Police Influence on Society 1

RUNNING HEAD: POLICE INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

Police Influence on Society









The Big 5.0
Every state has laws, every law has to be followed, every law has a consequence for being
broken, and the ones who enforce these laws are the boys in blue, your local police officer. What kind of
influence does an officer of the law have over the rest of society? When you are on your way to work and
you see the familiar lay out of lights from a white Crown Victoria you slow down, check your
Police Influence on Society 2

speedometer to ensure you arent speeding then hope he doesnt turn on his lights and pull you over.
Police Officers provide a service to the people of the community which whom they serve, they come in
many forms including: tribal police, public safety officers, parking enforcement officers, consolidation
officers, contract officers, special-jurisdiction officers, and taskforce officers. There are also county,
regional, and municipal police as well. The surrounding community may have certain expectations that
they have of the police, and the individual police departments have their expectations of the officers to
whom they oversee. According to Police and Society 2006 Police have been dealing with issues of racial
profiling, eyewitness identification, deinstitutionalization of mentally ill individuals, and computer crime.
Privatization is a trend that, contrary to popular thought, is not new. Private police existed before public
police. Private security will continue to develop, because the police can only do so much. Federalization
of crime control and law enforcement is seen as a continuing trend. The federal government has passed
more federal criminal laws and has jurisdiction over many drug and gun violations. (para. 1-2). With all
of these different issues its no wonder that police officers carry a significant influence on society, the
thought of being arrested by a police officer for breaking a law or committing a crime makes some people
second guess what they are about to do (or plan to do). The police culture placing great influence on the
"lay-low/cover-your-own-ass theory" creates a working personality which separates the police from the
rest of society. Police working personality occurs when police officers become suspicious of other
citizens in society because of the potential danger the officers face on a daily basis (Grant & Terry 2005).

Police officers carry with them the responsibility of our (the communities) safety and well-being,
the navy blue uniform, glimmering badge, side arm, and position of authority make us feel safe and
secure while we are out shopping, at the movies, and even fast asleep in our beds. Just their presence is
enough to make you think the police are here, everything is going to be alright. Officers of the law and
their influence is a psychological game, when we get pulled over we feel we need to either come up with
a story because we know we are going to get a ticket, or we want to bribe them with money, personal
belongings, even sex, so we dont get in trouble. If they want something they will take it, because, to
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quote Sylvester Stallone in Judge Dredd I am the law. The few of us (police officers) that succumb to
this ruin to for the rest of the law enforcement community, because if you get in trouble for something the
front pae of your local paper will read: Former Police Officer arrested on extortion accusations nothing
else matters except for those first three words, then your influence goes from good, to bad, to dirty, to
non-existent In a court room setting there will always be a police officer, if it is a jury trial the presence of
a police officer may influence the jury to already vote guilty because they assume the police officer is
there to arrest the person who is on trial. It is hard to look at the facts if you glance the officer shaking his
head at the accused personGUILTY! The American society is constantly changing. Americans are
living longer and an unprecedented segment of society could be categorized as elderly. This situation
poses a problem for the police. The diversity of the American population will continue to occur the police
must deal with a diverse citizenship, the police will have to be aware of the ethnic differences, the cultural
norms, and have the ability to calmly handle potentially violent situations, with professionalism, and the
full backing of the local community.




References
Grant, H. B., & Terry, K.J. (2005). Law Enforcement in the Twenty- First Century. Pearson Education
Incorporated.p 9-300.

Police and Society (2007) retrieved from http://www.policeproject.com/articles/police/police-and-
society.htm para. 1-2.