NCJ Number
72629
Date Published
1979
Length
16 pages
Annotation
A public education pamphlet describes the functions of the police in Maine; conflicts arising from responsibilities are highlighted.
Abstract
The police have long been both authority figures and scapegoats who can be blamed for crime and for the laws themselves. While the public assumes the police ought to have a punishment function, it does not want complete enforcement of certain laws; e.g., traffic or loitering laws. Actually, modern police officers may still be hometown Maine boys, but they are frequently also nonpolitical, dedicated, well-educated professionals. They must enforce laws under emotional, political, and time pressures, serving as representatives of government. Police officers, among all professional groups, are subject to the greatest scrutiny and discipline from their agencies and the public. The complex laws which they enforce balance individual rights with society's demands. With recent changes in constitutional law interpretation, officers can easily be sued. Consquently, officers must be recruited and trained with care so that they can defend themselves against charges of abusing authority. Police officers must speak with distantly friendly voices in unpleasant situations. Police officers are chronically in an ambivalent position; they are low-paid civil servants yet are licensed to kill. Despite the humanitarian desire to serve others, police do not gain automatic respect from the public, perhaps because of the relatively small number of incompetent policemen. Officers must learn a wide variety of skills and the philosophy behind them. The brief descriptions of police work in terms of humanities, history, literature, political science, jurisprudence, language, sociology, law enforcement, and philosophy are presented. A list of police images and a description of two films about police work are furnished.