Rooted in foundational works of the 1960s and 1970s is the idea of a ‘special character’ that often dictates police behavior referred to as the ‘blue curtain’ or the ‘blue wall of silence’, early police scholars refer to a protective and united ‘brotherhood’, which is mainly attributed to the isolating and threatening nature of the work, as well as the constant pressure to be productive in what are often uncertain circumstances.
Distilled over time to the concept of ‘police culture’, this single comprehensive term is meant to encompass a complex system of values and attitudes that define the normative social world of police.Famously summarized the core elements comprising this occupational culture. In short, police officers are said to actively …show more content…
1998). In fact, in a recent and oft-cited ethnographic account of an English police force, Loftus (2010) reveals …show more content…
The conceptual template of Reiner’s list now serves as a collective imprint in how we think about the topic (see also Waddington 1999a), and this diverts our attention from new directions and emerging trends. To be sure, Reiner himself cautioned that police culture ‘is not monolithic, is embodied in individuals who enjoy autonomy and creativity’ and that variation ‘can be discerned within the broader police culture, generated by distinct experiences … ’ (Reiner 2010: 116). Furthermore, these descriptors come from data gathered over 30 years ago in America’s largest, and most crime-ridden, cities. This is problematic because, though underlying features of the policing function remain largely the same, police organizations themselves have undergone substantial change in the last 25 years in particular, including diversity in recruitment, more community-based initiatives, more stringent hiring and training standards, and most relevant to this analysis, increasing levels of mediatization and accountability. Therefore, familiar applications of the police culture ideal-type provide what may be an incomplete
Distilled over time to the concept of ‘police culture’, this single comprehensive term is meant to encompass a complex system of values and attitudes that define the normative social world of police.Famously summarized the core elements comprising this occupational culture. In short, police officers are said to actively …show more content…
1998). In fact, in a recent and oft-cited ethnographic account of an English police force, Loftus (2010) reveals …show more content…
The conceptual template of Reiner’s list now serves as a collective imprint in how we think about the topic (see also Waddington 1999a), and this diverts our attention from new directions and emerging trends. To be sure, Reiner himself cautioned that police culture ‘is not monolithic, is embodied in individuals who enjoy autonomy and creativity’ and that variation ‘can be discerned within the broader police culture, generated by distinct experiences … ’ (Reiner 2010: 116). Furthermore, these descriptors come from data gathered over 30 years ago in America’s largest, and most crime-ridden, cities. This is problematic because, though underlying features of the policing function remain largely the same, police organizations themselves have undergone substantial change in the last 25 years in particular, including diversity in recruitment, more community-based initiatives, more stringent hiring and training standards, and most relevant to this analysis, increasing levels of mediatization and accountability. Therefore, familiar applications of the police culture ideal-type provide what may be an incomplete