Blending Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy into Police Culture

摘要

Employees of all types of organizations work under informal behavioral guidelines that spring from shared attitudes toward the demands of the job. In policing, occupational cultural attitudes are largely grounded in the ways officers feel toward civilians. Officers are trained and socialized to maintain the edge when interacting with civilians. In addition, officers tend to band together fraternally, both on and off the job. While some elements of the police occupational culture are beneficial or even indispensable, this set of attitudes can hamper police-community relations. Civilians may interpret officers' demeanors, tones of voice, and actions differently than officers intend. The command presence, for instance, may seem to the officer to be correct in light of his or her training and experience; however, to the civilian, it can seem cold or intimidating. Likewise, officers' desire to support one another can outwardly appear like overzeal-ousness or insularity.