Structural Influences on Police Officer Attitudes Toward Community Policing

2011 ◽  
pp. 273-294
Author(s):  
Helen Lewis
Author(s):  
Megan O'Neill

Police Community Support Officers: Cultures and Identities within Pluralized Policing presents the first in-depth ethnographic study of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) since the creation of the role in 2002. Situated within the tradition of police ethnographies, this text examines the working worlds of uniformed patrol support staff in two English police forces. Based on over 350 hours of direct observation and thirty-three interviews with PCSOs and police constables in both urban and rural contexts, the book offers a detailed analysis of the operational and cultural realities of pluralized policing from within. Using a dramaturgic framework, the author finds that PCSOs have been undermined by their own organizations from the beginning, which has left a lasting legacy in terms of their relationships and interactions with police officer colleagues. The implications of this for police cultures, community policing approaches, and the success of pluralization are examined. The author argues that while PCSOs can have similar occupational experiences to those of constables, their particular circumstances have led to a unique occupational culture, one which has implications for existing police culture theories. The book considers these findings in light of budget reductions and police reforms occurring across the sector, processes in which PCSOs are particularly vulnerable.


Author(s):  
Shannon Harper ◽  
Angela Gover ◽  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Paul Mazerolle

PurposeComparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.Design/methodology/approachTwo-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.FindingsThe results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.Research limitations/implicationsScholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).Originality/valueWhile gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. McCluskey ◽  
Byongook Moon ◽  
Sangwon Lee

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