NCJ Number
75047
Date Published
1981
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A discussion of police human relations training, initiated because of alienation of police officers and their growing disinterest in traditional police values, introduces the study of individual and group practices and their application to police-related problems.
Abstract
To improve police-community relations in a violent climate, the police have turned to human relations studies and training. Police suffer from a common malaise in their lack of a coherent sense of self so that they increasingly look for approval and conformity to group and organizational norms to achieve security and self-worth. However, such conformity leads only to alienation from the self and the public. Human relations training, in explaining and offering solutions to alienation, became the vehicle for imparting police officer self-worth, especially among those rebelling in the 1960's against unsatisfying police norms. Other factors leading to police officer dissatisfaction include an increased reliance on mechanization and a breakdown in social relationships in the country as a whole. Human relations studies originally focused on scientific methods for understanding the allocation of authority in business and soon resulted in methods of improving police jobs; use of rigid organizational norms gave way to flexible principles. Moreover, as studies began to show that job productivity depended on good intraorganizational relations, human relations training became a regular part of police training. Most human relations principles have come out of research with small groups. Various principles resulting from this research are discussed, including the effect of leadership style, police unit size, behavior changes resulting from group work, and improving communications. typical organizational behavior is described and shifts in police organizations due to human relations training are discussed. Twenty-seven references are included.