Occupational culture and policing

Abstract

When we direct our attention away from public sector occupational cultures per se and towards police occupational cultures, perhaps one of the first facts that needs to be acknowledged is the level of interest that they continue to generate. The subject area has attracted substantial academic attention over a relatively sustained amount of time and, as Westmarland (2008) notes, has achieved the somewhat distinguished position of being one of the few terms in police studies used by academics and lay audiences alike. Amongst academics, suggest O’Neill and Singh (2007, p. 1), it has become ‘an inescapable, controversial, surprisingly stubborn and recurring theme’. That police occupational or organizational culture (the two terms can be used interchangeably in most respects), seemingly above all other such cultures, still generates new literature, debate and disagreement indicates that police behaviour and values, and the drivers behind these, remain contested and of significant social interest. This chapter will highlight the social and political undercurrents that have informed much work into police culture before identifying three key eras of police culture research. For each of these eras of research a small number of key works will be discussed and the main themes outlined. Whilst the chapter presents some definitions of police culture, a selection of works will be drawn on to highlight the difficulties associated with defining this complex area.