11Police ProcessDae-Hoon KwakMichigan State UniversityCJ 335 Summer 20065/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006Lecture 6Police Officers II:On the Job2Outline for the lecture5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Explain the reality shock experienced by new officers• Identify factors that influence P.O attitudes and behaviors• Describe the changing composition of rank and file in policing• Explain issues related to career development• Discuss factors related to job satisfaction and job stress3Reality Shock: Beginning Police Work5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Encountering Citizens- Attitudes change significantly during the first weeks and months (i.e., organizational socialization)-Hostilityfrom citizens (vs. help people)- Being stereotyped a. Citizens feel uncomfortableb. Isolated from the public- Being required to perform society’s “dirty work”a. Officers handle tasks no one else want to performb. These effects accumulate over time4Reality Shock: Beginning Police Work (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Encountering CJ system- Officers see firsthand how the system works: a. Arrest dispositionsb. Cases plea-bargainedb. How judges workc. Incompetence among prosecutors, attorneys, judges- Become cynical about the effectiveness and fairness of the system- React negatively to manner in which they are treated by those in the system5Reality Shock: Beginning Police Work (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Encountering the Department- Many officers have the most hostility toward the Dept.- “Politics” of the organizationa. Org. do not act in a rational and efficient mannerb. Some supervisor are incompetentc. Promotions not necessarily based on meritd. Hard work may not be rewardede. Best approach is to do little as possiblef. Avoid potential troubling situations- Conflict between rank and file officers and manager6The Seniority System5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006- New officers generally assigned to Patrol, High crime areas, and evening shift-Officers with more experience have first priority in requesting assignments- Positive side: eliminates favoritism and discrimination- Negative sidea. Least expected officers get the most difficult assign.b. As increase in minority and female officer hiring, minorities and female highly represented in undesirableassign.- Resolution: Improving personnel standards and training27Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Concept of Organizational Culture-The unwritten rules , mores, customs, codes, values, and outlooksthat creates the policing environmental style- Org. culture varies from one agency to another- An org.’s culture impacts its policing goals and strategies• Two major explanations for Attitudes and Behavior-Sociological aspects of police work: special characteristics, nature of police org. and situational factors-Individual officer background characteristics: SES, race, ethnicity, gender, education, etc8Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Concept of Police “Subculture”- First identified in William Westley’s study (1950)-Aspects of police subculturea. Attitude of secrecy toward outsiders to investigate the realities of police workb. Eagerness to help someone needing assistance c. Extremely complex phenomenond. Emphasize secrecy, solidarityand violencee. A consequence of group solidarity or secrecy which serves as a shield against the attacks from the outside worldf. Secrecy and “Code of Silence (Blue Curtain)”means that officers refuse to testify against other officers who are accused of misconduct9Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• “Working Personality” (Skolnick)- Working personality shaped by Dangerand Authority- Officers routinely suspicious of all people because of potential danger- Officer develop a “perceptual shorthand”of visual cues associated with criminals (e.g., young men, low-income young men, and low-income racial minority men)cf. Focal concerns theory of sentencing10Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Crank (2004) “Understanding Police Culture”- Police subculture is shaped by solidarityand loose coupling-Solidaritydevelops because the police regularly have conflicts with external groups. So, police have to rely on each other forsurvival. -Loose couplingallows police to do their work unhampered by the external inspection of the police administration.11Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Capacity to Use Force- Further isolates officers from the public- Bittner: the capacity of use forceis the defining feature of the police (vs. other occupations)- Powers are inherent in the police role• Danger: Potential vs. Actual- Potential danger (e.g., attacks by citizens) shapes the police subculture (Skolnick)- Police work is not the most dangerous occupation (vs. mining)12Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Cynicism and Authoritarianism (Niederhoffer)- The police subculture is shaped by cynicismand authoritarianism- Officers are cynical about both the outside world and the inside world of PD- “Police personality” associated with authoritarianism313Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Criticisms of the Traditional Police Subculture Concept- Highly focused on negative view of officers, portraying them as isolated, hostile to the public, prejudiced, and opposed to accountability- Most of the early research was impressionistic, not systematic (must compare with other occupations), failed to take into account significant changes in police employment- Bayley and Mendelsohn found:a. P.O.s are average peopleb. They are somewhat more conservative than average publicc. They are not authoritarian14Police Officer Attitudes and Behavior (cont.)5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Dimensions of the Police Subculture- Herbert in his study of LPD identified six different factorsthat explain P.O. behaviora. The lawb. Bureaucratic controlc. The element of “adventure/machismo”d. Concern for safetye. Competencef. Morality- The traditional definition of the police subculture is too limited, and there are a number of factors that enter into how officersthink about and carry out their jobs15The Changing Rank and File5/24/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Women Police Officers- Women into policinga. Broken up the traditional solidarity of the work