NCJ Number
225396
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: 2008 Pages: 119-140
Date Published
2008
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether different motivations for and perceptions of the police role, either as ‘law and order-oriented thrill seekers’ or as ‘social workers’ lead officers to adopt different approaches towards the public.
Abstract
In identifying different approaches to the police role in Oslo police rank and file, desires of ‘justice’, ‘crime fighting’, and ‘thrill-seeking’ were more prevalent than the ‘social workers’ desire to help people. It is broadly observed in research that police rank-and-file officers may develop cynicism. There may be various reasons for these subsequent consequences. In this article, the relationship between fatigue and cynicism is explored, as well as whether these phenomena are related to the motivations police officers’ had for their career choice and the profession’s actual failure to comply with officers’ hopes and aspirations for the job. Police officers’ motivations are examined as to whether their motivations shape the way they perceive the police role. The article is based on qualitative methods including observation of police in patrol service in three police districts in Oslo, Norway. References