Police Culture Research Paper
Police Culture in the United States
Norris R. Billingsley, Richard Reynolds, Norris R. Billingsley
CJA 214
December 27, 2013
Yolonda Johnson
Introduction
Policing, is an occupation described as hours of boredom, followed by extreme moments of fear and terror, with coffee and donuts thrown into the mix at times. It is also a culture perceived by the public as corrupt, aggressive, racist, and above the law which empowers them. In an occupation where these extremes exist, it is necessary to have characteristics to reinforce the collective and impersonal nature of the work. Cultural characteristics by definition are: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time : a particular society that …show more content…
Police discretion gives a police officer the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation, such as whom to stop for a traffic violations, whom to question, whom to arrest, and how to efficiently deal with public concerns and complaints. Police discretion is an essential aspect of law enforcement because police officers on an individual basis are required to deal with a wide range of problems and situations, many of which are not regulated by …show more content…
Management like police captains, chief of police, and first line supervisors have to walk a thin line making sure to uphold the law and not bend. Promoting based on favorites or the good ole boy system is a sure way to lower morale, thus setting in resentment toward each other and lower performance.
To see what an officer sees every day patrolling the streets turns them numb to showing kindness and not taking a chance that the average citizen can be innocent. It is guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of the law and not the other way around for police officers. This is the daily grind for officers who leave the training academy bright eyed and with their oath of office still memorized only to report for duty and realize it is not the same world as before becoming an officer. Officers deal with stresses unparalleled to the average person (Welsh,
Norris R. Billingsley, Richard Reynolds, Norris R. Billingsley
CJA 214
December 27, 2013
Yolonda Johnson
Introduction
Policing, is an occupation described as hours of boredom, followed by extreme moments of fear and terror, with coffee and donuts thrown into the mix at times. It is also a culture perceived by the public as corrupt, aggressive, racist, and above the law which empowers them. In an occupation where these extremes exist, it is necessary to have characteristics to reinforce the collective and impersonal nature of the work. Cultural characteristics by definition are: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time : a particular society that …show more content…
Police discretion gives a police officer the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation, such as whom to stop for a traffic violations, whom to question, whom to arrest, and how to efficiently deal with public concerns and complaints. Police discretion is an essential aspect of law enforcement because police officers on an individual basis are required to deal with a wide range of problems and situations, many of which are not regulated by …show more content…
Management like police captains, chief of police, and first line supervisors have to walk a thin line making sure to uphold the law and not bend. Promoting based on favorites or the good ole boy system is a sure way to lower morale, thus setting in resentment toward each other and lower performance.
To see what an officer sees every day patrolling the streets turns them numb to showing kindness and not taking a chance that the average citizen can be innocent. It is guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of the law and not the other way around for police officers. This is the daily grind for officers who leave the training academy bright eyed and with their oath of office still memorized only to report for duty and realize it is not the same world as before becoming an officer. Officers deal with stresses unparalleled to the average person (Welsh,