Police occupational culture: classic themes, altered times

Abstract

Understandings of police culture rely heavily on ethnographies conducted several decades ago. In these classic accounts, authors have identified recurring themes within police dispositions and practices over time and space. There have, however, been important developments within policing contexts, some of which could be expected to transform the cultural ethos that has long underpinned the police identity. This article draws upon ethnographic research conducted in an English police force to explore how much of the classic characteristics of police culture have survived the period of transition. It shows that the underlying world view of officers displays remarkable continuity with older patterns, and argues that police culture endures because the basic pressures associated with the police role have not been removed. In light of this apparent durability of cultural themes, the article calls into question the increasingly accepted view that orthodox conceptions of police culture no longer make any sense. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.