Policing Subculture

Police Subculture- Add on Response

Nathan, I enjoyed reading your perspective and can relate to much of what you have expressed. Your explanation of the life cycle of a police career provided a clear and concise way of explaining this stressful aspects of law enforcement. I agree with your opinion on patience and its importance on keeping a balanced and clear mind while engaged in stressful policing activities. Your summary was informative and precise.

Your emphasis on education in your response aligns very much with my own philosophy on the matter, and is evidenced by this particular educational experience we are progressing through. By understanding life as one giant learning ground allows law enforcement officers to not place too much stress on themselves. Since this type of work is always mired in the unknown, being comfortable with ignorance is a good first step in becoming better educated and eventually a better professional.

I slightly disagree however with your closing statement expressing the need to shield family members from the pain and stresses. In my opinion, this repression could be dangerous in the long run. The plight of a law enforcement officer must be accompanied by friends and family so they can lend support. While some details of the job need to be used with discretion, the truth should never be hidden. Only when people understand one another can they begin to help each other.

Response 2

Gary, thanks for your good points, I learned much from reading your views. Your comments on respect were very good and resonated with my own views on the matter. Incorporating respecting each and every individual citizen is at the heart of what law enforcement does. We work for the people, not the other way around. By expressing this notion you touched upon a commonly overlooked aspect of this profession.

I am glad you incorporated the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse in your writing. For me, this is very important and oftentimes ignored. Drinking alcohol is often treated as part of the job and is very prevalent throughout the profession. The risks of drowning sorrow and pain away, that is experienced in many different ways in a law enforcement career, are great and need to be addressed and not dismissed. The machismo associate with this profession may encourage people to take it too far. Courage must be tempered with patience and reason if it is to be of any use to the officer.

I wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion about family being the most important aspect of the personality and it must be successfully incorporated in order to keep all interested parties at an operational level.

Response 3

Carmen, I really appreciated your comments on the career progression of a police officer. When describing the political necessities of the job, it is clear that you understand and communicate this idea in writing. Your ideas on approachability really resonated with my own philosophy of police work and appreciate it being included in the discussion.

Discussing the specific stressors of the career progression helps highlight and contextualize your argument so that it is clear that this job is not easy and is very emotionally difficult as well. What is clear after reading your argument is that it is important for law enforcement professionals to keep their faith in humanity and remember that the citizens are the ones who need protection. In order to best guarantee this protection it is important that police officers find therapeutic means of releasing that stress. Many times this stress sticks in the psyche of a police officer and can bring more harm than good to everyone involved in the situation.

Response 4

Kevin, your take on the move Training Day is understandable, but I disagree with many of the points you bring up in your synopsis. By treating Jake as the victim, instead of the hero of the story, it places a bad light upon policing. The movie explains the workings of a corrupt regime where leaders in the ranks of police act like feudal warlords. Whether this is a correct characterization of the LAPD or not is debatable, but it is within the realm of possibility. The moral that absolute power corrupts absolutely should not be taken lightly, and this film illustrates that no one is immune.