Attitude towards Work and Community Policing Implementation among

Police Officers

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Policing is one of the major, formal devices designed to bring about the

regulation and control of behavior in a community. If social disapproval and other

informal social processes fail to contain crime, drug abuse, and sociopathic behavior,

the police are then expected to provide a main line of defense against deviants and

lawbreakers. Parenthetically, the police in modern societies are also charged with the

maintenance of public order as well as with the control of crime.

In recent years, community policing has been presented as a tool for enabling

police officers to control crime and to improve police-citizen relations. The comfort of

long established and traditional roles of police institutions and authorities ranks as a

prime obstacle to any new and different model of local police work, and specifically,

what is happening in the current venturing into community policing. Community policing

program successes are, thus, likely to be determined by the level of interest and

willingness on the part of police officers to identify with the basic principles of

community policing; principles that by their very nature have cause changes to well

established police organizational and job structuring.

Several studies on police working environments suggest that how police feel

about their job and their department, can greatly affect their relations with the public and

the quality of law enforcement service they provide (Hewitt, 2006). Current research on

community policing has assumed widespread support for community-police partnership

strategies (Sherry, 2005). Community policing has been elevated to the stature of a

panacea or catch-all cure for a large variety of police-environment induced frustration

and strain. This approach, however, ignores the effects of stress and strain on the

effectiveness of community policing programs.

Over the years, a common practice known as community policing has been

adopted by many police departments across the country that aim to reinvent the ways in

which officers’ police their community. Methods such as strengthening current policies,

improving interactions with the public, and enacting an overall proactive police force

have been used to reduce crime and social disorder within communities (Greene,

2000). The entire idea of community policing has revolved around what has failed in

other models of policing. Over the years, law enforcement has begun to re-examine the

role of police departments as it relates to public safety. Fridell and Wycoff (2004) have

outlined several characteristics of community policing. The first point outlined was that

there has to be a mutual effort between the police and the community in identifying

problems of crime and disorder.

Policing strategies, specifically in community-oriented policing, are effective when

key elements are considered. To explain why community policing has the potential to be

an extremely effective model, it is important to review its core elements. Some of the

major themes of community policing in the literature include: community engagement,

problem solving, and “decentralizing” police organizations. Thus, Researchers

conducted this study to determine the attitude towards work and community policing

implementation of Police officers.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the Attitude towards Work and Community Policing

Implementation among Police Officers. Specifically, this will seek answers to the

following questions:

1. What is the Attitude towards work of Police officers?

2. What is the level of Community Policing Implementation of Police officer in terms

of:

1. Humanity

2. Integrity

3. Professionalism

4. Courage

3. Is there a significant relationship between attitude towards work and community

policing implementation of Police Officer?

Review of Related Literature

This chapter provides a review of the relevant literature that underpins this study.

As argued in the previous chapter, the concept of community policing, and purposes

can be considered as key unresolved issues in the literature. In this sense, three

background questions have guided this literature review chapter – these being:

1. What is community policing - and how does it differ from other key approaches of

policing?

2. What is the attitude towards work of Police Officer in application of community

policing?
Community Policing

The wide interest on community policing has been accompanied by critical

discussion on its diversity of meanings ( Eck and Rosenbaum, 2004). The lack of a

clear definition of community policing, may have much to do with the different theoretical

and practical levels in which it has been implemented, while some define it by purpose

and functions, others define it by structure and programs, and others again as a

philosophy (Wong, 2011 p.8). As Edwards (2009, ) has argued, it is not uncommon for

police services to label almost any non-reactive police strategy as a community policing

initiative.

Similar issues which arise when the term community is associated with the

concept of engagement include the fact that it raises questions about

representativeness (Martin, 2007). Crawford (2007) has warned that if the term

‘community’ is conceived as an entity of shared interests, this might overlook intra-

community conflicts by marginalising those individuals whose voicing dissent (Crawford,

2007). Also elaborating on the issue of conceiving the concept of community as a

homogeneous entity, Spalek (2008) has pointed out that, in the UK, attempts to engage

British Muslism communities by focusing largely on community leaders, risks ignoring

the fact that these are often middle-aged – or older – citizens who have little

understanding of the viewpoints and perspectives of younger members of the

community. In a similar vein, Rowe (2004) has argued that, if the community comprises

only community leaders, they are often, and quite paradoxically, likely to be out of touch

with those on whose behalf they are supposed to be speaking. Furthermore, when

referring to crime, the ambiguity over what constitutes ‘community’ is illustrated in the

struggle for the police in balancing their own sense of responsibility for crime control

and safety with a concern to involve residents and other local agencies, each with their
own particular agendas and perspectives about priorities and the directions that policies

should take (Edwards and Hughes 2002).

Shapland´s (2008) notion of community seeks to relate the community and two

different ways of dealing with crime from a comparative perspective. She has observed

that, in countries such as the UK, the term community is more readily linked with

mechanisms of governance to address social problems, such as crime and anti-social

behaviour, while in other countries, the notion is taken to suggest separateness, even to

the extent of residents setting themselves apart and thinking themselves as a

jurisdiction in their own right (Shapland, 2008). This, for example, is rather the case for

some communities in the State of Oaxaca in Mexico (see Rowland, 2006), where there

is generally low acceptance of the police and a preference for dealing with law and

order problems themselves.

Attitude towards Police Officer

In addition to performance-based studies, numerous other studies have

examined police officers' professional attitudes. According to Shernock (2012),

"Professionalism is viewed more accurately in terms of attitudinal attributes that reflect

the manner in which practitioners view their work". In 1968, Richard Hall conducted an

analysis on the professionalization movement of different occupations. Hall identified

two attributes, structural and attitudinal, that occupations acquire to move toward a

professional model. The structural attributes include a formal education and specific

entrance requirements into the occupation.

The attitudinal attributes can be seen in how practitioners view their work. If an

individual has met the structural requirements of the profession, the next aspect of a

professional to be developed is the attitudinal attributes. Hall (2008) identified five

attitudinal attributes of a professional. Professionalism, the first attribute, depends on

organizations functioning as a major referent for guiding ideas, standards, and

judgments via such mechanisms as journals and meetings. The second attribute was a

belief in public service as seen in a conviction that the professional's services are

indispensable for societal well-being. The third was a belief in self-regulation: only

colleagues can judge each other's work. The fourth attitude was a sense of calling that

is seen in a lifetime devotion to the work. The final attitude was autonomy, defined as

the freedom to make decisions without interference from others.

Theoretical Framework

Rational choice theory describes crime as a logical decision made by offenders

on a situational basis. Offenders weigh the pros and cons of their decisions and commit

crimes when the benefit garnered by committing the crime outweighs the potential risk

of getting caught and punished. Criminals who operate with opportunistic motive

generally consider the likelihood of being observed, ease of access to the target,

potential reward or benefit of committing the crime, and an evaluation of previous

experiences in similar situations (Cohen and Felson, 2009).

Goudriaan’s two-dimensional framework consists first of “situational” and

“contextual” factors of community policing that determine crime reporting decisions

(Goudriaan, 2004). Situational factors place the victim in direct contact with the

offender, while contextual factors refer to social aspects and relationships the victim has

with their community and police officials. The levels of collective efficacy in a community

would influence an individual on whether to call for help. The second dimension of the

framework identifies “rational” and “normative” reporting decisions. Rational reporting is

similar to the rational choice theory for offenders, while normative reporting decisions

relate to each individual’s values and norms. Community policing programs framed by
Goudriaan’s framework emphasize increasing factors that increase reporting behavior,

such as improving community-police relations, as well as introducing norms of high

levels of reporting into the community. Similar to rational choice theory, this theory relies

on too many factors dependent on the reasoning of the community members involved

without providing opportunity for community policing to make a difference.

As opposed to the two theories previously discussed, routine activities theory

provides accurate descriptions of the likelihood of victimization as a combination of the

lack of a suitable guardian, presence of a motivated offender, and the presence of a

suitable target converging in the same time and place (Cohen and Felson, 2009).

Suitable guardians are individuals who can effectively interfere with a motivated

offender’s goal of victimizing a target. Some examples of suitable guardians are police,

security guards, or guard dogs. Motivated offenders are any individual who, when in

convergence in time and space with a suitable target, will engage in a criminal behavior.

Routine Activity Theory assumes that motivation is a constant. This means that the

opportunity to offend appears when the offender and targets converge in a location.

Suitable targets can be any individual or location that does not have enough deterrents

to dissuade motivated offenders from engaging in crime. Unlocked houses, lone

individuals at night, or stores without proper security measures can all be suitable

targets for a motivated offender.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows the conceptual model of the relationship of the variables. The

independent variable is the level of community policing implementation of Police officer

in terms of Humanity, Professionalism, Integrity and Courage. The dependent variable

is the attitude towards work of Police officers.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Community Policing
Attitude Towards
Implementation
Work of Police
a. Humanity
b. Professionalism Officer

c. Integrity
d. Courage

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Showing the relationship of the Variables