A Policeman's Ethnography

A Policeman's Ethnography

Paul Mack
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 52
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-2314-1.ch003
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Abstract

This chapter is an ethnological examination of a police officer, the police culture, and the type of individual that makes up the “good cop.” Through the lens of over 30 years' experience as a police officer in both small suburban and large city police departments, the author hopes to provide some insight into his experience. This chapter will most likely not affect anything institutional but may change the individual's view of police officers in the future.
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Methodology

This is an ethnographic study of a Police Officer—me. Drawing upon over 30 years of experience in both suburban and big city policing, and as a Police supervisor for 21 years, I examine and re-examine the life and experiences that brought me to and allowed me to survive this profession. People are curious about Police Officers, and much of the available sources of information about law enforcement is gained through hearsay, limited interaction, often skewed media representation, and Hollywood. For this paper, I relied upon a recounting of my life, what and who prepared me for public service, and how it all related to my experiences as an Officer. In my attempt to answer the question, “What makes a Good Police Officer,” I have reviewed many sources of literature that have helped me understand the complexities of motivation, new theories of leadership and ethics. Although enlightening, they fall short of providing a picture of the average and most commonly found Police Officer.

Limitations

As with any study, this paper has limitations. As an ethnographic study, this paper suffers from this more so, and I acknowledge those limitations. Perhaps the most significant limitation is the author who must rely on memories and experiences as primary source materials. Some memories come freely and naturally imperfectly. Other memories, purposely buried deep for my sanity or associated with negative incidents, were difficult and painful to recount. I understand that this study is colored by my personal experience, which is not every Officer’s experience. I acknowledge that I am a Police Officer and I am incredibly fond of them! As such, I am biased regarding my opinion of Police Officers and Police Departments. I wished to interview a diverse group of Police Officers from a doctoral program to discover their experiences, views, and ideas of what a good Police Officer should look like but was unfamiliar with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements. Unfortunately, there was insufficient time to submit, obtain approval, and take the required tests from the IRB that they require to conduct those interviews and surveys. It would have been nice to have more time to explore this topic and to have had interaction with the CPD Doctoral students; I believe they would have been illuminating. While studies on specific incidents or use of force determiners are numerous, there is a lack of current primary data about the Police Officer as a complete human being.

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