Can ethics survive the shock of the job? Quebec's police recruits confront reality

Alain, Marc; Grégoire, Martin

doi:10.1080/10439460802008702

Cited by 31 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This can be especially prominent in self-reported measures, when respondents try to identify the 'right' or politically correct answers instead of giving their honest opinions. This 'casting' effect may cause police recruits to answer in ways they think are correct (Alain and Grégoire 2008) and should be considered a potential threat to validity in all self-report measures, especially if there are stakes for the respondents involved. Previous research has also shown that the propensity to inflate an image is especially problematic in hiring situations (Donovan et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European police recruits’ views on ideal personal characteristics of a police officer

Inzunza

Wikström

2019

Policing and Society

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As societies are becoming more heterogeneous and complex, the role of the police is becoming more demanding. To fulfil this role, police officers need several widely recognised skills and personal qualities, but less is known about how they are valued by police recruits. Thus, we have examined views of police recruits in six European countries on three competencies or characteristics of known importance for police work: knowledge, leadership, and the ability to form good relations with citizens. We have also explored variations in views of recruits in different organisations and changes in their views during their training. For these purposes, we used survey data collected in the RECPOL project. Since the data were collected from different populations and at different times, the analysis is based on measurement invariance methodology, and one of the aims was to highlight the importance of rigorous appraisal of the quality and comparability of similar survey data using such methods. The results reveal both differences and similarities in views of recruits in the surveyed countries and changes during training. Police culture appears to be a significant factor, as more items in the applied instrument could be validly used in comparisons of recruits in organisations with similar police traditions. The results also showed interesting contrasts, e.g. new recruits in Sweden rated good relations with citizens more highly than recruits in organisations with a more military history, but this pattern changed during training, presumably due to influences of the recruitment process, training and culture within the organisations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European police recruits’ views on ideal personal characteristics of a police officer

Inzunza

Wikström

2019

Policing and Society

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“…However, numerous studies, from the seminal work of Skolnick (1966) and Rubenstein (1973) to more recent studies (Alain and Grégoire, 2008; Loftus, 2010), report that officers often take an autonomous perspective on police work, emphasizing outcome rather than process. Such a perspective is justified by the need for an effective police force, stressing values such as concrete results and the maintenance of authority.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From legalist to Dirty Harry: Police recruits’ attitudes towards non-legalistic police practice

Fekjær

Petersson

Thomassen

2014

European Journal of Criminology

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This study provides a test of the presumption that police recruits with a diverse background, undertaking comparatively long academic training, will refrain from non-legalistic practices. This is tested by longitudinal survey data, covering two cohorts of Swedish police recruits. The results show stable support for the legalistic perspective during academy training. However, during on-the-job training, the recruits become more positive towards non-legalistic practices. This reorientation takes place quite irrespective of the type of duty to which they are assigned. Additionally, neither the recruits' nor their parents' level of education seems to matter. There is some effect of age and gender; young male recruits are somewhat more prone to adopt Dirty Harry-inspired measures-that is, achieving essential ends by tarnished means.

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“…Furthermore, the background and attitudes of police students have been the subjects of several studies (Lauritz, 2009, Alain and Grégoire, 2008, Chan et al, 2003, Fielding, 1988, Larsson et al, 2006. For example, Chan et al (2003: 131-137) report that Australian police recruits value operational skills more highly than the theoretical subjects in their education, and that they are divided when asked whether they want to be working the streets/stay in uniform in the future.…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police students’ social background, attitudes and career plans

Fekjær

2014

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies &Amp; Management

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Purpose: To compare the social background of Norwegian and Swedish police students. Are there differences in the students' social background, and if so, are such differences reflected in different attitudes and career plans among the students?Design/methodology/approach: The questions are explored on the basis of survey data on all Norwegian and Swedish police students who started their education in 2009 (N=737). The methods employed are cross-tabular analysis and multivariate linear regression. Findings:The results show that a larger proportion of Norwegian police students have highly educated parents, compared to the Swedish. However, students' social background does not seem to be important for their orientation towards theory and knowledge or their plans for doing operational police work.Practical implications: An important question for the future's police educators is whether a study with a formal bachelor status will attract a different type of students. These results show that the Norwegian police education with a formal bachelor degree attracts more students with highly educated parents, but the importance of attracting students with a given social background to the police profession seems to be limited. Originality/value: There are no previous comparative studies on recruitment to police education, or studies of police recruitment that focus especially on the importance of social background.

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Can ethics survive the shock of the job? Quebec's police recruits confront reality

Cited by 31 publications

References 16 publications

European police recruits’ views on ideal personal characteristics of a police officer

European police recruits’ views on ideal personal characteristics of a police officer

From legalist to Dirty Harry: Police recruits’ attitudes towards non-legalistic police practice

Police students’ social background, attitudes and career plans

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