Question

In 2016, a video depicting the fatal shooting of; Terence Crutcher; an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by a Betty Shelby; police officer, received national attention (see: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/09/19/oklahoma_police_release_disturbing_video_of_white_officer_fatally_shooting.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. .) When questioned by the authorities, Shelby contended that she thought Crutcher was behaving like someone under the possible influence of the drug phencyclidine (PCP), and she feared that he might have a gun (see: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/us/tulsa-officer-charged/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. ) As noted in Chapter 4, the working personality of police officers influences the way officers view and interpret their occupational world. Based on your reading and personal experiences, do the stresses police officer face create a risk that they may overreact when interacting with citizens who fail to cooperate with their request and instructions? Does an officer's training contribute to the use of lethal force when interacting with non-compliant citizens? and what can be done by the police and community to prevent such lethal encounters? Fully justify your position.

Answer 1

answer.

The concept of police personality concerns whether police officers have certain personality characteristics in common that make them different from the public and which account for differences between the police officials in their approach to a potential crime scene. the sociological paradigm perceive the police personality to be a product of occupational socialization; the professional demands of work as a police officer shape the personality of individual officers such that the personnel acquires the behaviors and skills that are necessary in order to act out a certain role, as well as the norms and values of the particular group. Thus, The result is that police officers learn to appreciate certain values; they develop the same mind-set. Moreover, individuals with authoritarian traits may choose to become police officers as the activities as a police officer may fit with the personal need for power.

Also, There are certain personality elements of danger, authority, and efficiency which constitute police officers’ working personality. These elements are combined in a distinctive way for police officers, leading them to view the world through certain cognitive lenses. Thus, For instance, The danger element makes officers suspicious and influences the way in which they interpret the behaviors of other people as a criminal offence.