ABSTRACT
This essay is concerned with the social settings which affect the ways in which the police as an occupational group view their spheres of activity as well as with the social settings of the subsections of the community with whom the police come into more frequent contact in their work. I shall concentrate mainly on the shared sentiments of the police with the similarities in their background, ideology, common experiences at work and outside work. In every society, there are certain groups which, more than other groups, are considered to be problematic from the point of view of the conformist sections of society. These “problem” groups often come into contact with the police more than other groups in society do. I maintain that because of the ideology, background, and role of the police, the police see these kinds of groups mainly as a control problem rather than one requiring social policy solutions.
