Police subculture

[alexiskking]

I am a current CJ student, and have been assigned a project egarding the police subculture and the 6 core beliefs, my portion of this project is to determine why the police feel that noone else understand the life/job as an officer other than their fellow officers. I am looking for insight regarding this, while I have researched and found the different stressors that are in the life of an officers, I am looking for more information, any help or answer would be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance!!!

[CityOfChicago]

There is no police 'sub'culture. There is a police culture, comprised of individuals who share a common profession, a profession that requires a particular mindset and set of beliefs, like service, duty, and integrity.

[alexiskking]

thanks, I understand the beliefs of having ethics, integrity ect...according to my instructor and the book we have for my class, here is the exact assignment:

To help your colleagues better understand the police subculture and its impact on their job performance and interactions with the community, your training coordinator wants your group to give an oral presentation at your next training meeting. She asks you to highlight specific beliefs generally held by members of police subcultures and attempt to identify why those beliefs have become so ingrained in members of the law enforcement community.

Individual Portion:

Each member of the team should create PowerPoint slides for the presentation covering at least one key subculture belief (e.g., only true crime fighters, loyalty above all else, the public is generally unsupportive, etc.). Include information about the possible roots of those beliefs and whether or not those beliefs have any appreciable impact on the daily execution of the responsibilities of police officers.

SHe also lists that the following are the core beliefs that are often held among fellow officers:

Police are the only real crime fighters.



Only the police understand police.



Loyalty to one another is paramount.



The "War on Crime" can only be won by bending a few rules.



The public doesn’t support the police.



Patrol work is the pits. Detective work is glamorous.

I am just looking for personal insight as to why these may or may not be true, and where they may have derived from.

Thanks again!!!

[ChesCopPodz]

The reason we think nobody understands out job and life is because they don't. Police officers risk everything to protect the people we serve. Save the military, not many people have the desire or are willing to do that.

However one thing that even military members don't have to do is spend their life in condition yellow. Our service men and women can "turn it off" when their mission is done. We can't. The bad guy we locked up last week might recognize us while we're grocery shopping with our family and try to kill us because of what we did.

We deal with the worst of what people can do to each other every day. We see sickening injuries, both intentionally committed and accidental. We have people fight us and try to kill us just because of what we do.

And your coordinator was obviously never a cop. Our "core beliefs" are Arrest the Bad people, protect the good people.

"SHe also lists that the following are the core beliefs that are often held among fellow officers:

Police are the only real crime fighters- Wrong. We may be the only ones willing to go into harms way, but the entire neighborhood has to be involved. Without people calling us and reporting crimes, we'd never find the bad guys. But I will say I can see this one being common among officers.



Only the police understand police- this one she's right on. Others may SUPPORT us, but they will never truly understand us



Loyalty to one another is paramount- Yes and no. Yes in the fact that I would give my life for another officer. No in the fact that I would not lie for one. Common misconception that cops wil be loyal to each other no matter what. Most officers will say exactly what i said about this topic.



The "War on Crime" can only be won by bending a few rules- This is utter stupidity



The public doesn’t support the police- We only deal with the 3% of the population that commits crimes. The vast majority of the people support us. Unfortunately we never see them, so it can seem like it .



Patrol work is the pits. Detective work is glamorous- Only if you're a detective.


And as much as we'd love for people to be able to (trust me, if people could understand, our lives would be much easier), unless they do the job, people outside of law enforcement simply can't understand because they will never experience it.

[Curt581]

I'd tell you, but you wouldn't understand.

[alexiskking]

Thanks for the info, and you are right the public (myself included) would'nt and do not understand what daily stress and the risks you all take everyday to help the community, however I dont want to be rude, when getting an answer like " id tell you, but you wouldnt understand" I am looking for insight to what your job and life is like on a daily basis, I am a student looking to educate myself, so if anymore comments such as the above, please refrain, I am not looking for those. Thank you again.

[alexiskking]

the following are just some thoughts that I have come up with through research with books and web article, whether they are right or not, this is just what I found...any insight to the following would be appreciated!!

“Us versus them” orientation: allows police to differentiate their job/lifestyle from the public
The public does not understand the daily stressors that are placed on police, while fellow officers understand
The police’s day to day work is not directly visible by the public
Others view the officers as being secretive, when in fact certain knowledge should not be released due to enhancing criminals’ knowledge and behaviors, yet only other officers know how this would directly affect the public
Public have lack of understanding due to lack of communication with the police
Fellow cops know what it feels like to be placing their lives at risk, while the rest of the community does not
Fellow cops understand what it means to be a cop, the pressure and the demands of others that is placed on them.
Only other police understand what measures must be taken to protect their community while the community only feels that the police are out to harass.
Threats to officers’ health and safety
Boredom, alternating with the need for sudden alertness and mobilized energy.
Responsibility for protecting the lives of others.
Continual exposure to people in pain or distress.
The need to control emotions even when provoked.
The presence of a gun, even during off-duty hours.

[Kimble]

People with shared experiences have shared beliefs, which forms a culture, so here's something that will blow your mind: people who have shared experiences with police officers (firefighters, paramedics, social workers, etc.) often ALSO share in those same beliefs. The idea that police stand outside the rest of society in their beliefs (when others have the same ones based on similar shared experiences in first-responder/emergency situations) is total B.S. from what I've seen personally.

So, if you want an "A," make something up that goes along with the bias your professor already has.

[Curt581]

Thanks for the info, and you are right the public (myself included) would'nt and do not understand what daily stress and the risks you all take everyday to help the community, however I dont want to be rude, when getting an answer like " id tell you, but you wouldnt understand" I am looking for insight to what your job and life is like on a daily basis, I am a student looking to educate myself, so if anymore comments such as the above, please refrain, I am not looking for those. Thank you again.

I simply saw the questions as stereotypical and mildly offensive, probably asked by an instructor with educational credentials, but zero actual street cop experience. An Ivory Tower intellectual who has studied a subject, but never actually "done" what they've studied.

Would you ask used car salesmen why they all wear plaid sport jackets?

Would you ask plumbers why they all let their butt cracks hang out?

I would hope not, because very few of them actually do.


"Sub"culture? Street gangs are a "sub"culture.

The police are no more and no less than a microcosm of society in general. We have hard workers and lazy sloths. We've got teetotalers and drunks, pennypinchers and easy-spenders, straight-laced and free-wheelers. We've got representatives from every culture and facet of society you could name, all of whom have their own belief structures.

To claim that there are "six core beliefs" that all cops hold true is a blatant stereotype, and patently untrue.

Besides, society understands cops themselves just fine. It's the job they don't understand. That is the fault of the Media.

[alexiskking]

thanks but I dont want just an "A" for falling under the instructor's biases, I actually want to learn something, even if it means I wont understand becuase I dont do what you do...yes the questions she wants us to answer may suck and be untrue, if I can prove her or the class wrong, I may be one step closer to helping the public understand even if it is something small...

I guess my question was not a good one to ask...simply based on "i will not understand"

[alexiskking]

I want to apoligize now if I offended anyone with my original post, it was not my intention to upset anyone, I was just hoping that this website may help me with the project (BS as I am finding out). I have no control over what "expectations" that my instructor may have, so again I apologize...

[Nole795]

As in any profession, your going to get different opinions from different people about how they view their role in the "grind." Below is just my perspective (answer in bold)

Police are the only real crime fighters.

I dont agree with that. I work with bank fraud investigators, credit card investigators, retail store loss prevention, intelligence analysts, and other security related professionals who are very important in identifying a target in an investigation.

Only the police understand police.

To a sense, yes. Obviously law enforcement see the worst in human nature. From violent confrontation(s) to lost hope, an officer sees it all. Most people have never seen dead body much less witness a violent act in front of their eyes. The public doesnt understand the response, training, and interaction of law enforcement officers. It is one of the few professions where the news will get the opinions of the public on an issue they have no comprehension of understanding. For me, an outlet of stress was getting with my fellow officers and talking about our experience(s).

Loyalty to one another is paramount.

In this job, you have to trust the guy/girl next to you, because one day he/she may be the backup to save your butt on a bad situation. But at the same breath, there is no absolutes in this job. Obviously, there are lazy officers, dumb officers, and plain useless ones. It is up to the individual officer to determine where his/her role is in their relationship.

The "War on Crime" can only be won by bending a few rules.

That is a crap statement. I hope your professor is throwing this out in order to establish discussion/debate. I had several professors do something similiar.


The public doesn’t support the police.

This is dependant on the area you work in. I worked in a city where the public appreciated our services. I also worked in areas where there can be a shooting in the middle of the park on a Saturday afternoon, and no one would come forward.

Patrol work is the pits. Detective work is glamorous.

You can blame television for this false idea. I still say that a Patrol Sergeant is the best job in law enforcement. 99% of my skills I use in my investigatory position, I learned from being a patrol officer. I loved wearing a uniform and responding to calls. I dont regret that experience and to this day my best stories come from my patrol times.

[FBINA188]

I'll answer these questions, even though " ChesCopPodz," pretty much summed it up

She also lists that the following are the core beliefs that are often held among fellow officers:

Police are the only real crime fighters.

Not true. In many situations, police officer's need, and welcome, the assistance of the public in bringing a successful conclusion to numerous crimes. There are also numerous other professionals that aid in fighting crime.

Only the police understand police.

This is would agree with as stated above, there are many that support LEO, but, no one truly understands them like a fellow LEO. Remember, we all walk in the same shoes, and therefore, a individual who never did, can never completely understand.

Loyalty to one another is paramount.

Loyalty to your fellow worker in any profession is important, but in LE, officers need to have complete trust and loyalty with the one they work with. With that said, loyalty is one thing, and turning a blind eye is another.

If your loyalty is to the degree that you will abandon the required LE Code of Ethic's, then you need not be serving in LE.

The "War on Crime" can only be won by bending a few rules.

If bending the rules involves anything illegal, immoral, or unethical, then one needs to find another way to win the war.

The public doesn’t support the police.

As "ChesCopPodz," stated, LEO's only deal with a small amount of the population, and they are the vocal minority. I believe overall, that the the majority of the population do support LEO's and our efforts

Patrol work is the pits. Detective work is glamorous.

This boils down to the desire of the officer him/herself. Both duties have their benefits, and I don't thin it can be classified fairly as one being the pits, and the other glamorous.

In the end, it boils down to the choice one has to make.

[alexiskking]

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my post, all of your information and thoughts have been greatly appreciated and well rcv'd, your thoughts on every topic I listed will be a great help to me when finishing this project for school. I also feel that some of this information must be relayed to the instructor on hopes that her next class wont have this same project or at least a better version of it...

Thanks again...

[pac201]

everyone has answered the post quite reasonably...

your professor is biased and bigoted.

if your professor asks the same questions about doctors or attorneys or "gasp" school teachers, then I'll reconsider my opinion.


ps- if you would like to hear about some of the horrors that cause us to feel like we do, send me a pm