ABSTRACT

Police culture has been widely criticized as a source of resistance to change and reform, and is often misunderstood. This book seeks to capture the heart of police culture—including its tragedies and celebrations—and to understand its powerful themes of morality, solidarity, and common sense, by systematically integrating a broad literature on police culture into middle-range theory, and developing original perspectives about many aspects of police work.

chapter |7 pages

Introduction

part |65 pages

Understanding Police Culture

part |289 pages

Understanding Police Culture

section |64 pages

Coercive Territorial Control

chapter |15 pages

The Moral Transformation of Territory

Theme: Dominion

chapter |15 pages

Force is Righteous

Theme: Force

chapter |14 pages

Crime Is War, Metaphor

Theme: Militarism

chapter |14 pages

Stopping Power

Theme: Guns

section |56 pages

Themes of the Unknown

chapter |11 pages

The Twilight World

Theme: Suspicion

chapter |8 pages

Danger Through the Lens of Culture

Theme: Danger and its Anticipation

chapter |9 pages

Anything Can Happen on the Street

Theme: Unpredictability and Situational Uncertainty

chapter |12 pages

No Animal Out There Is Going to Beat Me

Theme: Turbulence and Edge Control

chapter |12 pages

Seductions of the Edge

Theme: Seduction

section |71 pages

Cultural Themes of Solidarity

chapter |12 pages

Angels and Assholes: The Construction of Police Morality

Theme: Police Morality

chapter |16 pages

Common Sense and the Ironic Deconstruction of the Obvious

Theme: Common Sense

chapter |7 pages

No Place for Sissies

Theme: Masculinity

chapter |17 pages

Mask of a Thousand Faces

Theme: Solidarity

chapter |13 pages

America's Great Guilty Crime Secret1

Theme: Racism

section |3 pages

Loosely Coupling Cultural Themes

chapter |6 pages

On Becoming Invisible

Theme: Outsiders

chapter |10 pages

Individualism and the Paradox of Personal Accountability

Theme: Individualism

chapter |16 pages

The Truth Game

Theme: Deception

chapter |6 pages

Cop Deterrence and the Soft Legal System

Theme: Deterrence

chapter |18 pages

The Petty Injustice and Everlasting Grudges1

Theme: Bullshit

section |2 pages

Death and Police Culture

chapter |7 pages

Thinking About Ritual

chapter |14 pages

The Culture Eater

Theme: Death

chapter |11 pages

Good-bye in a Sea of Blue1

Theme: Police Funerals