1. Paramilitary Policing Unit 8 Professor Phillips

2.  Structural and psychological  Division of labor  Vertical authority structure-command hierarchy  Explicit rule system  Fosters an us vs. them mentality What is paramilitary policing?

3.  Begins in the police academy  Intense training needed to prepare recruits for the realities of their job  Strip the recruits down to build them back up to meet the needs of the organization.  Many of the same types of physical and psychological training are found in the police academy that are used military boot camps.  For example- Group punishment  Individuals who join must be prepared to give up their personal liberties and individualism  Recruits tend to be psychologically similar to one another. When does it start?

4.  According to Lefkowitz (1977)….recruits select policing because  Security and social needs for structured leadership  The paramilitary style coincides with personality needs but recruits are often anxious when they realize that it appears that they have little discretion when they actually have a lot  However they report lower rates of job satisfaction Police recruits…early research

5.  Numerous studies have found that personality tests cannot predict success in policing- rather it is the training and structure of the police force that is more predictive of an individual officer’s success.  Despite this fact researchers still are looking for that “brass ring” of personality which will tell them what kind of person makes the best officer.  The few studies that have looked just at the personality of people who apply to be police officers have found…. Police recruits today….

6.  Salters-Pedneault, Ruef & Orr (2010)  Exceitement-seeking  Extraverts  Rayn, Bartles & Kreiner (2008)- found 2 distinct personality types  Novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence and persistance  Cooperativeness, self directed  Carpenter & Raza (1987)  Psychologically more healthy then the public  Less depressed and anxious  Assertive  Interested in maintaining social contacts  Conservative Police recruits…continued

7.  Combat corruption within the department  Response to greater dangers  However several studies as well a data on crime rates dispute this contention.  The psychology of a “war on crime”, “war on drugs”, “ war on gangs”.  Philosophically it is a response by the state to “take back control” and can be linked to the prison industry  For more information please take a look at Tonry’s work. Reasons for it

8.  Structure of the administration does not allow for measures of individual performance or effectiveness (Lefkowitz, 1977)  Does not recognize the “uncertainty inherent in police goals, enviornment and technology” (Fyfe, 1983).  Police become so loyal to each other that they will not criticize, confront or turn each other in (Sunahara, 1992). Critiques/Conflicts

9.  With community policing  “diverse policing requires a structure that facilitates flexibility and autonomy” (Chappell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2009)  Reduces the legitimacy of the police within the community.  Idea that police should use minimal force  Psychological response of the public is to push back Critiques/Conflicts

10.  Police see themselves only as crime fighters even though the public may perceive that their job encompasses more.  This can effect the types of crimes that are handled by police.  Public relations tend to be better between the community and police when police officers serve as leaders in other types of community relations programs…  This can be a conflict with psychology of a paramilitary police department. Police as crime fighters….

11.  Police are most effective when the community trusts them.  More crime and more danger for both the police and community when the public does not want to be policed but agrees to “policing by consent” The need for trust…

12.  Police and citizens should work together to solve problems  Improve quality of life to reduce crime  Organizational decentralization  Problem solving  The idea that police are not just crime fighters but social workers as well  From a historical perspective this is how women in policing started Community Policing