Doing Policing: Rules and Culture

Question 1

Describe some characteristics of police culture

Answer 1

Mission-Action-Cynicism-Pessimism: police officers feel they have a mission to help and protect, cynicism feeling that it won’t make a difference, pessimism feeling constraints of laws prevent mission
Suspicion: can never switch off
Isolation/Solidarity: them vs us, covering for each other
Machismo: male dominated, 25-30% women
Prejudices develop

Question 2

Describe the role of law in police practice

Answer 2

Inevitability of discretion: The police cannot enforce all of the laws all of the time, nor would it be a good thing if they tried
Reiner: “Legal rules are neither irrelevant to nor completely determining of police practice.”
Opportunities (powers) and constraints (safeguards): sets the boundaries of what is permissible

Question 3

Describe the three types of rules in police practice

Answer 3

Working rules: shape practice (recording interviews)
Inhibitory rules: curtail practice because of sanction (stated racial prejudice, Foster et al, 2010)
Presentational rules: legitimate practice (‘reasonable suspicion’, Smith and Grey, 1985)