Policing

Police Subculture: symbols, beliefs, values, and attitudes shared by members of a subgroup within the larger society, helps define the role of each officer in the 'cops world'

Working personality: set of emotional and behavioral characteristics developed by members of an occupational group in response to the work situation and environmental influences

Danger: Situational Awareness, benign can always become dangerous, always on high-alert, may be perceived as hostile, confrontational

Authority: Must establish, balance between authority and respect

Discretion: acting on ones own authority and judgement

Factors to Police Decision Making

Nature of Crime

Relationship between victim and alleged perpretrator

Relationship between Victim and Perpetrator

Race, ethnicity, gender, class

Departmental Policy

Police Corruption

Excessive use of force

Grass eaters vs. Meat Eaters

Battling Corruption

Culture change, internal affairs, civilian review, accreditation, lawsuits

Implicit Bias: attitudes or stereotypes that effect our understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner

Morality: Values that motivate or justifies actions, whether legal or otherwise

Upholding the law, protecting society, taking 'bad' people off the streets

Isolation: Encouraged by perception that public is hostile toward officers, us vs them, interaction with public is primarily during criss, difficulty separating work from home

Stress: External, organizational, personal, operational

Police Wellness: Establishing healthy coping mechanisms early in career, shift of the public mindset, mentoring network, stress reduction/wellness programs, critical incident stress management (CISM) programs