What role does the police/correction subculture play in fueling law enforcement misconduct

What role does the police/correction subculture play in fueling law enforcement misconduct?

In the literature of law enforcement, the notion of police subculture is very popular. This concept has been anticipated on a standardized way of selecting personnel. Ortmeier & Meese (2009) state that police subculture is one of the important aspects that details police attitude and behavior. Police subculture is defined by different attitudes that have common characteristic among the police officers. It defines the values, beliefs and views, and understanding of the police to the environment. Ortmeier & Meese (2009) explain that a subculture describes the community as hostile and violent, hence the overall outlook is supposed to be secret, possess support and unity among the police officers. According to the traditional characterization of the police subculture, it is explained using the values, behavior and attitudes developed within the police environment (Ortmeier & Meese 2009).

Instead of putting into consideration the aspect professional code of ethics, some police cultivate a personal ethical code whereby loyalty to their colleague officers undermines protecting and serving the society (Ortmeier & Meese 2009). This mentality can be accredited to three main causes. Firstly, police officers are identified with the popular police uniforms, guns and budges. Secondly, police officers have a common characteristic and share similar aspects in the setbacks, rewards and dangers that other people are not in a position to speculate. Thirdly, these types of aspects raise the aspect of the community against the police since the mentality is not only against the criminals but also to the bureaucrats and politicians perceived as impendent to enforcing the law.

An effective subculture gives a code of silence. When a cop breaks law, hides evidence or else brutalizes the suspect, it is true that the other colleague officers ignores or assists in the transgression of the code of ethics (Borello, 2012). If the society sense that the police officers do not play effectively by following on the rules, it raises the aspect of disrespect and distract of the department of the police. In the community, many citizens regard the police as racial discriminators (Ortmeier & Meese 2009). An effective internal affair in the police department as well as society organization assists on enforcement of the law by ensuring that it is kept free from misconduct and corruption. However, many police departments have initiated conducting psychological screening on policemen thus eliminating police officers with any anti-social characteristic.

The law and police administrators indicate the parameters bound to the operation of the police officers, but the initiation of the police subculture specifies their duty and relationship with other police officers, categories of people to interact with, attitude towards the law and police administration. The effects of pressures generated by the subculture of the police leads them to experience a lot of stress in their social, occupational life which leads to burnout, cynicism, retirement and effects on their emotional and physical ailments. Police officers may fail to understand the impacts of these subcultural in the way they act and view things. Police in this case develop resources that will deal with isolation from society. These subcultural aspects that police develop include supportive, attitude, protective, beliefs, understanding, values and insights of the world that result to the definition of the code of silence (Ortmeier & Meese 2009).

References

Borello, Andrew. (2012). The Power of Police Civility. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Vol. 81 issue 8. Pg 13-15. United States. Washington: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/1033783995?accountid=8289

Ortmeier, P. J., & Meese III, E. (2009). Leadership, ethics, and policing: Challenges for the 21st century (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.