Police Socialization and Police Competence Author(s): Nigel Fielding Source: The British Journal of Sociology, Vol.

35, No. 4 (Dec., 1984), pp. 568-590 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The London School of Economics and Political Science Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/590435 Accessed: 26/06/2010 15:09
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Nigel Fielding

Policesocialization policecompetence and

ABST RACT

Definingcompetent practiceis an exercisein 'squaring circle'. the Extrapolatingthe criteriaof 'competentpractice'in relation to any occupationruns the risk of placingthe social scientist in the role of presgriptive evaluation.The object of this articleis not to render another exhortatory 'analysis'of policing but to indicate how 'competence'is orientedto in the workingpracticesof police officers.
INTRODUCTION

Thereis considerable contemporary debateon the practiceof policing. Criticshave suggesteda need for a morerigorous processof selection and a more comprehensive programme training. of Thesesuggestions must be evaluatedin the context of what is knownabout the criteria of competent practicepresentlyappliedby the police. This analysis of occupational socialization and competence in police practice drawson a longitudinal study of recruitswho enteredthe Derbyshire PoliceTraining Establishment 1980 who arebeingfollowedthrough in their training,probationary periodand first yearof service.Research methodsincludea surveyquestionnaire, observation, interviewing and of a subsampleat variousstages. Police instructors,administrators and TutorConstables also beinginterviewed. are
OCCUPATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AND POLICE PRACTICE

Formal models of occupational socialization, which commonly separate processualand structuralinfluences on individuals,divert attention from the active inter-relationof these elements, and mask the world they seek to describe by neglecting matters of situated, local social organization.To gain analytic purchase on
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police practiceone must distinguishbetweenthe police organization and the police occupation; the former is the formal institutional apparatuswhose 'license'is the achievementof specifiedobjectives, while the latter is the complex of formal and informalpractices sanctioned under the organization's'mandate'.l The 'occupational culture' is counterposed to organizationaldemands, referringto the informal culture of membersin contrast to the formal organ* .

zatlon.

Studiesusing naturalistic researchmethodologieshaveshownthat the strengthof occupational cultureis explicableas a responseto the everydayworkingsituationof police. Harris2 arguesthat integration into the police referencegroup,and thus the occupation,is through sources of influence which arise as responsesto the organizational environment policework.Thefact that the formalmodel presented of at the policeacademydid not squarewith what organization members actually did led to social science descriptionsof the informalorganization as a patchwork of unofficial work practices, norms and relationships,existing in but still dependent on, the formal organization.3 Empirical researchalso made it difficult to see the unity of purposeinitially assumedto prevailamongstorganization members.4 Further,it could be shown that the organization's formalruleswere not the emanation of a rational grand design but the product of bargaining and conflict, and that the apparentlyrigid hierarchyof authoritywas notional in the face of its circumvention members by who were grantedvariousdegreesof discretion.An importantpoint is that this assaulton formalorganization theory by proponentsof a 'negotiatedorder approach'5neglects the fact that, whetheror not the formal tenets of the organization pertain,it can be shown that they areoften thoughtto do so by membersor clients, so that action is orientedto them. Thus, as Bittnermaintains,6the organization's realityin the daily practicesof members manifestin its role as a repositoryof approved is vocabulariesto permit organizational action. 'The formalorganizational designs are schemes of interpretationthat competent and entitleduserscan invokein yet unknownways wheneverit suits their purposes'.7Sinceabilityto invokethejustificatoryvocabularies varies with organizationexperiencethere are consequencesfor practicein the organizationalnaivety of, e.g., probationer constables. This approach focusses analysis on the goals pursuedby membersand methodological attention on discourse. However, this orientation should not preclude a concern with the way in which the use and sense of languageis to be discoveredby attentionto standard usage. Ratherthan restingwith the notion of justificatoryvocabularies is it important to considerthe methodic characterof verbalinteraction. Talk cannot indeed be separatedfrom the organizational situation underwhich it is elicited,and this approach directsattentionto usage

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in all its forms. Failureto do so would be to regardall discoursein organizations rhetoric. as The organizationmember'sorientationto goals draws on either 'license'or 'mandate',dependingon the audience.Strongand Dingwall have arguedthat these elementswill be differentially relevantto differentstrataof the organization; '(l)owerlevel staff may havefew occasions on which it is necessaryto discussissues in terms of the organization's charter'.8In the police, however,this is not the case, for 'license issues' are implicit in the numerous decisions on the exerciseof discretionmadeby constables, which they may ultimately be called to account for by superiors.Unlike other occupations enjoying professional license, officers are continually obliged to account for (or disclaim9)their action or inaction and must do so variouslyin relation to peers and supervisors, both bearingvarying degreesof orientationto formal/informal versionsof motive, to the law, and to variouspublic groups. In a discussionwith seniorconstables a Chief Inspectorcommented that the officer who used his 'blind eye' too much could be liable for neglect of duty. 'If "the wheel comes off" and you've used your discretionyou may findyourself beingquestioned'.l 'Licenses' limit the legitimationof action by restricting rangeof legitimizable the disc.ourse. Organizational success involvesthe ability to devise acceptable justificationsfor action, and control over the interpretationof 'license' may be used to disbar particular motives,justificationsand inferences. However, a concentration on negotiations in which license is claimed,particularly data are more readilygatheredon them at a as low strata,risks neglectingthe 'coordinating disciplining and devices' which bind such fragmentsof action. These may be particularly evidentat points of intra-organization conflict;in the police thereare numerous instances in the routine handlingof complaintsagainst individual officers. Such occasions call for some account to be rendered in response to internal or external questioningof police action. Further, Bittner's instance of 'corroborativereference' identifiesa case which occursas plausiblyin training does the need as to offer account for some impugnedbit of practice. 'The formal schemeis usedasa resource bringing for anythingthat happenswithin the organizationunder the criterionof successor failurewhen real resultsare not visible'.ll Emphasis attitudeoveract is a marknot on just of trainingbut of service deliverywhere resultsare somewhat intangible.In large organizations, action in some subcompartments may seem pointless or without distinctiveidentity, and meaningcan be given to it only by assertinghow it fits into the organization's 'license '. Thus, training representsa pungent locus for the rehearsaland negotiation of the police organization's'license'. This also pertains to those occasions when membersare called to account for their

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stewardship of the 'license'. While most organizations practice personnel evaluations and suffer public complaints, the police, particularlyconstables,are continually under this kind of scrutiny. Competent practice and intra-organizational adroitness are both related to the refinementof the verbaland paralinguistic skillscalled for in such cases. Thus the expertiseof an officer may be markedby his ability to drawon a sophisticated vocabulary accounts,l2a thoroughknowlof edge of the justificationsavailableto ensurean accountis honoured. Despite the concentrationof researchon police/citizen interaction, exchanges between police and police may arguablyhave a greater bearingon case outcomes. Similarqualitiesmay also be drawnon in encounters with citizens, as in Muir'streatment of the police as 'street-corner politicians'.l3The officer'sskill at dealingwith citizens involveshis becomingadept at suggesting citizenshow to proceed to in order to restoreequilibrium. may persuadethem they meant He otherwiseby a fractiousgesture,or to 'come alongquietly'by offering lightertreatmentin exchangefor co-operation. This notion may be taken further.It is true that organizations are markedby their 'own' vocabulary,garnerspecialmeaningsof terms and orient to specialknowledge, this case, relevantlaw. Knowledge in of these is importantto competentmembership, is uselessunless but the individualis socialized into the organization's routine usage of these elements.The markof havingachievedsuch a specialcompetence is unproblematic usage. Members must not just know the rules but learn to use them in such a way that theiruse goes unremarked. In the police this unquestionedacceptanceof the members' usageis applied to encounters with citizens as well as other officers. The importance of unproblematicusage to the normal conduct of encounterswith the public is apparenton the occasionswhen it is not achieved.A tutor constablerecountedan occasionwhen he had been obliged to intervenewhen a probationer'spoiled' a routine traffic violation negotiation.He felt he had to explain to the motoristthat all PCs have to be trained, and that he would have to 'startagain from the top' becausemistakeshad been made. He also felt obliged to let the offendergo.l4 Both Southgate'sanalysis of experiencedofficers' evaluationsof the deficienciesof probationersand my own interviewswith tutor constables identify the problem of strikinga mannerthat is firm wsthout being officious. In the view of experiencedpolice, probationers frequently take too 'formal' a stance in dealing with the public. The trainingschool elicits this style in its concernwith the law as written, rank, and correctprocedure.Scott and Lymanhave assertedthe importanceof suitingthe idiomaticform of an account to its audience. While organizationsdo systematicallyprovide 15 accounts for members'use in varioussituations,these accountswork

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because of a set of backgroundexpectancies, which sanction a particularstyle of work and which are not necessarilyadheredto by outsiders. Thus, examiningthe formal requirements the police role can of only renderprescriptive versionsof competence.It must be related to normativestandards, tasksandpracticeswhichpatternthe actions of police. Formalrole definitionsmust be placedwithinthe working context of the organization. An organization'slicense supplies memberswith a resourcefor apprehending conceptualizing and the environment, relationto the maintenance its mandate.But this in of is an empirical matter; interaction the formalwarrant action the of for and the interpretive work of membersmust be shown in relationto the socialconstructionof particular policingepisodes.The repository for such collective meanings,which include permissibledeviations, implicit contradictionsof formalrules and re-formulations accepted in practicebutnot in public,is the 'occupational culture'.The actions of members are continually produced in relation to a process of assigningmeaningto them in a cYeative interplaywith the formal role definitions. From the individual's perspective, membership involves socialization into routine organizationalusage 'such that they can collectivelymake senseof negotiatedsituations. . . and . learn the principles, workingrulesand practices'l6which serveas the common-sense basisof the occupation.
COMPETENCE AND INCOMPETENCE

Such an orientation directs attention to the criteria according to which competence is ascribed in the police. Skill in satisfying the disparatedemands of audiencesinside and outside the organization may be one base for attributions of competence. Nevertheless the significanceof such skill cannot be fully appreciated without considering those aspects of the organization's'license' which can structure officers' situational achievement of competence. Descriptionsof police workby observers such as Bittner,l7Rubinstein,l8 and Muir<9represent the police as massively competent social actors. They recognize in the public and their colleaguesthe full rangeof humanpurposesand potentials,basingtheir inferences and assessmentson minutiae of deportmentand demeanourwhich remain obscure to citizens. Yet analyses such as these are partial, despite outstandingobservational work. Bittner'sworkillustrates the dangerof confusingthe competenceof the officer with that of the observerThe observation subtlebut limitedto a specialcompetence is for a special policing situation, e.g., conditions prevailingon 'skid row' or when under threat. It is necessaryto add to these accounts,

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of first by attendingto the role-definitions competenceand, second, by examining how actorsmay not be competent. Facilitatorsand inhibitorsof competencecan be inferredfrom the fit between the personnelavailableand the qualitieswhich expericompetence.Forexample,successful enced officersdrawon to ascribe enforcementencountersmay be relatedto the officer'sexperiencein similar situations.20 One must also consider the fit between the principles,rules and practice of the police organizationand police training, having regardto the practicalsituations most often met. The tasks actually focussed on in trainingmay be comparedto those as done most frequently,regarded most useful and as most trouble. One would note what was not taught; for example, in handlinga domestic dispute, the most literal details of how to initiate the encounter. The practical vignettes sometimes used are not always believableor the most pertinentto routinepractice. This attempt to indicate some proceduresby which a general evaluationof trainingin relationto routine practicecould be done does not lead one to a blanket standardfor assessingcompetence. It is unlikely that any such descriptionscould ever give comprehensive assessmentcriteria,for they always addresscompetencefrom a specific point of view. To preservetheir empiricalvalidity such descriptionscan only proceed from a specificinstancein which they are seen to be orientedto by membersin the constructionof action. instances the In the followingdiscussion contingencyof the empirical which are made must be borne in mind. It is not of the abstractions my intention to suggest that competence remainssituationallyiris relevant,for it does vary.Competence not tied to the performance of particular officers;it may be orientedto in some instancesand not others, and it may be suited by an officer's qualitiesin one instance and not in others. of list Producinga prescriptive of ingredients 'competentpolicing' is also futile because what is said to constitute competent policing in may vary accordingto the circumstances which such comment is given. Howeverit is possible to delineatethe contoursof the license and social organizationof police work in such a way that the constraints are made explicit under which officers operate who are seeking to present their performanceas 'competent'. If the role definitions of competence can be describedonly by a substantial praccatalogue of implicit knowledgesand contextually-explicable tices, then the inventoryapplicableto incompetenceis equallylong. Policingcovers a wide range of duties. It is unlikely one officerwill have the best qualities to deal with each, and, in the absence of is specificskills, 'commonsense' the ultimateresource. A caveat is necessary regardingcommonsense. It is certainly resource,as the police generally possible to see this as a considerable do. However we are all aware of occasions when 'commonsense'

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a suggests disastrouscourse of action;for example,takingone's foot awayfrom the brakewhen the wheels lock in a skid does not seem 'natural'.Commonsensecan be distinguishedfrom local, situated skills.At work, police drawon experience,and on the specificbody of knowledge closest to the situation at hand. They relate their is to performance what has workedbefore. 'Commonsense' limited when specialized,situatedknowledgeis to a last resort application, lacking. The point is that there is a qualitativedifferencein the meaning of 'commonsense'to novices and the ten-year man. Officers do is that acknowledge what they meanby 'commonsense' not an innate by the exigenciesof the job. qualitybut one provoked There'sonly one thing police work's based on. That'scommonBut it sense. (Whichyou had before you got in, presumably?) becauseyou come unstuckif you don't have breedscommonsense, it. You've got to get into situationswhich you don't know about to in orderto decidewhat is commonsense deal with that situation . . . You'vegot to get out thereand in amongstit, that'swherethe school).2l knowledgecomes, not in this place (training Two things are being suggested.First, police work presentsnovices with many occasions when guidance from situated experience is lacking, and, second, as a culture the police are little inclined to make guidelines for action based on their experience explicit to novices.It is thoughtbest that they learnfrom directexperience. element in competence can be docuThe situationally-specific work.22The limited experienceavailab-le mented, as in Chatterton's to police recruitsduringtheir placementwith the tutor constableis to appropriate highly unlikely to equip them wsth a 'commonsense' skills can be addeda rangeof all situations.To the rangeof situated officer conceptionsof the role. Typologiesof practicestyles, such as competsuggestthat, for example,the 'uniformcarrier's' Reiner's,23 Further,what makes for ence differs from that of his colleagues. of 'competence'in a given situationalso dependson the perspective situation a disorderly audience.An officerwho resolves the particular by making five arrests may be well-receivedby those wishing to demonstrate the high activity level of the organization,but the officer who resolvesa similarsituationby 'coolingit out', makingno arrests,may be applaudedby other officers who have to work that area. providean 'operatWhileoccupationalcultureand 'commonsense' the everydayguidelinesfollowedin ing ideology' they do not dictate contingent'settingof routinepatrol. Followingvan the 'situationally are Maanen, these action-prescriptions dictated by temtory and 24 autonomy, and in responseto street work and public interaction. The officer is granted substantial autonomy on the grounds of

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particularizedterritorialknowledge. Supervisors minimize interference, and norms against 'poaching'and sharinginformationhave been closely documented. Thus,competenceembraces rooted knowledgeof local cultureas a well as physical ecology. Yet the personnel policy recruitsofficers who lack local knowledge,and encouragesmobility between areas and forces.Mostof the research samplearenot from Derbyshire, and while there are a variety of recruit backgroundssome important groupsmay still be excluded;differentialage/sex/race opportunities may affect 'competence'to deal with specific situations,by limiting the demographic rangeof citizens whose perspectivethe officer can appreciate.Derbyshire's initiative in loweringcertainentrancestandardsforcolouredcadetsin 1982 acknowledges such differential. one Appreciationof competence must also allow for personality 'ffaws' and disinterest. There is no guaranteethat the selection procedure screensout those for whom police servicemay prove to be inappropriate,particularly when candidates appearkeenly motivated.25 Personnelmanagement policiesare also relevantto competence.In addition to job rotation and switched postings, the effect of turnover,changingpatrol partners,has to be acknowledged.Effectsalso arise from promotions specialization and pressure; prospective the CID officer seeks out stolen cheque cases, developinga competence selectively attuned to his successes. Further,those whose vertical mobility is blocked may substitutelaterally-oriented specialization; family-orientedofficers may be more interestedin the geographical desirabilityof a posting than in what will push them up a rank.26 None of this is to assertthat competenceremainsstableor is tied to individualfactors of personality.It is simplyto indicatethe rangeof mattersparticular this organization to and this workwhich can have effect in addition to those whose empiricalmanifestationis situational. The implicationof both is similar; competenceremainselusive outsideits local organization with respectto situationalcontingencies, which may include these matters of training,recruitmentand the like. These complicationsindicate the need for greatcaution in using the term 'competence'.The observer's tendency to impute thoughtfulness to the action of police officers can obscure the numerous other motives on which officers may act. Further,attributionsof competenceby police arehighlysusceptibleto ex post facto rationalization. It may take detailed inquiry to be satisfied that an arrest resulted from a knowledgeof local culture and not a hunch or a grudge.Thusit is unreasonable expect that necessaryand sufficient to conditions for securingcompetent practicecan be specified.Bearing this in mind the criterialindicationsof competent practice which may be derivedfrom observational studiesof policingare necessarily at an abstractlevel andpracticeis highlycontingent.

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DESCRIBING COMPETENCE: THE DATA

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Illustrationsof orientationsto a particular instanceas indicativeof competentpracticemay be drawnfrom interviewswith the 'recruit' sample after a year of trainingand patrol, and from observationof discussions amongst experienced officers. A first quality which officers value as a mark of competence is the refinementof one's skills of observationso that small details are drawn on to support accurateinferences.Commentsbearingon this may be of the simple assertive form, such as I like beingon foot beat 'causeyou can get roundthese darkalleys and you can havea look, you can watch these shopsand see what's goingon27 A more elaborateversiondescribes work. the WhenI first went . . . I mademyself known to all the shopkeepers. I didn'tjust walk round the marketplace. made it my duty and I point to go in and ask them who they were, and I just got talking to them. They see me walkingon the street and say 'hello'. . . Of courseif you'renot prepared go and find out who they arethen to you don't get nowhere.You've got to stop people, ask them who they are, where are they going, where they have been, who do they associatewith. There is a lot of people who don't do it, but I like to get on, to know who people are.28 It is clear from the followingcomment that there is variationin adherence this approach, to which enablesevaluation 'observation' of skills. Most bobbies, I've found, tend to be ratherproudof the fact that they do beat work and know the people, know the area, collect local knowledge and (think) it is very valuable. There's a few (who are not) but its surprising numberthat are quite happy the to stay on the beat. They enjoy themselves,they know everyone on their beat and its like socialwork in the end. You know everyone that well.29 It is also possible to demonstratethat those who seek this expertise explicitly orient their activity to the stance of those who seem to representthe desirable skills. A chap that's done 7 years . . . has got . . . not just the knowledge of the law which the chap in the college would have got, but the applicationof it to the practicalsituationand eventhe smallduty of talkingto people, communicating. not quite the same as in Its the classroom. You talkto all sorts of differentcharacters after and the years you get to judge what somebody'slike afteryou've had

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just 2 or 3 sentenceswith him, and yet, as well asjust listeningto them, you (are) . . . thinkingof what you'regoingto ask him next . . . Its all this as well as the applicationof the law, thinkingabout the law and bringingit out like that, (in) which you need some practicalexperience.30 As well as establishingthe sort of assessmentof another'sintentions the officers see as skilful, the data suggest these qualities of sensitivity extend to off-duty conduct. In my view this officer successfullymakes the case that his conduct in the 'pub' also draws on a highly-developed observational sensitivity. I go to my local and they'reall pitmenand steel workers,and I've started drinking halvesof beer now, there'sno way I'll drinkpints, not when the rest of the ladsare sat aroundwith a glass.I try and make it last all lunchhourbecausethey'reall out of work and you don't rub salt in the wound . . . If you can do that then you might just stop the tinderbox exploding. There . . . is an awful lot of anti-authority (feeling) . . . not because they're unreasonable people but . . . you get 'its alrightfor the bobby, he can afforda pint' . . . I don't tell lies but I try not to let them have the full pictureof how comfortableI am.3l For the most part the constable'spower is implicit.It is symbolized by the uniform;physicalforce is necessaryin relativelyfew interventions, even when arrestsare made. Yet it is an immediatepartof the officer's role, and conveying the potential power of the office is a crucialelementin assessments the police of competent'bobbying'. by Onecomponentis knowingwhat level of force is appropriate. You've got to treat a person how he treats you . . . At 'S' if they treat you rough then you've just got to handlethem and get them in out of the way. Whereas can go to some placesand be nice you and polite and they will be polite back. There'snothinggainedor lost by being polite but if you're polite at 'S' they think you're out of this world.32 An awarenessof the need to use what Muiridentifiesas the potential for 'coercion implicit in the office in an understatedand inter' actionallyfinely-attuned way is consideredby this officer. With most people being polite, havinga bit of respect for them, does work. They have respect for you back. But some of them just take advantage. . . You try to help them out, almost, but if they rebuke you there's nothing further you can do really, and then you haveto talk a bit more firmerthan you usuallywould, to get them back into line.33 Police also speak of there being gradualincrementsin escalation

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to the final use of physicalforce. There'sone thing you can't afford in this job and thatssa chip. If somebody turns round and calls you, as I've been called, 'fat pig', you've got to think 'he's right about the fat but I wonderwhere he got the pig bit', and you laugh it off . . . 'causeotherwiseyou can cause so many problems,not with the person that's causing you the personaloffense but with all the other people that feel they've got some justificationfor joining in, and the whole thing blows out of all proportion. 34 A consequenceof this measureduse of force is that even interventions an outsider might give a straightforward attributionof 'force' may be seen as episodesmixingforce with 'socialservice'. I have purposelyworkedon (detectingand reporting)crime, but the end result of the majorityof juvenile files is socialwork. The panda driver. . . the majorityof theirwork is socialwork: domestics, fighting, saying 'now come on, it's just not on' . . . The majorityof beat work is definitelysocialwork. (Doesn'tit bother you?) Oh no, because while we're doing that we're preventing crime.35 This approachto competentpracticeemphasises symbolicpower the of the uniformedofficer'spresencein preventing crime,a perspective appliedto the specialistbranches this comment. in They (CID)think they're crime-minded, althoughits detectingit. They don't preventany crimeat all unlessthey'retold something's happenedand they go straightaway. Trafficaretherefor catching them as they're doing it and going to accidents.So its really the man on the beat who's doing the job of preventingby checking property . . . You never know what you're preventingby just being there . . . Beforehand thoughtmorethat what a policeman I did was on crimebut now I think its a generalthingaltogether.36 Interventionat domestic disputes particularlyteaches officers the power of 'the uniform'to resolveconflict. The miners. . . go to the pub, come back, beat the wife . . . its just the way of life . . . So you do meet a lot of these domesticsituations and very often its the uniform that will cool it. That'sall they need.37 As well as this qualification the use of powerin publicencounters, of officers with experience of interrogationsuggest that skilful interrogation need not involve violence or threats. In a discussionwith constableshaving8 years or more servicethe examplewas cited of a Detective Inspectorwho, if a confessionwas not forthcoming, would storm into the interviewroom and 'bollock'the interrogating officer.

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rlhe ldea was to tui ( a rapportbetween interrogatorand suspect which the interrogatorcould then use as a lever, an instance of cunningclearlyappreciated the officers.38 by Although some effort is being made to delineate component elementsemployedby officersin attributing competenceto instances of police work, it should be apparentthat in the view of officers these elementsareinextricably linked. Both 'observation' 'power' and are related to a final quality, which I term 'negotiation'. In the following case the officer arguesthat one relieson interactional skills to achieve interventionswhich may result in negativeconsequences for citizenswhile still securingtheiracquiescence. I enjoy talkingto people on the street, and if they'recommitting an offence then I'm afraid they get reported for it. But if you laugh and joke with them, they just acceptit. Thereare ways you can approachpeople . . . If you're polite then they'repolite back and they accept it, even though you've reportedthem . . . They don't go away and say such-and-such.39 Negotiationinvolvescarefulmanagement one's contacts with the of public, even to the point of deception. One may recall the earlier 'half pint in the pub' instance,or this casewherean olderprobationer constable describes how he presents himself as more experienced than he is in orderto maintainthe public'sconfidence. People come up to you when you first go on your own and they say 'oh you're not new, where have you been?' and you just say 'I've been at anotherstation' . . . If you tell them you'vejust come from trainingschool they do havea go at you and see what you're madeof. Probablyto counteractthatyou say 'oh, I've been posted in.s4o Negotiation also involves knowing when to interveneand how to separate partiesin coniTict. WhenI first started. . . I didn'tknow what a domesticis . . . What can you do? You've got to separatethem . . . and listen to both stories and just don't side with one at the time that they're both there. Becausethen before you know it they'reboth on you.4l Dealingswith the public are not the only occasionsfor honingskills of negotiation.Thiscommentindicatesrecognitionof the importance of bargaining within the organization, while relatingthis negotiating skill to work with the public. There are also others, and not necessarilyold, probably up for promotion, and they stay exactly- the book, which, as everyone to knows, you just cannot do in any job. There'sgot to be a certain amountof give andtake . . . It doescreatefriction.Butthe problem

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to PC is generallyon their side becausethe average willjust refuse the message.42 co-operatewith it. In a subleway. But they get Afinal assessmentof the centrality of negotiation to competence and explicitlycomments on the difference between experienced constables. novice That's why a bobby becomes better as he becomes more experi'is enced. Becausehe goes up to a situation,weighsit up, and says this person this persongoingto listen to what I haveto say or does need to get some advice from a court before they take notice?' Whereaswhen you're younger you don't make that decision on the beat, you let the court decide becauseyou're trying to prove We you're worth employing,and I don't think that'sa good thing. can't afford . . . to alienatethe public.43 In a I claim no great originalityfor the qualities I have identified.with studiesarereplete sensethat is the point, for observation-based of confirmingthe importance these skillsto the police, and instances fieldworkwould revealorientationto these anyround of determined qualitieson the part of the servingofficers. Accordingto studies close observationof police work,and my own data,comemploying petentofficers apply skillsand techniquesof (i) sensitiveobservation anda capacityto imputemotiveon the basisof deep local knowledge; but (ii) the abilityto conveypower in a tangible generallyunderstated and (iii) a refined capacityfor negotzation.Yet these qualimanner; recogties are hardlyexpressedin training.That this is comingto be exchangein a discussion nized within the culture is apparentin an latter between experienced officers and a (:hief Inspector. The implicitly oriented, assertedthat the things to which interrogators part such as facial movementswhich hint at an intention, shouldbe learning experiential of trainingbut arenot because'we believein the one process'.This evoked the comment from one constablethat 'No to find out from ever tells you how to interview,its all left to you the those who have done it', to whichanotherofficer interjected'It's a point which same throughout the whole flipping job anyway', 44 gainedgeneralagreement.
COMPETENCE AND TRAINING

which These observationscan be applied to identify the degreeto providesa of competence.Training traininginhibits the development conditions), learntby roteunderintensive in grounding law (generally skills (particularlyhandling motorcars), develops certain physical and involves much physical exercise (at early stages mainly drill), Formal training may sensitize recruits to aspects of social science. displays little concern with conveyingthe qualitiesofficers identify

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as essentialto practice,nor are these consistently expressedoutside the classroomon patrol placementsbecauseof the recruits'rookie' status, the diversity of station assignments and of tutor constables. In particular, statusof 'rookie',or novice,resultsin an unrealistic the impressionbeing given. The version of police work suggestedby experienced constables may be unduly 'sanitized' or excessively embittered,and the rookies untriedstatus induces tests of commitment and 'guying'or 'ragging'. Thisis not to deny the strongimpression, often positive, that rookies form of tutor constables; that is all being assertedis that the influence of such officersis not consistent. As some observershave noted, experiencedofficers find any general expressionof the practicalskills requiredfor policing elusive. Bittnercomments, 'the content and organization the patrolman's of knowledge is primarilyideographicand only vestigially, if at all, nomothetic.'45This is hardly surprising. There are severalways in which the organization policeworkrunscounterto the explication of and reinforcementof clearguidelines action.McBarnet for ably treats the socio-legal dimension. That the police are not oriented to 46 stating policy is also due to mundanematters. Office space is rare even for Sergeants,and the lack of written criteria for evaluating field performance may emanatefrom the police culture'sattitudeto paperwork. These qualities can also be seen in the anecdotesthat police tell. Researchersoften cite the officers' keenness to recount anecdotes which they feel are expressiveof the characterof the work. Yet in these stories they operate only a smallnumberof analyticcategories ('process', 'good collar', 'shit work') while continuallyoffering disconfirming and plain different anecdotes. There is no shortageof experienceswhich may be linked to a sensitiveappreciationof the complexities of the police role, but experiencedofficers exhibit a reluctanceto articulatecriteriaof competencein terms of practice even while their talk frequentlyturns to whom is and is not a 'good bobby'. This individualisticemphasis is reflected in the rookies' assertionsthat experienceis the greatteacher. There'snever a day the same. (That'swhat you thoughtwhen you joined, isn't it?) You do, yes, but you don't realize. Nobody else can, until you've actually done the job, nobody can begin to tell you what its going to be like. You don't appreciateany of the situations'til you're actuallyworking.47 Takento its extremethisineffablequalityof the workinsulatespolice againstcriticism,enablingthem always to reservetheirposition. It is to be seen as a devicethey may deploy in the pursuance their own of construction of the 'license', although this does not deny that in expressionsof the sort quoted the opinion is truly felt. A final point is that this unreflectivequalitypatently fails to match

Nzgel Fielding
582 the verbal acuity of police in handlingdisputeson the street, their keenness of perception in observingcitizen behaviouror their inquisitive cunning in criminalinvestigation.This is not to say that these manifestationsof competence are always achievedbut that a they are all certainlyvaluedin the culturewhereasbringing reflecthe tive quality to bear on articulating criteriaof competentpractice is not. Policingdiffers markedlyin this aspect of culturefrom other occupations which sustain a closer integrationbetween the use of talk in the achievementof practicalobjectivesand belief in the value of an 'oralculture',such as social work.48 This propensity to implicit knowledge, direct experience, and 'commonsense'is disturbingfor recruits.The experiencedofficers' a preferencefor 'playingby ear' in patrol workgivestraining special the problem. It encourages recruitto think that 'anyone can do it', that, as he will frequentlyhear,the relevantskillsand techniquesare simply an enhanced form of commonsense.As I have noted above, is for those whose 'commonsense' enhancedby directexperienceand situated knowledgethis is not a problem,but usingthe termwithout this qualificationmisleads novices. The lack of written criteriaof practiceinvites officers to resolvethe ambiguitiesfrequentlymet in practice by recourseto commonsense.A course of action seen as the competent by police may not be by citizens. Furthermore need for self-defenserunsthroughany accountoffered for the satisfaction accounts of the ranks'action are of official demands.Supervisors because the supervisoris seldom presentat the doubly-undermined action described(and is thus forced to pass on the ranks'version) while the 'occupationalculture' condemnsthe passingof comment on the practice of those who were there by those who were not. Thus, statements of a criticalnatureon how practice'ought to' be themselves on improvedare easily discredited groundsthe supervisors are quite likely to accept. Similarly,the constabledemeansgeneralizations by senior officers on the groundsthat they do not know the sltuatlonas lt rea y 1S. Further,the emphasison experiencegives trainingthe excuse to rules explicit becausethe make only the law and the organizational rcal characterof policing is radicallyunteachable.Police instructors are generallyoperationalofficers;trainingis a briefpostingbetween are duty'. The instructors not, therefore,specialstints of 'operational ists and the police culture'semphasison the job as the best education is preserved.Neither the police instructorsnor the tutor constable culture'are orientedto the explicaplacementsnor the 'occupational tion of guidelinesfor the achievement,or recognitionthat one has achieved, competence in practice. Consequentlyboth recruit and trainingschool ignorethat, in sayingthat he 'playsby ear' . . . (the competentpolice officer)
. . * * Ah

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is makinghis decisionswhile beingattunedto the realitiesof complex situationsaboutwhichhe hasimmensely detailedknowledge.50 The vital question is how the recruit gets from his ignoranceand naivete on day one to the competenceideally describedby Bittner. By consideringthe varyinginfluence of formaland informalsocialization on recruits,and by locatingthe only partial relevance both, of the suggestionmay be advancedthat the criteriafor attributionsof competencecan only be specifiedby micro-sociological attentionto the officers'situatedand cognitiveconstructionsof a police role.
OCCUPATIONAL CULTURE AND ATTITUDE SHIFT

I have arguedthat a generalappreciationof organization practices necessitatesa view of the inter-relation formal organization,its of environment, and the culture formed around membership.Satisfactory exerciseof organization dutiesrequiressocializationnot only to formal rules and practicesbut to situatedknowledge,local procedures and the like. The origin of the warrantfor action is not, however,solely in occupationalculture. Naive analysesbasedon the autonomy of police constables,citing the assuredlygreat discretion of the ranks,ignore the mannerin which adequatejustificationsfor courses of action are embedded in the dialectic between formal definitions of legitimate practice and informal work practices. 5 Furtherspecificationis impossiblewithout a shift to absolute,finelydetailed description.As Manning remarks the exampleof a domesin tic disturbance intervention,the setting-specific salienceof practices endorsedas appropriate means that competent practiceis not easily treated by categorization.Correctaction on the micro-behavioural level of hand gesture,body placing,pace and movement,eye contact etc. is so finely-nuanced that the delineationof competent practice in specific situationsmoves towardsa virtualone-to-onefit between practiceand analysis. In fact, Manningis too demurewhen he emphasizes obstinate the particularity such accounts, for what he offers as 'the broadconof text of principles and working rules' in relation to the domestic dispute would be of use to novices as an indication of the forces governingthe example. For instance, one of his 'principles' the of occupationalculture is that 'people cannot be trusted;they can be dangerousand if not controlledthey will breaklaws' and one of his 'workingrules', 'properly guidedoutcomes',dictatesthat 'the policeman shouldseek to obtainclosureon episodes,achievea fairsolution, (and) tie up the loose ends.'52 The difficulty lies not so much in making a slightly more abstractprecis of the practicesas in getting experiencedpolice to think reflexivelyof their own practiceso they

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Nigel Fielding

can enable novicesto learnthem. The stimulusto such accountsmay lie in just the sort of effort requiredfor the experiencedofficer to articulatewhy he moved,spoke andjustifiedin that way. Such an articulationcould not rest with the practicaldictatesof the situation to which thc officer was responding.The sources of influence on police recruitschangeduringthe probationary period. Whilethe police referencegroupis still the primesourceof influence, its constitution changes. As probationary officers are dispersed throughout the constabulary,the sub-referencegroup comprising other probationersis broken up and its influencereduced.Further, the effect of the tutor constable wanes as the probationergains experienceof the workingenvironment,53 insuringthat competence is individualized. Convergenceof attitudes amongst experienced officers indicates early change the increasing salience of the ;54 'occupational culture'is markedby changesin the novicesexpressed relationto key occupational groupssuch as seniorofficers,colleagues andcriminals.55 Research identifiesa particularly also strongtendency to 'instrumentality' experienced by officers,56 declinein 'motivation' a and an increased emphasison the 'occupational culture'.57Following Sumner, the 'occupationalculture' may be regardedas a 'coping device',58 meansof smoothingthe vicissitudes practiceunderthe a of organization's mandate. As has been argued,criteriaof competentpracticehavea powerful situationalreference;the context of action in largemeasuredeterminesits receptionas competent.Only when practiceand context are dissonantare formal, organizational criteriainvoked.Policeofficers' definitions of the situation derivefrom the meaningsabroadin the 'occupationalculture' and their individualexperience.Exposureto 'occupationalculture' early in the socializationprocess encourages affiliation. The 'occupational culture'preserves interpretation an of the police role from the perspectiveof the basic ranksof the organization. It maintainsa jaundicedview of higheradministration and intermittentlysubscribesto a conflict model of industrialrelations. In sum, it appearsthat instrumentalism affiliation to 'occupaand tional culture'are associated.
SOCIALIZATION, COMPETENCE AND DEFINITION OF THE SITUATION

Attitudes bear on action becausethey filter the subject'sperception and subsequentdefinition of the situation.Attitude here is a matter of perceptualregularity.59 Certainthings are seen as prioritiesfrom the range of availableinformation.60 Analysisof skills of judgment has largelybeen concerned with studyingofficers'skillsin identifying potential trouble situations. Like the stereotype, attitudes enable selective attention to those things toward which given individuals

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displaypreference.In like fashion,police become adept at identifying citizens who may pose the most importantform of 'trouble',threats of physical violence. As several researchershave noted, following Skolnick,6l police officers develop through experience sets of categories and clues which define the 'symbolic assailant'.These categories relate solely to physical characteristicswhich can be identified quickly in street encounters,althoughthis does not imply that the characteristics necessarilygross. Both Rubinstein'sand are Muir's work is replete with instances of fine-grainedobservation allied to sensitive interpretivework by officers whose safety can dependon quick assessment response.Thus, and the police officer's professionally required suspiciousness. . . congeals into a set of images and stereotypes which simplify reality for him, uphold cognitiveconsistency, save time and limit the requirement be alertto all nuancesof a situation.62 to Makinga judgmentin patrolworkpresentsofficerswith problemsof cognition, perceptionand prediction.It calls on numerousdetailsof a situation which may pertainto action. Thus, the police emphasize suspicion as an overwhelming virtue, more importanteven than inferringwhat routine thing needs doing from some tiny detail that most of us passby. Where Manning's argument, that the police/public encounter is too dense to be reducedto a taxonomy, does apply is in teachingrecruitsto orientto everyone of the information-bearing units of social action. But the centralskill that bindstogetherthose segmentsof detailedknowledgesis the ability to select from numerous clues those which will bear inferencesabout the likelihood of threat. This can certainlybe addressedin training.Threatis not the only circumstance which could be treatedthis way but it is a helpful instance becauseit is of sufficientpersonalimportance officersto for be able to articulatethe features which make them suspiciousand provokeintervention. Successfulinterventionrelies on an accuratepredictionof when and where trouble is likely to occur, which is the prerequisite the of officer's principalaim, to control the unfoldingsituation.Werthman and Piliavin describe a process of 'pragmaticinduction' in which officers distinguish suspicious and unsuspicioustraits of persons, terrain,or reactionsto theirpresence.63 subtleare thesejudgments So to observers that adequatenotice is not alwaystaken of the considerable room for errorin them. Further,while severalstudieshavenow examined this activity, none have systematicallydescribedhow the police look for clues or assessedhow well this is done. The most detailed attempts are by Muir,who describeda four-phase sequence drawingon territorialfamiliarityand the citizen's reactionto their presence,and van Maanen,who identifies stages of 'affront','clarification', and 'remedy'in the categorizationof citizens.64Whilefew

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have examinedthe mechanicsof inferringand usingclues by studies pertinentfact. Rozell and Baxteridentified one particularly police, officers not only check for a more complex and inteExperienced clues and set grated of traits but they emphasizestable, generalized look for fewer clues than recruits.They have a more estabactually idea of the importantclues, which are then linked to lowerlished clues.65It has also been found that, comparedto appearance, order of is behaviour much more likely to be the basis of a classification
suspiciousness.66

However,analysesof competence must acknowledgethat police severalfactors known to limit accuratejudgment; aggravates work e.g.,sourcesof informationvary in credibility,the police areparticreliant on negative informationetc. One must also press the ularly needfor caution in pursuinga social psychologicalmodel into the of realm cognition. Positingmental categoriesand rational,if rapid, is decision-making certainly helpful in delineatingthe logical parameters of judgment formation. However one must avoid being police decision-making into conceptualizing by seduced the approach in full consciousness.In as a highly rational activity undertaken havea rolein police tacit particular, knowledgeand intuitivereasoning from ethnographicdata or the action;this is demonstrableeither culture'. in slogans currencyin the 'occupational logic follow a decision-making The idea that police necessarily instancesof police action knownto doesnot squarewith numerous of observers police behaviour.Preciselybecausethe police conceive the of themselvesas people of action, and becauseaction assuagesthe waiting for something to happen, tension of long periods of brings police often act impatiently and impulsively.Chance-taking of a return without deep investment. excitement and the prospect of One encountersfrequentreferencesto this stance;officers speak it pants',and say to each other 'let's suck 'flying by the seat of your andsee' asthey bail out of the vanlike fighterpilots being scrambled. The literatureon police discretionalso providesevidence of other processesthan a refined step-wisemodel of assessingcitizen intentions. Indeed, the same fieldworkdata which supportsthe subtlety of perception by experiencedofficers also identifies these qualities pragmatism.67 of impatienceand straight-ahead to drawon rationalor intuitivebasesfor action An officer'sability ultimately depends on the refinementof his ability to justify the action taken. Changesin the officers' talk about practice during socialization indicates the refinement of their abilities to define by situationsin ways which are receivedas appropriate the organizarefinementof skillsinvolvedin givingaccounts tion and citizens.The criticalto the conduct of encounterswith citizensas is demonstrably To usagewithin the organization. well as to achievingunproblematic to act to offer an account is to take on a particularidentity and

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others on the assumptionthat they inhabita particular identity for the purposeof the interactionalsegment.68In an organization such as the police, which is much concernedwith justifyingrule-bound courses of action, the member is obliged to develop a heightened awarenessof the advantagesand constraints of the variousinteractional identities available.69The essential contribution of such abilitiesto successfulnegotiationof citizen encounterscan be documented. Observation policepatrolconfirmsthatproficiencyin expression of is interrelated with proficiencyof demeanour.Skills of talk act as a cypher for paralinguistic and gesturalfacility in dealingswith the public. Sykes and Brent have illustrated relationbetweennegotithe ating skills, verbal ability and gesture in managing interactionwith the public at a micro-sociological level.70 Experiencedofficers subsume such related abilities under the term 'talk'. For example, Southgatenotes that officers seemed aware of the importanceof knowinghow to get on well with the public . . . Older officers spoke critically of younger ones in this respect. Typical interviewcomments were 'they don't know what they're doing' and 'they don't know how to talk to people'.7l The verbal abilities which facilitate negotiations are ultimately indicative of the adequacyof an officer's graspof the interactional identities appropriateto the situation. However,it is importantto note that an officer's ability to place himself in the situationof another in order to orient his own action is not synonymouswith his ability to appreciate the other'soverallperspective valuesystem. or Deficiency in seeing the world from the perspectiveof others is often allied with the functionsof a specialist,police-culture language in delineatingin-groupand out-groupin a way which exacerbates problemsof dealingwith disvalued groups. (T)hepolicecultureas a wholewasfairlycriticaland unsympathetic towardsminorities,especiallyWest Indians.Thiswas illustrated in the languageused (which included) 'bucks', 'coons', and 'niggers' . . . Officersclaimedthat even though not personallyprejudiced, they tended to adopt such languageand the views it implied becausethis was one way to be partof the group.72 Researchon complaintsof incivility has found that such complaints typicallyconcernlanguage ratherthan behaviour, furtherwork is and investigatingwhether forms of addressused by police/public are a contributing factor.73 Policetraining programmes beenunconcerned have with delineating the preciseverbal,gesturaland posturalskillsrelevantto negotiation with citizens. Failureto do so not only allowspolice to preserve their

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Nigel Fielding

emphasison individualexperiencebut to disvaluethe trainingenterprise in general.As Southgatereports,none of his samplewere able to offer preciseadviceon conductingoneself with minorities. Some were better at this . . . and employed tactics, phrasesand movementswhich were useful But, in general,officers were not very conscious of their behaviourand its effects on others, even thoughthey may havedevelopedit quite well.74 The skills of observation,understated power and negotiationare the basisof the constable'sability to achievea local publicorderwhich is sensitiveto communitystandards. Attributions competentpractice of by police officersare sensitiveto the delicateand continualinterplay of formalorganizational mandate,occupationalcultureand situated experience.Neitherthe 'occupational culture'nor the formaltraining programme account for the 'organizational reality' of policing.Both are contingenton the police officer's definitionalactivityin relation to the local concernsof the particular situation.By takingthis stance one only grantspolice the same capacityto mediatethe relationship betweenbeliefs and actionlong since accordedto criminals. Nigel Fielding Departmentof Sociology University Surrey of

NOTES

1 Everett C. Hughes, The Sociological Eye, Chicago,Aldine,1971. 2 Richard N. Harris, The Police A cademy: An Inside Fiew, New York, Wiley,1973. 3 P.N. Blauand W.R. Scott, Formal Organizations: A Comparative Approach, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1963. 4 E.M. Gross, 'The definition of organizational goals', British Journal of Sociology, vol. 20, 1969, pp. 277-94. 5 Anselm L. Strauss,et al., Psychiatric Ideologzes and Institutions, New York, Free Press, 1964. 6 Egon Bittner, 'The concept of organization',Social Research,vol.32, 1965, pp. 239-55. 7 Ibid., pp. 249-50. 8 P.M. Strong and R.WJ. Dingwall, 'Bringing goals back in: official discourse and the limits of negotiationin

formal organizations Conference on ', Social Theory, Surrey University, 18 December,1981, p. 21. 9John P. Hewitt, Self and Society, London, Allyn & Bacon, 1984. 10 Field notes, 16 May 1983. 11 Egon Bittner,op. cit., p. 254. 12 S.M. Lyman and M.B. Scott, The Sociology of the A bsurd, New York, Appleton CenturyCrofts, 1970, p. 124. 13 W.K. Muir, Police: Streetcorner Politicians, Chicago University Press, 1977. 14 InterviewTC2,16 May 1983. 15 S.M. Lyman and M.B. Scott, op. cit., pp. 132-3. 16 P.K. Manning, 'Organizational work', British Journal of Sociologfy vol.33 no. 1, 1982, p. 122. 17 Egon Bittner, 'The police on skid row: a study of peacekeeping', AmericanSociological Review, vol.32

and Police socialzzation police competence

no.5,1967,p. 706. 18 Jonathan Rubinstein, City police, New York, Farrar, Straus & Giroux,1973. 19 W.K.Muir,op. cit. 20 P.K. Manning, Police Work, Boston, M.I.T.,1977, pp. 141-5. 21 Interview,9:2,7. 22 M.R. Chatterton, 'The supervision of patrol work under the Fixed Points system', in Simon Holdaway, (ed.), The British Police, London, Arnold,1979. 23 Robert Reiner, The Blue-coated Worker, Cambridge University Press, 1978. the 24John van Maanen,'Working street',in H.Jacob, (ed.), ThePotential for Reform of Criminal Justice, London, Sage,1974, pp. l l 2-20. 25 J.M. Hanley, 'The rhetoric of police recruit selections', unpublished M.Phil. thesis, University of York, 1979. 26 P.K. Manning,Police Work,op. cit., p.156. 27 Interview,7 :1,6. .7:1,10. 28 Interview, 29 Interview,8:3,4. 30 Interview,12:1,15-16. 31 Interview,9:2,2. 32 Interview,7:1,10. 33 Interview,7 :2,7. 34 Interview,9 :2,4. 35 Interview,9:2,11-12. 36 Interview,12: 1,21. 37 Interview,12:3,19. 38 Field notes, l 6.5.83. 39 Interview,7 :1,3. 40 Interview,7 :1,5. 41 Interview,7:1,11. 42 Interview,8:3,5. 43 Interview,9:2,1. 44 Field notes,14 May 1983. 45 Egon Bittner, 'The police on skid row', op. cit., p . 706. 46 Doreen McBarnet, 'Arrest: the legal context of policing', in Simon Holdaway, (ed.), The British Police, London, Arnold,1979. 47 Interview,12:3,1. 48John Baldock and David Prior, 'The roots of professional practice', Community Care, 19 March 1981; 'Social workers talking to clients: a

589

study of verbal behaviour', British Journal of Social Work, 11, pp. 19-38, 1981. 49 The ambivalence of the ranks' views of officers is ably treated in P.K. Manning,Police Work, op. cit., p. 148. 50 Egon Bittner, 'The police on skid row', op. cit., pp. 114-15. 51 P.K. Manning, 'Organizational work', op. cit., p. 130. 52 Ibid, pp. 126, 127. 53 Richard R. Bennett, 'Becoming blue: a longitudinal study of police recruit occupational socialization', Internationalseminar on management and control of the police organization, Amsterdam,1981, p.8. 54John van Maanen,'Breakingin: socialization to work', in R. Dubin, (ed.), Hand book of Work, Organization and Society, New York, RandMcNally, 1975, pp. 32-103. 55 AJ.P. Butler and Raymond Cochrane, 'An examination of some elements of the personality of police officers', Journal Police Science and Administration, vol. 5, 1977; James W. Sterling, Changes in the Role Concepts of Police Officers, Gaithersburg, Md., International Association of Chiefsof Police, 1972. 56 Paul Cook, 'Facing the future',
PoliceReview,Aug.1977,p.1141.

57 John van Maanen,'Policesocialization', op. cit. 58 WilliamSumner, The Folkways, Boston, Ginn & Co., 1907. 59 P.D. Ashworth, Social Interaction and Consciousness, London, Wiley,1979. 60 Martha Cottam and Otwin Marenin, 'Problems of cognition and judgement in policing', in James J. Fyfe, (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement, London, Sage, 1981, pp.105-6. 61 Jerome Skolnick, Justice Without Trial, New York, Wiley, 1966, p. 45. 62 Martha Cottam and Otwin Marenin,op. cit., p. 105. 63 C. Werthman and I. Piliavin, 'Gang members and the police' in DavidJ. Bordua,(ed.), The Police: Six

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The Narcs' Game, Boston, M.I.T., 1981. 68 E.A. Weinsteinand P. Deutschberger, 'Tasks, bargainsand identities in social interaction', Social Forces, 42,1964,pp.451-6. 69 S.M. Lyman and M.B. Scott, op. cit., p. 136. 70 R.E. Sykes and E.E. Brent, sThe regulation of interaction by police', Criminology, vol. 18, no. 2, 1980,182-97. 71 Peter Southgate, 'Police/probationer trainingin race relations',Home Office Research Unit Paper no. 8, HMS0,1982,pp.11-12. 72 Ibid, p. 11. 73 Police Foundation (UK), London, Progress Report 2, 1983, p. 4. 74 PeterSouthgate,op. cit., p. 13.

Sociological Essays, New York, Wiley, 1967, pp. 75-80. 64 John van Maanen,'The Asshole', in P.K. Manning John van Maanen, and (eds), Policing: a Fiew From the Streets, Santa Monica, Goodyear, 1978, pp. 221-38. 65 R.M. Rozelle and J.C. Baxter, 'Impression formation and danger recognition in experienced police officers', Journalof Social Psychology, 96, 1975, pp. 59-61 . 66 H.M. Carterand Otwin Marenin, 'Policeculturein Nigeria:a comparative perspective Journal of Asian and ', African Studies, 14, 1980, pp. 34; John van Maanen, 'The Asshole', op. cit. 67 See Jonathan Rubinstein, op. cit.; W.K.Muir,op. cit.; P.K. Manning,