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The police are popularly characterized as the “thin blue line,” a cynical group alienated from their administration and the community they serve. Cynicism is seen as arising out of the conflict between what constables are expected to do by their administration and what they can realistically be expected to accomplish in the field. In this study, the authors develop an explanatory model using eight constructs from the cynicism literature and three constructs relating to the constables' working environment. Data for the analysis of the model are obtained from police archives, a survey of constables, and 9 months of field observation. The findings suggest that the model does not adequately account for variations in level of cynicism. Analysis of the observational data suggests that the inclusion of variables tapping the organization's internal and external political environments would provide substantial insight into constables'cynicism.

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