NCJ Number
207681
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: 2004 Pages: 289-301
Editor(s)
Lawrence F. Travis III
Date Published
2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed the ethical orientation of two cohorts of State police officers during a 2-year period to determine whether ethical orientations of law enforcement officers were impacted by the socialization process.
Abstract
Mixed conclusions have been drawn from past literature on the impact of training and socialization on the values of police. The question of whether or not the ethical orientations of criminal justice professionals in general, and law enforcement officers in particular, are impacted by the socialization process has largely been ignored. In an attempt to answer this question, this study identified the ethical orientations of two cohorts of officers in a large State police organization using an ethical orientation questionnaire that measured scales of idealism and relativism. The study examined for ethical orientation change between and within these two cohorts across a 2-year period and identified factors related to any change in ethical orientation. The first cohort consisted of 146 recruits and the second cohort consisted of 92, 1 year trainees. The ethical position questionnaire (EPQ), developed in 1980, was used to measure the various ethical orientation dimensions. The results indicated something occurring within this State police organization with respect to the distribution of officers across the four ethical positions (situationists, subjectivists, absolutists, and exceptionists). The statistically significant change occurring from recruit school to 1 year of experience in the first cohort had at least two possible explanations. First, it is possible that the acculturation process into the police subculture results in officers changing their ethical orientations. The second is that it is entirely possible that given the attrition rate in the first cohort between academy experience and 1-year training experience, the change could be accounted for by a significant number of officers self selecting out of the profession. Operational, training, and socio-political implications of the study are discussed. Tables, note, references