Police Subculture Research Paper

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Erik Camarena Instructor Canestrino CJ 3230 15 March 2024 Police Subculture Police subculture is derived from a group or agency having a similar set of values and beliefs that often created a sense of unity within the officers. I believe police subculture can be used as a legitimate training tool that can guide new officers into becoming better individuals. Police subculture is often based on a set of “core values” which can shape an agency in a way they believe to be fit. The “core values” can either have positive or negative aspects depending on the agency. For example, some positive attributes would be safety, empathy, teamwork, loyalty, and sacrifice. Some negative attributes are prejudice, biases, close-mindedness, and loyalty. One thing …show more content…

If a department lacks a strong set of core values, it can shape the entirety of the department, making the officers less inclined to be better. A department that lacks a guideline to be better can corrupt these officers and destroy the reputation of every officer. For example, if an officer is close-minded and believes their way is the only way to do things, officers would start to follow blindly without ever noticing if they are truly doing the right thing. Another example would be an officer planting evidence on an individual to make an arrest, if a new recruit sees that and the behavior is promoted, that would make the new officer more inclined to follow the same footsteps. The goal of having a good set of “core values” is to create a line between what is right and what is wrong. Looking at both the positive and negative attributes of police subculture, one attribute tends to stick out and that's loyalty. How police subculture can create loyalty dilemmas. The “loyalty dilemma” is created by the police subculture which reinforces a sense of core values in the officer to believe their way is the only way to do things (Belshaw et al.,

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