Research Catalog

Title

Rethinking police culture : officers' occupational attitudes / Eugene A. Paoline III.

Author

Paoline, Eugene A.

Publication

New York : LFB Scholarly Pub. LLC, 2001.

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Details

Description

vii, 287 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

This book discusses the ways in which police officers perceive and cope with aspects of their working environments in contemporary police departments. The occupational attitudes associated with police culture include a distrust and suspiciousness of citizens, assessing people in terms of their potential threat, a "we vs. they" attitude toward citizens, and loyalty to the peer group. Officers vary in their attitudes toward citizens and supervisors, role orientations, legal restrictions, and policing tactics. They may cope differently with the strains of their work environment. This research examines multiple occupational outlooks, all of which are part of what culture includes. It questions if attitudinal subgroups are associated with differences in officers' background characteristics and occupational attributes. The study adds the dimension of rank to the understanding of attitudinal similarities and differences among police officers. Results of the study show there are 7 distinct groups of patrol officers based on their responses to 10 attitudinal dimensions. They are traditionalists, law enforcers, old-pros, peacekeepers, lay-lows, anti-organizational street-cops, and Dirty Harry enforcers. Chapter 1 examines the concept of culture, workplace culture, police culture, and personnel heterogeneity in policing. Chapter 2 focuses on police officer attitudes, cultural and subcultural attitudes, and police officer background characteristics. In chapter 3, data and methodology for the study are detailed. Patrol officer measures and distributions are examined in chapter 4. Chapter 5 discusses attitudinal groups of patrol officers and cluster stability and subculture. Chapter 6 provides officers' background characteristics and occupational attributes. In chapter 7, the attitudes of patrol supervisors and group membership are discussed. Chapter 8 provides key findings of the study, limitations of research, practical and theoretical implications, and future research suggestions.

Series Statement

Criminal justice recent scholarship

Uniform Title

Criminal justice (LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC)

Subject

• Police > United States > Attitudes
• Police subculture > United States
• Occupational surveys > United States

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-274) and indexes.

Contents

Introduction -- Chap. 1. Examination of police culture -- Chap. 2. Cultural attitudes and expectations -- Chap. 3. Data and methodology -- Chap. 4. Patrol officer measures and distributions -- Chap. 5. Attitudinal groups of patrol officers -- Chap. 6. Patrol officer background characteristics -- Chap. 7. Patrol supervisors and group membership -- Chap. 8. Conclusions -- Notes -- Appendices -- References.

Call Number

JFD 05-6793

ISBN

1931202133 (alk. paper)

LCCN

2001001751

OCLC

47827130

Author

Paoline, Eugene A.

Title

Rethinking police culture : officers' occupational attitudes / Eugene A. Paoline III.

Imprint

New York : LFB Scholarly Pub. LLC, 2001.

Series

Criminal justice recent scholarship

Criminal justice (LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC)

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-274) and indexes.

Research Call Number

JFD 05-6793