Police Use of Force

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the article "Police Culture and Coercion" by Terrill, Paoline, and Manning, and explains that the article is about the possible connection between police culture and coercive tactics or the use of force in performance of police duties. The writer then explains the initial expectations and the findings expressed in the article and then concludes with his own response to the findings of the article.

Outline:
Introduction
Initial Expectations
Experimental Findings
Response

From the Paper:

"The article accurately described the likely evolution of what it characterized as the traditional mindset reflected universally among police officer, particularly first-line police officers engaged in street patrol. According to the authors, the combined strains associated with police work in the form of perceived threat potential from citizen contacts and arbitrary, unpredictable, and punitive enforcement of procedural rules by superior officers and police administration. Those psychological strains produce an "us against them" mentality with respect to citizens and police administrators alike.
"The authors correctly defined the component elements of the described police mindset in terms of the three main contributing variables of attitude toward the public, attitude toward immediate superiors and police administration, and self-described roles as law enforcement officers. The study effectively limited the effect of extraneous factors by appropriately excluding both working environments where increased vigilance and concern for officer safety are to be expected, as well as issues corresponding to the most likely areas of idiosyncratic prejudices capable of skewing the accuracy and relevance of the results observed."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Terrill, W., Paoline, E.A., Manning, P.K. (2003) Police Culture and Coercion; Criminology Vol. 41 No. 4

More papers on Police Use of Force:

• Analytical Essay # 105929 : "Police Use of Force"
• Analytical Essay # 142755 : "Police Use of Force Policies"
• Analytical Essay # 28810 : "Police Use of Force"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: