IND: Case Study: Officer Robert Barton Paper

Case Study: Robert Burton Paper

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Introduction

This paper illustrates what occurred when Robert Barton admitted in the police force in the big city where he came across different subcultures. It basically explains how group cohesiveness operates and changes and the way police subcultures develop inevitably when the cohesiveness alters from being very constructive to pathological and various steps, which are taken to avoid tenaciousness, change from taking place. It also looks into the problems, which Officer Robert Barton faced when he got admitted into the police in a big city, which are similar challenges everyone faces when transforming from villages to the big city. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of the case study, which illustrates the goal of a group in obtaining a positive outcome.

The group togetherness or unity can stop to be positive when the core goals of the group violate its rules, the law or the departmental policy. The group functions are overboard and it mainly focuses on the secrecy, unit valued loyalty, conformity and support one another as the principle guidance in the operation CITATION Jan14 \l 1033 (Pete, 2014). And any members who fail to abide by their principles are excommunicated from the group. Conformity is also a key to the group and a value, which is shared by the group. Anyone who fails to conform to the culture of the unit would be viewed as an outsider. And therefore, the subculture in the police force is very inevitable.

It is evident that people tend to participant in different groups either informal or formal group. In police operations, there are formal and informal groups. The formal groups have good structures and task oriented. It requires the proper observation of the policies and laws in the operation. However, the informal groups mainly emphasized the importance of interpersonal relationship and new members are expected to conform to the values and beliefs of the group. For instance, the gang group, which Robert Burton was admitted is an example of an informal group within the police force. The group has various functions to accomplish and this can be achieved when a group has social interaction. However, social interactionists define a group to be functioning when officers interact more often with other members and share goals CITATION Jan16 \l 1033 (Chan, 2016). A group is viewed as a functioning group when it allows itself to e governed values, normative system and behavior, which can lead to a stable relationship. In the case of Robert Burton, the group values and belief forced him to abandon his value and beliefs so that he can be accorded space within the unit. It is pointed out that the group violated several laws, which was against his values but he could do nothing but to adapt to the unit system and way of operations.

The group dynamic is a key element, which motivates people to join and remain an active member of a group whether formal or informal. The dynamic of the group influence its effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency and this usually encourages people to be committed to a group. The dynamic of a group impacts individual performance whether negative or positive and therefore, everyone would like to join a group where there are chances of positive growth. The police units are categorized based on the jurisdiction, crime a unit deals with, effectiveness and the functionality of the unit CITATION Ter15 \l 1033 (Terrill, Manning, & Paoline, Police Culture, and Coercion, 2015). Each unit of the police department has a clear roadmap and goals, which it has to achieve and therefore, each unit works within such mandate and that is what shows differences in every unit. For instance, Robert’s unit is responsibilities for handling gangs and other hardcore criminals. It is to ensure that each unit is functioning and delivery its mandate.

The police are referred to as a subculture because it has a rigid way of doing things. All police officers whether new or old are required to conform to its culture and anyone who cannot conform would be excommunicated from the police force. The subculture requires everyone to assimilate to the culture before becoming a proper police officer. For instance, Robert Barton was forced to forget about his moral principle and act as required by his colleagues at the gang CITATION Wil14 \l 1033 (Terrill, Police Culture, 2014). The police repeatedly arrested gang members without a court order for the question and release them. Something, which never pleased Robert Barton and he had to work with the team because it is the order of the day. The police have values, which are conformity secrecy and interpersonal relations which are essential for group operations. Every new member is introduced to the system through assigning a partner where he or she can easily learn from and abide by their subculture.

However, the productivity of the group depends on the coordination and dynamic of the group to work together for the purpose of achieving its core goals. In most cases, the group gang unit within the police works cohesively to attain its goals. First, it respects the command chain and looks after one another whether in the field on duty or not CITATION Jen15 \l 1033 (Kraig, 2015). This has ensured that the police units can build trust, which is essential for the operation of every unit. However, it is also important that the police observe its culture because without efficient observation subcultures can detriment the entire police office.

In conclusion, group cohesiveness is vital to its operation because everyone must look after each other. The police commissioner must also make sure that all departments have the same standard of operation. It is also important to help leaders at every level of the police unit accountable for their actions and the actions of the unit under their watch. This will help in to improve the accountability and effectiveness of the police department.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Chan, J. (2016). Changing Police Culture. British Journal of Criminology, 2-15.

Kraig, J. (2015). Organizational Culture and behavior. International Journal of Business ethics and organization behavior, 124-157.

Pete, J. (2014). Police Culture and Adapting. The British Journal of Criminology, 2-31.

Terrill, W. (2014). Police Culture. Adapting to the Strains of the Job, 10-25.

Terrill, W., Manning, P., & Paoline, E. (2015). Police Culture and Coercion. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227617486_Police_Culture_and_Coercion , 2-18.