the unexpected elements of working patrol provide self-esteem and stimulation for officers. [Van Maanen, 1978] Rubinstein in his 'City Police' (1973) states that 'a cop uses force to quell a disturbance; anything beyond that is excessive force. When a guy [suspect] is down and out, that's it. Although it's unfortunate, we are human beings and it's sometimes hard to cut off our emotions'. Rubinstein postulates that the police subculture tolerates the excessive use of force; in sum, the police enforce their own notions of punishment or wrongdoing. He also stays that the police have standards that dictate how and when to use force, and they share a common definition of brutality and violence. [Rubinstein, 1973] According to Van Maanen, 'asshole' is the one who flagrantly and inexcusably disregards police sentiments, this is a person who fails the attitudes test; it's a sidewalk lawyer, one who has a comeback for the cop's every remark. The asshole is to be differentiated from the nervous driver who suffers from 'diarrhea of the mouth'. John notes that 'cops are human. They've heard every excuse; they'll make an allowance for this type of person'. [Van Maanen, 1978] In a cop's mind an asshole is anyone who insults or defies an officer with a smart comment or someone who takes him on a hazardous high-speed chase. Among the problems documented in the late 1960s and early 1970s were the complaints about police harassment and bashing, police officers depicted were racist, sexist, ignorant, insensitive and hypocritical, but they tended to show 'their best behaviour for the cameras' (Sydney Morning Herald, Letters, 7 March 1992). Many sweeping changes have been introduced, including the implementation of new recruitment criteria and training programs, and the adoption of community-based policing as the principal operating strategy. [Chan, 2003] A new direction for policing, known as 'community policing', began to emerge in the early 1980s, increasing police accountability to the public, improving relations between the police and the public. It's rather a new philosophy of police work, when police and communities working together in close relationship is to name the problems and find solutions for them. It also presupposes a new role of a police officer - changing of that mistrust with which the police representatives were perceived earlier. Theft, fraud and other crimes are widespread in modern society, and if police aren't able to cope with them, people and politicians blame the police for failing these objects. But as it was stated above, it's not the problem of police itself, but the failure of the social system. Conclusion Cops and cop critics recognize that real change will have to focus on prediction and prevention, including a more intense effort to screen out unfit cadets and a much more serious police training regimen. The police brutality is viewed by the researchers as being rooted in human emotion and in the paramilitary culture that many cops consider essential for effective policing. Police officers of the future due to current reforms are supposed to be active problem-solving participants, particularly when given the necessary discretion, encouragement, and opportunities for their supervisors. Not to be aliens for the community, police should approach the public and serve its demands. As highly educated police officers could become frustrated in their jobs, grow cynical and look for formal or informal ways out, changes must occur not only in the recruitment, selection and training programs, but in the organizational environment as well. Police today is said to be more highly trained than ever before, thus bringing its positive relationship between training and enforcement. Cops need to be more democratic and less authoritarian in their orientation than traditional officers. [Haarr, 2001] The development into a more citizen-responsive force must be resulted from a greater coordination of police and other agencies within the criminal-justice system in order to increase the benefits to the client and break down the isolation of the police. [Waddington, 1999] Haarr (2001) warns that traditional subcultural values of police can override what recruits have learned in the academy. Van Maanen (1978) describes how recruits wear specific uniforms, how they learn the importance of group cohesion and solidarity, how they are punished and rewarded as a group. As in boot camps, the importance of recruits' individual identities are diminished so that a shared occupational identity can emerge. Many police agencies are bureaucracies functioning at the organizational level, and suffer from organizational gravity. 'Cop Culture' must be changed in its coordination with the 'Police Culture' that will contribute to its positive results and change of perceive of the police by communities. [Birzer, 1999] References 1. Birzer M.L. (1999) Police Training in the 21st Century. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 2. Brooker P. (2003) A Glossary of Cultural Theory, 2ed. London: Arnold 3. Chan J.B.L. (2003) Fair Cop: Learning the Art of Policing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 4. Chan J.B.L. (1997) Changing Police Culture: Policing in a Multicultural Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 5. Fielding N.G. (1999) The Effects of Tenure on Police Officer Personality. Harold D., Cottle, Jr. & Ford G.G.. Stephen F. Austin State University 6. Fussell P. (2003) Uniform: Why We Are What We Wear. NY: Houghton Mifflin 7. Goldsmith, A. (1990). "Taking Police Culture Seriously: Police Discretion and the Limits of Law," Policing and Society, Volume 1, Number 2, pp. 91-114. 8. Goldstein H. (1990) Problem-Oriented Policing. Philadelphia: Temple University Press 9. Greene, J.R., Alpert, G.P. & Styles, P. (August, 1992). "Values and Culture in Two American Police Departments: Lessons From King Arthur," Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Volume 8, Number 3, pp. 183-207. 10. Greenleaf R.G., Lanza-Kaduce L. (1995) Sophistication, Organization, and Authority-Subject Conflict: Rediscovering and Unraveling Turk's Theory of Norm Resistance. Criminology 33: 565-586 11. Haarr R.N. (2001) The Making of a Community Policing Officer: The Impact of Basic Training and Occupational Socialization on Police Recruits. Police Quarterly 4(4): 402-433 12. Newburn T. (Ed.) (2005) Policing: Key Readings. Cullompton, Devon, UK 13. O'Toole, James (1994). Leading Change: Overcoming the Ideology of Comfort and the Tyranny of Custom. San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass. 14. Reuss-Ianni E. (1984) Two Cultures of Policing, NJ: Transaction 15. Rubinstein J. (1973) City Police. 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