A Comparison of the Value Structure of British and U.S. Police

To examine the value structure of British constables with varying degrees of police experience, & to determine the effects of police work on that structure, 158 M constables from various parts of GB, with service periods of 3 months to 10 years, were administered the Rokeach Scale of Values (Rok...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social psychiatry 1980, Vol.26 (4), p.246-254
Main Authors: Teahan, John E., Adams, Kenneth M., Podany, Edward C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Britain/British (see also England, Great Britain)
England
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Police/Policing/Policemen
Psychology
Social Control, Formal
Social Values
Structure/Structures/ Structuring/ Structured
Time Factors
United States
United States/US
Urban Population
Value/Values/Valuation/ Valuations
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To examine the value structure of British constables with varying degrees of police experience, & to determine the effects of police work on that structure, 158 M constables from various parts of GB, with service periods of 3 months to 10 years, were administered the Rokeach Scale of Values (Rokeach, M., The Nature of Human Values, New York: Free Press, 1973). Analyses of variance were performed to determine the effect of length of service, & to compare this British sample with a sample of US policemen (N = 98 white Ms) from a large industrial city, administered the same test on entrance to the police academy, & again after 18 months, as part of an earlier study (see SA 24:4/76I0701). As hypothesized, length of service was found to have much less effect on the values of British constables than on those of US policemen. The higher crime rate in the US caused officers' values to shift over the 18-month period to attitudes reflecting greater emotional detachment, less forgiveness of others, & greater concern with achieving a sense of inner harmony. 4 Tables. Modified AA.
ISSN:0020-7640
1741-2854
DOI:10.1177/002076408002600402