The cognitive gap between the police and the policed: An exploratory study in attitude organization.

Abstract

Rokeach, Miller, and Snyder (1971) rationalize that the perspectives or subcultures of police and other important groups in American society such as adolescents differ. The policeman's role vis-A-vis young people is primarily one of control and order-maintenance. This orientation is supported by police commitment to the utility of preserving the status quo and obedience to local norms and laws. The differential recruitment and subsequent occupational socialization of men with these beliefs into police work reinforces this perspective. Rokeach, Miller, and Snyder (1971, pp. 156-157) cite numerous studies that describe the perspective police share about themselves, the law and its enforcement, and adolescents: emphasis on departmental loyalty, self-sacrifice, and acquiescence to authority; perception of jurists as unfair, judges as lenient, and probation officers as inept; negative sentiments toward youths and their defiance, rebelliousness, and disregard for the law; preoccupation with obtaining respect for law; and a conservative and moralistic outlook. While a great deal of evidence supports the existence of a unique police subculture, youth research typically does not examine young peoples' subculture and its relationship to adult perspectives (symbolic interactionism is a notable exception); rather, youth studies examine the problems of, and adjustments to, adolescence, and the predictors of educational success. A review of these findngs by Douglas (1970) suggests that there is no ubiquitous youth culture; instead, there are several groups, such as the straights, the rebellious, and the deviants. Police uniformly view the