NCJ Number
65300
Journal
Social Work Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1980) Pages: 12-18
Date Published
1980
Length
7 pages
Annotation
THIS ANALYSIS PROPOSES THAT THE BARRIER TO COOPERATION BETWEEN SOCIAL WORKERS AND POLICE OFFICERS IS ONE OF SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES AND SUGGESTS THAT THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM LIES IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION.
Abstract
EACH GROUP HAS A STEREOTYPED PERCEPTION OF THE OTHER. POLICE SEE SOCIAL WORKERS AS WEAK, SUSPICIOUS, AND LENIENT WHEREAS SOCIAL WORKERS VIEW POLICE AS AGGRESSIVE, OPINIONATED, CONSERVATIVE, AND DOMINANT. BECAUSE THERE IS A NEED FOR INCREASED COOPERATION BETWEEN POLICE AND SOCIAL WORKERS, TWO MAJOR RESPONSES HAVE BEEN MADE. MORE SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSES ARE BEING OFFERED IN POLICE ACADEMIES, MAKING OFFICERS MORE AWARE OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE NETWORK. SECONDLY, JOINT OR COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS ARE BEING CREATED BETWEEN POLICE AND SOCIAL WORKERS. YET THE STEREOTYPES REMAIN. A COMMUNITY POLICING PROGRAM IN CANADA IS CITED THAT ENABLED APPROXIMATELY 160 POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR SUPERVISORS TO COLLABORATE FREQUENTLY WITH SOCIAL WORKERS OVER A 12-MONTH PERIOD. A GROUP OF THESE PARTICIPANTS WERE THEN GIVEN A QUESTIONNAIRE CONTAINING AN ADJECTIVE CHECKLIST. A TOTAL OF 39 OF THE QUESTIONS WERE GROUPED INTO CLUSTERS LABELED: ASSERTIVE, COMPETENT, ORTHODOX, HELPING, AND WARM-EXPRESSIVE. IN GENERAL, SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES WERE EVIDENT IN THE PROFILES AND EACH GROUP'S EVALUATION OF THE OTHER WERE HIGHLY CRITICAL. IF SUCH SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES ARE VIEWED AS BARRIERS TO INTERAGENCY COOPERATION, THE SOLUTION IS FUNDAMENTALLY LINKED TO THE VERY WORK OF THE POLICE AND SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE IS LOCATED IN THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY. WHAT IS REQUIRED IS A RADICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FUNCTION OF SOCIAL SERVICE IN A SOCIETY CHARACTERIZED BY CAPITALISM. NOTES AND REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. (MJW)