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Cultural Diversity Issues in the Criminal Justice System
Essay cultural diversity in law enforcement
Cultural Diversity Issues in the Criminal Justice System
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Power conformity is parallel behavior to obtain rewards and avoid punishments from the larger group (Levy, 1). What the individual attempts to obtain are cues from the group to articulate the appropriate response in a situation. Individuals conform to these standards because they wish to achieve solidarity. Therefore, police solidarity effects the socialization process to the subculture and police work because new members are trying to increase their solidarity with the group. Encouraging individuals to conform and obey social norms can be done through formal and informal means. Although individuals begin with different attitudes, they are socialized into the attitudes and behavior of the group. For example, a rookie African American officer
As stated in The Pillar of Democracy”, by Haberfeld M.R. (MAKI), Charles Lieberman and Amber Horning (pg.201), the way culture evolves depends on the individual persons. Police cultural is a set behavioral patterns passed on by the members of the teams to the new members and such patterns of behavioral pattern stay long after the retirement or departure of the one who originated the behaviors.
The American Behavioral Scientist, 44(12), 2252-2268. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214769221?accountid=45049. Gray, M. (2014). The 'Standard'. The L.A. riots: 15 years after Rodney King.
For this process to take flight Akers outlines the necessary components. Firstly “the group/gang must have normative definitions of what they perceive is right or wrong which will eventually turn into discriminative stimuli” (Bartol, Curt, & Bartol, 2010, 97) which are signals transmitted by subcultural or peer groups to indicate whether certain actions should be rewarded or punished. In this regards, “the strength and likelihood of one adopting these values are indicative of the amount of reinforcement and the frequency of it” (Burgess & Akers, 1966,
Police are sometimes stereotyped to be rugged, single minded enforcers who are insensitive to families in their most vulnerable state (Cross, Finkelhor, Ormrod, 2005). This would be an ideal approach to implement; however there seem to be difficult relationships between the two systems as they both hold different values and beliefs.
Myths are defined as stories that are made up by society that symbolizes values, ideologies and beliefs (Phillips, 2016). Myths are used by all cultures; myths are stories that are told to support social customs in societies. Crime myths are also created by telling stories (Victor Kappeler & Gary Potter, 2005). Myths about police officers have created false imageries of officers and their day-to-day jobs. Myths about the police have played an important role for decades now (Phillips, 2016). Majority of police myths are created by both the media and the police themselves. This paper will review Victor Kappeler and Gary Potters summary of police myths and outside sources will be used to support the myths listed by the authors.
Conformity is defined as the occurrence of people yielding to social pressures as a result of pressure from a group of their peers; when faced by the pressure to conform, people will alter their behaviour and actions to fit the norm demonstrated by their peers (Lilienfield et al., 2012). Conformity is studied so that is can be understood and used in society to facilitate positive outcomes, and help avoid situations where peoples’ predisposition to conform leads to negative consequences (Lilienfield et al., 2012). By understanding conformity and other social processes society as a whole is able to understand themselves better and motivates them to work on improving as a whole (Lilienfield et al., 2012).
It is both a result and a cause of police isolation from the larger society and of police solidarity. Its influence begins early in the new officer’s career when he is told by more experienced officers that the “training given in police academies is irrelevant to ‘real’ police work”. What is relevant, recruits are told, is the experience of senior officers who know the ropes or know how to get around things. Recruits are often told by officers with considerable experience to forget what they learned in the academy and in college and to start learning real police work as soon as they get to their Field Training Officers. Among the first lessons learned are that police officers share secrets among themselves and that those secrets especially when they deal with activities that are questionable in terms of ethics, legality, and departmental policy, are not to be told to others. They also are told that administrators and Internal Affairs officers cannot often be trusted. This emphasis on the police occupational subculture results in many officers regarding themselves as members of a “blue
Conformity is the adjustment of one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Several years ago, after I completed my undergraduate degree, I became a police officer. I discovered early on that there were several groups (or cliques) that operated inside the walls of the department.
The theory ultimately determines whether they will eventually be led to commit crimes to relieve the strain or to resist by obeying the rules of society. (Strain Theories) An example of this would be police departments not having good communication and place to be able to communicate with the public this in turn creates strain on the policeman himself. Policeman’s perceptions of the world are influenced by two things which are danger and authority. These perceptions allow him to view society from a different viewpoint than a regular citizen. This also puts him into an isolated sub culture, which can work against him. The element of danger seems to make the policeman feel the pressure of appearing efficient. The character of an officer effects whom he is friends with, most of a policeman’s friends are others that are policemen. The element of danger can isolate him from certain citizens in the society. The element of authority reinforces the element of danger and in turn isolates the policeman. The policeman is required to enforce the laws to everyone in the society. Not only do they have to enforce all laws they have to regulate all public activity such as traffic laws. Whether a policeman can step away from his working persona is crucial when he’s off duty and in street clothes because he has to be able to function normally in society just like everyone else. No one knows the thoughts of a police officer. Only that officer at the moment of a situation can speak for him or herself. (Sketch of the Policeman’s “Working Personality)The basic foundation of the criminal justice system is police enforcement of laws poor community relations can be a barrier between the citizens and police departments. It can has created an and impediment within the community of Ferguson; the way in which they have handled the recent events in the Michael Brown case
The New Zealand Police is the lead agency responsible for helping the community to decrease or reduce crime, corruption and improve the responsibility of safety and protection in New Zealand. There is a need to make changes to the police culture in order to improve the performance of their organisation. However there are three fundamental errors that need to be addressed which will be discussed in this essay. Firstly, there is a lack of an established sense of urgency which has the potential to jeopardize the future of the organization. Secondly is, not creating a powerful enough guiding coalition which means there is a lack of communication which resulted in an absence of leadership and teamwork from frontline staff to national headquarters. Finally, an undercommunicating the vision by a factor of ten that organisation leader needs to communicate visions and strategies. These three errors are relevant as they are pivotal in the implementation of a managing change programme. Recommendations are also provided to improve on how the New Zealand Police can be enhanced within a management perspective.
Many, if not all organizations have some type of subculture that can influence the behavior and actions of their employees. Police subculture has been viewed as a positive entity amongst the law enforcement community but negative with the public. Sometimes referred to as the “Blue Code of Silence” or the “Cop Code,” the code of silence that is essential to the subculture, puts emphasis on extreme loyalty and brotherhood to other police officers. This way of thought could also make them shut out and exclude close family and friends out of their lives.
Police social work is a growing practice within the criminal justice system. Although a police station is not the primary setting for a social worker, it makes a lot of sense for them to be employed within. Police and social workers both share concerns that are connected to crisis, violence, and personal and family issues. They often lie hand in hand and deal with the same situations. Many cases are now requiring both social work and police intervention and follow up. The calls that the police station receive are sometimes more directed to social work professionals and could be handled in a more efficient way if both professions came together. When social workers were originally employed by police stations, they were assigned to work with
In any society, the simple need for protection and law enforcement is crucial. Not only do police officers’ carry its duty to serve and protect but also security officers, airport police and the transit police emulate the same the same qualities to ensure citizens that they are being protected. The different styles of authority uniform can contribute to the way one might respond to these figures. Persuasion toward authority can vary depending on location and how close do uniforms resemble police officers. Different influences can also view the characteristics-color, style and fit of uniforms and negative make assumptions because of recent events. Figures in uniform affect the process of persuasion in everyday society.
Delatore, J.E. “Character and Cops.” American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy Research. 1989: 65. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013
Understanding the issue is just part of what’s needed. The purpose of the section is to identify a solution, or as may be the case, solutions. So, the question here is what can we do to improve the relationship between the police and the citizens. Over the years there has been many books written and studies conducted, all in an effort to find the best way to improve police and citizen relationships. To do this we must look at all available information. According to The Study Circles Resource Center’s Protecting Communities, Serving the Public: Police and residents building relationships to work together (2000), “Bring police and community together. We need to meet not just when there is a crisis or a big crime. We should do things to build relationships that are not so full of conflict. Then it would be easier to work together. We can build respect and trust for one another when we make time to meet with and learn about each other. This is the only way to do it.