“Laying Hands” and Learning to Touch and Grab in the Police Academy

2019 ◽  
pp. 446-468
Author(s):  
Brian Lande
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Police Academy ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Hands On

Research on the formation of police officers generally focuses on the beliefs, accounts, and categories that recruits must master. Becoming a police officer, however, is not simply a matter of acquiring new attitudes and beliefs. This article attends to an unexplored side of police culture—the sensorial and tactile education that recruits undergo at the police academy. Rubenstein wrote in 1973 that a police officer’s first tool is his or her body. This article examines the formation of the police body by examining how police recruits learn to use their hands as instruments of control. In police vernacular, this means learning to “lay hands” (a term borrowed from Pentecostal traditions) or going “hands on.” This chapter focuses on two means of using the hands: searching and defensive tactics. It describes how instructors teach recruits to use their hands for touching, manipulating, and grabbing the clothing and flesh of others to sense weapons and contraband. It also examines how recruits are taught to grab, manipulate, twist, and strike others in order to gain control of “unruly” bodies. It concludes by discussing the implications of “touching like a cop” for understanding membership in the police force.

Empowering Women in Blue Uniforms—Gender and Police in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanta Singh ◽  
Sultan Khan
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Female Police Officers ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Female Officers

Gender in the police force has received scant attention by researchers, although there are complex social dimensions at play in how male and female law enforcement officers relate to each other in the workplace. Given the fact that males predominate in the police force, their female counterparts are often marginalised due to their sexual orientation and certain stereotypes that prevail about their femininity. Male officers perceive female officers as physically weak individuals who cannot go about their duties as this is an area of work deemed more appropriate to men. Based on this perception, female officers are discriminated against in active policing and often confined to administrative duties. This study looks at how female police officers are discriminated against in the global police culture across the globe, the logic of sexism and women’s threat to police work, men’s opposition to female police work, gender representivity in the police force, and the integration and transformation of the South African Police Service to accommodate female police officers. The study highlights that although police officers are discriminated against globally, in the South African context positive steps have been taken to accommodate them through legislative reform.

Trials of loyalty: Ethnic minority police officers as ‘outsiders’ within a greedy institution

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Peterson ◽  
Sara Uhnoo
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Police Organization ◽  
Security Officers ◽  
Minority Officers ◽  
New Recruits

In this article we interrogate how ethnicity interfaces with the police culture in a major Swedish police force. While addressing administrative levels, in particular police security officers’ screening of new recruits, we focus on the role that loyalty plays in defining how ethnicity interacts with mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion in the structures of rank-and-file police culture. The police authorities, perceived as ‘greedy institutions’, demand and enforce exclusive loyalty. We argue that ethnic minority officers are rigorously tested as regards their loyalty to their fellow officers and to the police organization, and the demands made on their undivided loyalty and the misgivings as to their unstinting loyalty act as barriers to inclusion in the organization.

scholarly journals Seeing Police: Cinematic Training and the Scripting of Police Vision

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 367-381
Author(s):  
Christina Aushana
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Police Academy ◽  
Patrol Officers ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Visual Texts ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
Praxis I ◽  
Critical Insight ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

While contemporary ethnographies on policing describe the use of televisual and cinematic images as ancillary police training materials (Manning 2003; Moskos 2008), few studies have examined how these visual texts shape the practice of patrol work. One of my primary aims as an ethnographer is to find different ways of understanding everyday policing by bringing the materials that construct officers’ visual worlds under ethnographic analysis. These materials include cinematic images used in police academies to teach police recruits how to see like police officers. Attending to cinema’s mobility in training facilities where trainees learn how to screen situations, bodies, and encounters in the field can offer new insights into understanding police vision. I proceed with the knowledge that Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 film Training Day has been screened in San Diego’s police academy. While Training Day reproduces the kinds of visual practices that are part and parcel of policing praxis, I argue that an ethnographic reading of the film offers critical insight into what happens when an idealized police vision “meets the ground” in practice. I explore the productive tension between cinematic models like Training Day and everyday patrol work through an analysis of the “precarious cinema” of policing, a concept I use to understand how police officers’ engagements with Training Day reflect and reveal a mode of police vision that is often blind to the experiences of the policed, and the performance of ethnography as a visual profiling practice that offers new conceptual frames for approaching how these blinds spots manifest in the visual worlds of patrol officers. In a time when police violence and police brutality are invariably subject to the camera’s scrutiny and a scrutinizing public, the political stakes for an increasingly visible police vision include contending with, accounting for, and being answerable to its own visibility.

scholarly journals Understanding corruption in the lower levels of the Afghan police force

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Singh
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Constructivist Approach ◽  
Police Corruption ◽  
Police Accountability ◽  
Low Pay ◽  
Social Constructivist Approach

Definitions of police corruption are usually associated with bribery and extortion. Police culture entails internalised and uncodified norms, rules and values that may enhance susceptibility of corruption within a police force. This article provides an empirical study on police corruption within the lower levels of the Afghan police due to the lack of studies conducted with them. Undertaking a social constructivist approach, the aim of the study is to provide the perceptions from Afghan police officers on the causes and practices of police corruption. The findings reveal that the main causes are heavily linked to unprofessionalism, low pay and the lack of controls. Police accountability is low and solidarity appears high. Moreover, patronage and the acceptance of corruption as a means to getting things done are part of social practices engrained in Afghan culture which leads to the practices of biased recruitment, bribery and extortion. In relation to noble cause corruption, there is no sense of mission and the idea of policing, as part of a mandate, has been lost in the Afghan police force. An understanding of police corruption and police culture from the perspective of street-level police officers is relevant to understand the main causes and practices of corruption and mitigate them to restore public faith in the police as a main port of security. This can prevent potential Taliban resurgence by deterring alternative security promoted by the insurgency.

scholarly journals Police use of force: individualistic, situational, and organizational approachPolisin zor kullanmasi: bireysel, durumsal ve organizasyonel yaklaşım

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1280
Author(s):  
İlyas Özgentürk
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Physical Strength

<p>While ensuring public safety and fighting against criminals the police are given exceptional powers such as the use of force to protect themselves as well as others in the process of fighting criminals. In a democratic society the limits of the use of force given by the state to the police is regulated by law. Misuse of power by the police, regarding humanitarian concerns, in terms of philosophical dilemmas and political implications has great impact on people. Use of force is defined as; use of physical strength and any equipment in increased proportion to neutralize acts of resistance or attack. The power to use of force is a direct intervention to the fundamental rights and freedoms of persons. Therefore, use of excessive force is considered as a direct violation of human rights. There have been numerous researches and studies about Police use of force. However, the complex structure of use of force, and it association with many factors creates a lot of limitations in this area. Therefore, the researchers have systematized the use of force by the police and focused on situational and institutional factors. Individual factors affecting the use of power and force by the police officers are defined as; The age of the police officer, education level and occupational experience. Regarding situational factors the researchers have focused on characteristics like; type of event that the police officer has encountered the public and the characteristics the suspects. Regarding explaining the Institutional factors it is focused on; the affect of the police culture (subculture) and service delivery philosophy of de unit that the officer is working at.</p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><strong>Özet</strong></p><p align="left">Kamunun güvenliğini sağlama ve suçlularla mücadele etme görevini yerine getirirken polise hem kendisini hem de başkalarını koruması ve suçlularla mücadele edebilmesi için zor kullanma gibi bir takım istisnai yetkiler verilmiştir.  Demokratik toplumlarda devletin polise vermiş olduğu zor kullanma yetkisinin sınırları hukuk tarafından düzenlenmiştir. Polisin sahip olduğu gücü suiistimal etmesi insani kaygılar, felsefi ikilemler ve politik sonuçlar açısından halk üzerinde büyük etkilere sahiptir. Zor kullanma; direnme ve saldırı karşısında bu fiilleri etkisiz hale getirecek derecede artan nispette bedeni kuvvet her türlü teçhizatı kullanmak şeklinde tanımlanmaktadır. Zor kullanma yetkisi kişilerin temel hak ve özgürlüklerine doğrudan bir müdahaledir.  Bu nedenle zor kullanma yetkisinin aşılması doğrudan insan hakları ihlali sayılmaktadır. Polisin zor kullanması ile ilgili sayısız araştırmalar ve çalışmalar yapılmıştır.  Ancak, zor kullanmanın kompleks yapısı ve  çok çeşitli nedenlerle ilişkili olmasından dolayı bu alanda oldukça fazla sınırlamalar vardır.  Bu nedenle, araştırmacılar polisin kuvvet kullanmasını sistematize ederek bireysel, durumsal ve kurumsal faktörlerin üzerinde durmuşlardır. Polis memurlarının güç ve kuvvet kullanmasını etkileyen bireysel faktörler; polis memurlarının yaşı, eğitim seviyesi, mesleki tecrübesi gibi karakteristikleri üzerinde durulmuştur. Durumsal faktörler; polislerin halk ile karşı karşıya geldikleri olayların cinsi ve şüphelilerin karakteristikleri üzerinde yoğunlaşmıştır. Kurumsal faktörler; polisin memurlarının görev yaptığı polis biriminin kurumsal kültürü ve hizmet anlayışının etkilerini açıklamaya çalışmaktadır.</p>

The development of moral reasoning skills in police recruits

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelies De Schrijver ◽  
Jeroen Maesschalck
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Police officers are frequently confronted with moral dilemmas in the course of their job. The authors assume new police officers need guidance, and need to be taught at the police academy how to deal with these situations. The purpose of this paper is to obtain insight into the impact of socialization on police recruits’ knowledge of the code of ethics and their moral reasoning skills. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied a longitudinal mixed methods design, using two methods. The first method was a qualitative observation of integrity training sessions at five police academies in Belgium. The second method was a quantitative survey-measurement of recruits’ knowledge of the code of ethics and their moral reasoning skills at three points in time: the beginning of their theoretical training, before their field training and afterwards. Findings – The analyses show differences between the police academies in their integrity training sessions. Some of these differences are reflected in different levels of knowledge of the code of ethics. As for the development pattern of recruits’ moral reasoning skills, the study found almost no differences between the academies. Perhaps this is because recruits already have relatively high scores when they start, leaving little room for improvement during the one year training program. This suggests an important role of the police selection procedure. Originality/value – Previous research on socialization and police culture has focussed on recruits being socialized in a negative police culture where misconduct is learned. This is a negative interpretation of police integrity. A positive one refers to ethical decision making generally, and moral reasoning specifically. The impact of the socialization process on recruits’ moral reasoning is empirically understudied.

The Trials of George Doyle

2019 ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
K. Stephen Prince
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Jim Crow ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Racial Exclusion ◽  
Black Police ◽  
Black Police Officers

This chapter explores the racial exclusion of African Americans from the New Orleans police force, which had been integrated until the 1910s. It draws attention to the experience of George Doyle, a black off-duty police officer who shot a white man in 1905. Doyle’s story demonstrates the problems black police officers posed for white New Orleanians as they instituted a Jim Crow regime. It also shows how elemental all-white police departments were to that regime; when white New Orleans denied African Americans the ability to police their own communities, they stripped from them a fundamental right.

Marksmanship Skills of Female Police Recruits: Impact of Basic Firearms Training

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Charles ◽  
Anne G. Copay
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Grip Strength ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Police Academy ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Female Officers ◽  
Training Institute

Female police officers generally have a weaker grip strength and are less familiar with firearms than their male counterparts when they enter the police academy. The study examined whether the basic law enforcement firearms class adequately prepared female officers. Police recruits coming to the Police Training Institute (PTI) with no or little firearms training were selected. The grip strength and marksmanship scores of 216 police recruits (185 men and 31 women) were measured. Both male and female recruits significantly improved their marksmanship scores by the end of the training. The female scores remained slightly but significantly lower than the male scores due to their lower grip strength.

scholarly journals Female attrition from the police profession

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-389
Author(s):  
Andreea I. Alecu ◽  
Silje Bringsrud Fekjær
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Numerical Representation ◽  
Exact Matching ◽  
Family Obligations ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Representation Of Women

PurposeDo female police recruits drop out of police education and/or leave the profession more often than men, and has this changed over time? Can gender differences be explained by the background characteristics and family obligations of the recruits?Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs administrative registry data covering all individuals admitted to the police academy (1995–2010, N = 6570) and all academy recruits employed in the Norwegian police (1992–2014, N = 7301). The paper analyses the data using discrete-time logistic regression and coarsened exact matching.FindingsThe levels of dropout and attrition are generally low. However, female recruits have a somewhat greater tendency both to drop out of education and to leave the force. The gender differences are quite stable, although the percentage of female recruits has risen sharply. Family obligations do not seem to explain female attrition from the police force.Research limitations/implicationsBecause women tend to leave the police more often than men, further research is suggested in investigating female police recruits’ experiences. However, the relatively low level of dropout and limited gender differences also provide a reason to question whether stories of the police as a male-dominated profession not adapted to women are valid across time and in different settings.Originality/valueThis study provides exhaustive and detailed longitudinal data not previously available in studies of police careers. This study also tracks attrition in a period that has involved both increased numerical representation of women and changes in police culture, while accounting for other observable differences between male and female police officers. Contrary to common explanations, there is limited importance of family obligations and altered gender composition.

German police recruits’ perception of skill transfer from training to the field

2021 ◽  
pp. 146135572110640
Author(s):  
Mario S Staller ◽  
Swen Koerner ◽  
Valentina Heil ◽  
Andrew Abraham ◽  
Jamie Poolton
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Skill Transfer ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Police Recruits

In order optimally to prepare police officers for the demands in the field, police training has to be designed representatively. However, for the German context, there is a scarcity of research investigating to what extent training meets the demands of the field. To fill this gap, the current study examined if police training in Germany meets the field demands of police officers based on the perspective of police recruits. Thirteen recruits from a German police force were interviewed in a semi-structured way to identify possible matches and discrepancies between training and the field. The qualitative were was analysed using content analysis. The results revealed that recruits valued police training very positively because they were able to apply learned skills and tactics in the field. However, results also indicated that: (a) key informational variables present in the field were missing in training, namely chaotic, highly dynamic situations; and (b) police officers need to be adaptable and flexible in the field to cope with the demands. Finally, the results suggested that police training focuses narrowly on dealing with extreme threats, which differs from the experiences recruits had in the field and may have drawbacks because continuously perceiving social situations as threatening and dangerous is a risk factor for aggressive behaviour. Taken together, the current study provides further insights into the wants and needs of recruits in police training.

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