A questionnaire on attitudes toward violence by police was administered to 25 police trainees, 53 on-duty police officers, and a control group of 48 firemen. The two samples of police reported similar disapproval of violence by police, while the firemen were significantly more approving. The results reflect the increasing awareness by police of socially expected behaviors, roles, and attitudes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BittnerE.The functions of police in modern society. Rockville, MD: NIMH Center for Studies of Crime and Delinquency, 1970.
2.
FelkenesG. T.Attitudes of police officers towards their professional ethics. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1984, 12, 211–220.
3.
GoldsteinH.Police discretion: The ideal versus the real. In NiederhofferA.BlumbergA. (Eds.), The ambivalent force: Perspectives on the police. Waltham, MA: Ginn, 1973. Pp. 148–156.
4.
SteinmanM.Rationalizing police operations: Some explanatory factors. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1984, 12, 221–234.
5.
WestleyW. A.Violence and the police. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1970.