Justice, Crime, and Ethics (Braswell): Chapter 4: 54-63

1. Policing Values JCE Chapter 4 Cont.

2. From last class… • Police values derived from the dominant rural/suburban paradigm of the “American Dream:” success through hard work, ends justify means, hero mentality, crime fighter. • Police values are dispersed via police sub-culture.

3. …to this class • Police values may originate and disperse instead from “the profession.”

4. Argument: Police Values by Professional Training Values are dispersed via professional “socialization,” not sub-culture. • Medical practitioners learn to ‘do no harm’ from their professional training. Teachers learn ‘pedagogy of learning’ from their professional training. Lawyers learn ‘discretion’ and ‘non-disclosure’ from their professional training. • Policing is a professional activity. • So, Police learn their ‘protect and serve’ from their professional training. P. 54

5. Objections: Data and Self-selection • As discussed earlier, data indicate a certain set of values to be common amongst the policing profession. • Applicants “self select” the police profession: those who have ‘American Dream’ values are naturally attracted to policing (p. 56)

6. Contrasting Value Origination • Subculture: Policing values are transmitted by off-work activities or activities at work that are not directly concerned with the professional policing activities. Values are received largely unconsciously. • Profession: Policing values are transmitted by on-work activities, through training sessions and other forms of in socialization. One receives their values consciously.

7. Case Example: War Stories War stories are told by veterans to novices to transmit values in a lively and provocative way. The more unique and startling the war story, the more powerfully values will be transmitting. (Basically, every ‘cop’ show is a kind of war story.) Value transmission by: Manifest (explicit) content: the literal view. Latent (implicit) content: the interpretive or subtext view.

8. Case Example 1: War Stories Manifest (explicit) content: the literal view. Usually involves examples of job dangers to watch out for, how to prevent danger to oneself and colleagues. Latent (implicit) content: the interpretive or subtext view. Usually involves conflicting stories of how everyone is against common police practices and just does not understand what it is like to do the job (black swan content). p. 57

9. Case Example 2: FTO training • Veteran officers (FTO) ride along with novice officers and use a variety of techniques to ‘retrain’ them by giving them information that conflicts with their professional “values” training. • “The FTO also redefines the image of police work held by the new recruit.” • “Solidarity is also tested by assessing the extent that the new recruit will support or ignore behaviors than run counter to department policies (e.g. conducting personal business while on duty or accepting gratuities.)” • “The recruit learns that deterrence can only be achieved through the immediate exercise of coercion in the field (“street justice”). Quotes from pp. 59-60

10. Contrasting Value Origination • Subculture: Policing values are transmitted by off-work activities or activities at work that are not directly concerned with the professional policing activities. Values are received largely unconsciously or via social pressure. • Profession: Policing values are transmitted by on-work activities, through training sessions and other forms of in socialization. One receives their values consciously. The case examples suggest police values come from subculture not training Objections????

11. Specific Police Values Transmitted by Subculture • Force should be immediate and confident. Use increases solidarity. • Time is up to the officer: citizens will always complain. • Loyalty only to others behind the blue line. • Fringe Benefits are necessary to compensate for work danger. • Justice is up to police as the justice system is incompetent. • Discretion is determined largely by how a “criminal” responds to police interrogation.

12. NOT ALL OFFICERS ACCEPT THESE VALUES!!! • Force should be immediate and confident. Use increases solidarity. • Time is up to the officer: citizens will always complain. • Loyalty only to others behind the blue line. • Fringe Benefits are necessary to compensate for work danger. • Justice is up to police as the justice system is incompetent. • Discretion is determined largely by how a “criminal” responds to police interrogation.

13. How an officer responds to these default values determines their “moral career.” • Force should be immediate and confident. Use increases solidarity. • Time is up to the officer: citizens will always complain. • Loyalty only to others behind the blue line. • Fringe Benefits are necessary to compensate for work danger. • Justice is up to police as the justice system is incompetent. • Discretion is determined largely by how a “criminal” responds to police interrogation. p. 62

14. ‘Alternative’ moral career paths • COP: Community Oriented Policing • Police interpret every action according to how well in serves and protects the community. Justice is not “arrest/conviction” but rather “peace” and “security” in their community. • POP: Problem Oriented Policing • Police interpret every action according to how well in deescalates “problems” in their purview. Justice is not “arrest/conviction” but rather “resolution.” P. 64

16. Police Value Reforms in Conflict Changing promotion Incentives Rather than quantitative indicators of policing such as number of arrests and convictions or “clearing crime,” police are evaluated on satisfying ethical standards and leadership skills in the community. Changing Tasks Rather than arresting and clearing crime, officers are now also charged with larger scale duty of “homeland war.” Such “peace” officers are militarized for combating homeland acts of terrorism, including those conducted by US citizens. (E.g. Boston Bombing)

17. Summary: Conflicting Pressures Media attention to police misconduct is widespread and departments are reforming their value system. At the same time, many communities have become more dangerous: war zones. So, police also need to be militarized. What is the future of police values? Community-oriented Profession: Every citizen is to be protected and served Militarized Profession: Every citizen a possible “enemy”