1. Chapter Six Police Officers: On the Job
Police in America
Chapter Six
Police Officers: On the Job

2. REALITY SHOCK
Citizens
The Department
The Criminal Justice System

3. Police Organizational Culture
…the unwritten rules, mores, customs, codes, values, and outlooks – that creates the policing environment and style
Organizational culture varies from one agency to another.
An organization’s culture impacts its policing goals and strategies.

4. Police Subculture Strong sense of solidarity
Secrecy
Justifies violence against citizens
Refuse to testify against fellow officers
Working personality shaped by authority and danger
Factors that shape police behavior
Law
Control
Adventure/machismo
Concern for safety
Competence
Morality

5. Changing Rank and File Women African-Americans Hispanics
Gay & Lesbian Officers

6. Changing Rank and File: Women in Policing
Broken up the traditional solidarity of the work group
Percentage of women among sworn officers remains at around 13-14
Style of work the same as men
Receive fewer citizen complaints
Less likely to use force

7. African-American Police
Different attitudes on police use of excessive force
More likely to support citizen oversight
More likely to support community policing
More likely to live in area where they work
Do not perform differently from white officers

8. Career Development Promotion Salaries and benefits
Severely limited
Irregular intervals
Formal testing
Salaries and benefits
Attractive
Good benefits
Assignments to special units
Discretion of chief and seniority constraints
Lateral entry
Very limited
Coveted assignments
More challenging
May lead to promotion

9. Performance Evaluation
Definitions not clear
Halo effect
Rating of all officers tend to cluster around one numerical level
Tendency to rate everyone highly

10. Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction
Nature of police work
Organizational factors such as perceived support from leaders, relations with fellow officers, and opportunities for career advancement
Relations with the community
Relations with the media and the political establishment
Personal or family factors that influence a person’s job

11. Related Issues
Police Officers’ Rights
Outside Employment
Attrition