ABSTRACT
What we know and think about police culture and personality are largely dependent on how one views behavior. Police behavior can be seen from several different perspectives. Social scientists use different “cognitive lenses” from which to view behavior. Not unlike researchers studying cells under a microscope, adjusting magnification of the instrument for clarity, social scientists study behavior from different points of view. Although no single perspective gives a clear and complete understanding of the many varieties of police behavior, using several different points of view allows us to gain greater perspective of
n Predispositional model
n Problem-solver
n Professionalization
n Professionals
n Psychological perspective
n Realists
n Reciprocators
n Rule applier
n Secrecy
n Socialization model
n Sociological perspective
n Solidarity
n Stress
n Stress effects
n Stressors
n Subculture
n Subculture of violence
n Symbolic assailant
n Task officers
n Themes
n Tough cop
n Worldview
the police. These perspectives allow us to examine the behaviors of individual officers, police as a social group, and policing as a unique occupational culture. Depending on the point of view used, researchers draw different conclusions about police behavior.
