Eugene Paoline
Professor And Graduate Director Of Criminal Justice, University Of Central Florida
Key Findings
- There is diversity in police officer’s attitudes on cultural dimensions that does not align with the monolithic model.
- The monolithic model was not able to predict some of the police officer’s attitudes.
- Officers’ suspiciousness was positively related to social isolation.
- Overall, the study revealed mixed empirical support for the monolithic model but was able to show the model was valid.
Description
In the article, “Police Occupational Culture: Testing the Monolithic Model,” Paoline and his co-author conduct a study to determine the true work culture of police officers based on the monolithic model and use empirical research to validate the findings from previous non-empirical works on the topic. The monolithic model uses the stressful features of work (occupational or organizational environments) to determine coping mechanisms for employees and potential outcomes. This model generally shows police officers as isolated and distrustful, but this idea of a single culture is not representative of all police cultures. The researchers note that the monolithic model is not fully representative of the field of police culture research as the model does not account for policing that adapts to unique neighborhood needs such as community policing. The current study collected survey data from eight police departments to assess work issues and background on officers. The survey used a four-point Likert scale to rank officers’ responses and was completed by more than 2,100 participants. The results showed diversity in police officers’ attitudes on cultural dimensions, which does not align with the monolithic model. In addition, the monolithic model was not able to predict some of the police officers’ attitudes. The results also showed that officers’ suspiciousness was positively related to social isolation. Overall, the study revealed mixed support for the monolithic model but was able to show the model was valid. In conclusion, the authors recommend more research on this topic as it could benefit researchers to help translate street-level behavior as well as officers in coping with work stressors and supporting police-community relations.