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Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 Police Treatment and Identity

Introduction

Every day the men and women of Americas police forces go to work and place themselves in potentially life threatening situations for the good of the people they serve and their communities. They protect citizens, save lives, and fight crime. Yet despite their willingness to engage in this dangerous occupation day in and day out, police officers are often treated with disrespect, portrayed very poorly throughout the media, and viewed in a negative light. When a police officer saves someones life or performs some other courageous action, he is rightfully praised and held up as a hero in society. However, when a police officer writes someone a ticket or citation, people are quick to forget that this same person would be willing to place his life in jeopardy to help them. This made me start to wonder how a police officer might actually feel about his treatment in these scenarios. I was curious about how police officers are treated on a day to day basis, what their daily activities actually entail, how they feel about their treatment, and how these things work in building the identity of a police officer. One reason for my interest in this subject is my criminal justice class. We have studied several chapters on police and police work. The most important and most helpful reason for my interest in this topic, however, is my cousin Jonathan Barnes. He is a former U.S. Marine, and currently works as a police officer in Huntersville, North Carolina. Knowing him and talking with him previously really encouraged me to choose to research police officers. He has worked as a police officer in

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 Lincolnton, Hickory, and Huntersville, North Carolina. This has given him firsthand as well as intensive knowledge and understanding about how being a police officer works in several different types of areas and departments. He is my inside track to understanding police identity.

Methods

I used several research methods when looking at this topic. The very first thing I did was a general Google search on police treatment and police identity. I did not find much of use, but the sole purpose of this search was to get some background information and to see what was out there. One of the most interesting things I found was a story about a police officer in the Phoenix area who was asked not to wear his uniform on a schools property after parents called and complained that their children were scared when he dropped off his child at school while wearing his uniform. Other than that, I did not find anything even worth mentioning. After trying this I used UNCCs library to find books. I used varying search terms such as police and community to find books. Once I found a few, I went to the library to get them and found even more just while looking in the same general area as the texts I found on the internet. I used these books for my secondary research, to support my main ideas, and to provide a background for my topic. My primary research method was an interview with my cousin. Since he is a police officer and member of this figured world, he provided me with the specific details I needed for my research. Because of conflicting schedules we did our interview over the phone.

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 Gee

The applicable work on identity from class readings for my research was Gee. I felt the four ways to view identity were very useful. These four ways are Nature, Institution, Discourse, and Affinity. Nature identity is identity developed through nature and is not based on individual accomplishments. An example of this is race or gender. The next view is Institution identity. This is an identity given to someone by a person, group, etc. in positions of authority. For example, one of my institutional identities is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The third way to view identity is Discourse identity. Discourse identity is how other rational individuals view a person after a dialogue or discourse. After carrying on a friendly conversation with someone they might see an individual as a nice, affable person. The final way to view identity, according to Gee, is Affinity identity. Affinity identity is determined by whom you align yourself with or what affinity group you place yourself in. People in affinity groups share the same interests, do the same things, and have the same experiences. Examples of affinity groups are people who share interest in weightlifting, fishing, Call of Duty, or basically any other topic of interest. Three out of the four ways to view identity fit nicely into my research. These ways are Institution, Discourse, and Affinity. Institutionally, the label of police officer is recognized by virtually every person, organization, etc. where the police operate. People who interact with police officers while they are on duty will label them based on how their interaction goes. They will remember what goes on and will create a discourse identity and will construct their views on the police with it. Police officers are in essence their own affinity group. They work together, spend lots of time together, and share experiences that only they and

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 few, select others can understand. They form bonds and relationships that are unique to their profession which helps them form their affinity group.

Traditional Roles of Police

There are several goals and roles of traditional police departments and several main tasks that the police will, in theory, accomplish. These goals are enforcement of the law, peacekeeping, and serving the community. The goal of enforcement of laws is fairly selfexplanatory. In order to provide safety and structure for the citizens of the United States of America, federal, state, and local governments have various laws which seek to protect the health, welfare, and morals of the people. (McDowell, 39) The violation of these laws and ordinances poses a threat to all citizens, because such violations diminish the prospects of safety and security to which all citizens are entitled. (McDowell, 39) Police officers attempt to prevent laws from being broken and to bring to justice those who have broken these laws for the safety and protection of the citizenry. Several problems come up when police officers pursue the enforcement of laws. One such problem is when the police investigate crimes. When a crime has been committed and reported, people are happy that the police are there. However, when the police try to prevent crime or find crimes that have not been reported, friction with citizens can develop because of how they view the conduct of the police officers. Another problem stems when police departments practice preventive patrol. There are no rewards for the police for preventing crimes because it is difficult to determine how many crimes were stopped due to preventive patrol. Measuring this is problematic since there is not an actual number for the

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 amount of crimes not committed. Additionally, when a crime is committed and no suspects are apprehended, it can appear to the public that the police are not effective and are not doing their jobs well. Enforcing the law is made more difficult for the police because they themselves are not above the law. This is good because police officers are citizens, too, and they cannot have free reign over people. Unfortunately, it does make some parts of their job much more difficult. One final problem police officers face when enforcing laws is the massive amount of laws with which they have to deal. In federal laws alone there are 2800 federal crimes; this does not even count crimes at local and state levels. Trying to determine which laws to focus on and to enforce most strictly is very difficult and can create some disputes with the general public. Many a patrolmen has heard a speeder say Why mess with me? Why dont you spend your time catching crooks? (McDowell, 40) Some other roles of police officers are peace keepers and community servants. Their main goal is to maintain public order. The police perform many different peacekeeping and service activities. Many of these events are non-criminal in nature, or if they involve some kind of criminal act, it might be very minor in scope. These types of activities include auto accidents, lost children, family disturbances, barking dogs, abandoned cars, and so on. (McDowell, 42) In the scope of society as a whole, many of these incidents are inconsequential, yet they are important to the people who are involved. Police responding to these types of situations help build public opinion about them. Police are called in these situations because they are always available and they will always respond. One problem with this scenario is that when called in to a peacekeeping situation, more often than not, a different

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 agency can do the same job more effectively than the police. Many of these situations require the police to use their own discretion in handling the different scenarios. For example, if there is a domestic dispute that the police are called to handle, they might attempt to resolve the situation peacefully without making an arrest. This will decrease the tension of both parties, end the matter quickly, and make the situation much easier for the police officer. The existence of police discretion has been widely recognized, although its legitimacy has not been universally accepted. (McDowell, 44) One problem with police discretion is that different policemen deal with different people and situations in different ways. There is no rule of thumb or standard for police discretion, but despite this, because of the nature of being a police officer, it is an unavoidable part of the job.

Expectations of the Police

People have many set expectations of the police. For example, citizens expect them to always be helpful and friendly. Police officers should always be working for the good of the community while on the job. Another interesting thing I was told was that a woman expected the police to be good role models. Police officers are in positions of authority, and they have power while in uniform. People are always looking at them and examining their actions. More often than not, the people watching police officers are young, impressionable children who view police officers as cool and look up to them. Because so many eyes are on them, police officers need to act appropriately and with professionalism. People in society want police officers to be honest

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 and especially to obey the law because some people feel that the police need to set the example for the general public. Another thing that people want the police to be is respectful. Obviously, this applies to social interactions and during conversations, but this also means to be respectful to peoples situations. When people encounter the police, it is not usually under ideal circumstances or situations. The police should treat each person the way they would want to be treated. Recently, my mom was home alone and thought that she heard a door open. My dad and I were playing golf and no one answered when she called out, so she called the police. They arrived in minutes and proceeded to search the house from top to bottom with her. Nothing was found and there was no evidence that anyone had tried to enter the house. My mom was a little embarrassed and apologized that they came all the way to our house for no reason. They were very friendly and helpful and told her that this type of thing is what they are here for and that they were glad to be able to help. Needless to say, this was a very good experience with law enforcement officers and we were very pleased with how my mom was treated and very thankful for their assistance.

Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes of police officers prevalent in todays society. One such stereotype is the fat, donut eating, inept police officer who goes out of his way to be a jerk. One example of this portrayal is in A Day To Remembers music video for the song The Downfall

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 of Us All. The police officers chase the band members around during the whole video and try to shut down their concert. Another example is in the commercials about doing good deeds when police officers offer donuts to a kid who returned a ladys purse. Another very different stereotype is the one that stems from the COPS television show, Worlds Wildest Police Videos, etc. These shows present the job of a police officer as non-stop action whether its high speed police chases, shootouts, foot pursuits or other similar activities. While these are real situations that police officers actually face, in most jurisdictions these types of situations are few and far between. In my interview with Jonathan, he told me about different situations and the amount of non-action work involved in each. When he gets called about shoplifting and he sees the person committing the crime, it takes on average twenty minutes to chase the guy down and complete the arrest. For the next two and a half hours he processes the perpetrator and handles all the requisite paperwork. In another instance, some guys were drunk and they drove a golf cart away from the golf course and then ran away. The encounter and chase took between thirty and forty minutes and the arrest and processing time took between three and four hours. Besides the relatively untold stories of the paperwork when compared to the adrenaline-fueled television shows there are also other differences. Most of my cousins time on the job is free time. This means that he is keeping a visible presence and working preventative patrols. He spends lots of time writing tickets for traffic violations. Other common situations he deals with are wrecks, shoplifters, and domestic disturbances. While each individual police officers experience is different, depending on where he works, the average day for an officer is a far cry from the way television can sometimes portray it.

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 Treatment of the Police and Their Feelings About It

When I asked my cousin, Officer Jonathan Barnes, about his treatment while on the job he stressed to me that each police officers experiences are unique, and vary from person to person. Many things that my cousin told me really surprised me. He told that how he is treated most often depends on the area and the situation that he is working. The first somewhat surprising thing he told me is that he understands why people are sometimes angry and mean to the police. When he interacts with the majority of people, its not a very good time for them and this, he says, is where part of the anger comes from. The police cannot help it, but they are primarily called in bad situations. As an officer, he tries to be as nice and as sensible as possible to everyone he encounters, short of overlooking someones sheer stupidity. Unfortunately, this does not always mean he is treated with the same respect. In fast food restaurants, he tells me, he has to continually stare at the people making his food because he is afraid the workers might spit on it or do something else to it. He has been randomly cussed out before just because he is a cop. In his experience, teenagers can be the most annoying. Some people also act entitled around the police and seem to think he, as an officer, owes them something. Another reaction he sees to his presence that is not exactly bad is nervousness. If he is walking behind someone in Target, they might wonder why he is there and if he is following them or if something bad has happened. Despite the mistreatment, he also told me many good stories about people. Both strangers and business owners alike have picked up his check for food because they are thankful for what he does. People are also very grateful for the help he provides when situations call for it. When he is in uniform in public people are drawn to him and stare at him. To these people he provides a

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 sense of security. Oftentimes, random strangers will make eye contact with and speak with him. The uniform of a police officer places him in an elevated position that people look towards. If he was in plain clothes, no one would come up to him and just say hello. It would also be considered very weird if he just went up to random people and started talking like he does when in uniform. Overall, Jonathan told me that most of the time peoples treatment of him is pretty good. One funny thing he told me is that whenever he walks into restaurants, stores, etc., someone always points at someone else and proclaims, He did it! in an attempt to be funny. Jonathan said he has heard that so many times he cannot even pretend to smile anymore.

Conclusion

I was very surprised when Jonathan told me that his overall treatment is good. It seems that peoples opinions of the police are based more on their personal situations, and even their neighborhoods, than on the police or the job theyre doing. Jonathan told me he is generally as cordial as possible to everyone and how he is treated varies depending on the individual with which he is dealing. It also varies based on where he is working. In Hickory, his overall treatment was not as pleasant as it is now, in Huntersville. As an officer, he works hard to be fair to everyone and to do his job to the best of his ability. Sometimes people think highly of the police and treat him great; at other times people just hate the police and that determines their treatment of him before he even has any interaction with them. Regardless, he understands that as a police officer, that just comes with the territory.

Stephen Bolton English 1102 Rebecca Agosta November 18, 2013 Works Cited Barnes, Jonathan. Telephone Interview. 11/2/2013. Gee, James. "Identity as an Analytic Lens for Research in Education." Review of Research in Education. 25. (2000-2001): 99-125. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. McDowell, Charles. Police in the Community. Cincinnati: The W. H. Anderson Company, 1975. 39-57. Print.

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