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Police Culture In America
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According to conventional wisdom, police culture consists of a set of values, attitudes, and norms that are widely shared among officers, who find a way to cope with the strains of their working environment. Some research suggests that the conventional wisdom is overused, and recent research has begun to question it more. Changes in the composition (i.e., the race, sex, and education) of police personnel, as well as philosophical and organizational changes associated with community policing, could be expected to further fragment police culture and to shift the distribution of police attitudes.(Taylor & Francis 2000) The police personality serves to in a way, "seperate" officers from the rest of society. It fosters an "us versus them" mentality. The cops are the good guys and everyone else is a potential bad guy. There is a constant power struggle between the good and bad guys. Police believe that societal order depends on the good guys winning — at any cost. When anyone challenges the police, the police defend their right to enforce control and authority. Officers must trust each other to provide assistance and back-up in their struggle to maintain control. They develop strong bonds of loyalty that ensure they will be there for each other.
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