Cultural Interview Questions

Part A In the field of public safety it is imperative to understand and acknowledge other cultures within our society. By understanding differences among individuals, officers can increase their ability to serve and protect our community through the idea of community policing. However, not everyone is entitled to the same opinion that I have in regard to culture. For my one-on-one interview I decided to interview someone who I did not know in order to obtain an unbiased perspective on this topic. My interviewee’s name is Daniel, and here is how it went. I started the interview asking him to tell me a little bit about himself. Daniel started off by telling me he was born in Switzerland and immigrated to Canada around the age of five. Because

At first he seemed puzzled by the question due to never really thinking about it. Once he gathered his thoughts, he answered saying “how people or a group act and what they do for their enjoyment.” The second part of his answer I was slightly intrigued with. I never really thought about what we do for our enjoyment could related to our culture, but then again, some extracurricular activities that individuals participate are formed by culture. Daniel then later started to elaborate more on his answer adding the idea that culture is a shared belief among individuals within a society. He wanted to give a sociological definition as well as his own. He thought by adding a sociological perspective it would allow him to critically analyze an

When he first responded saying it was not something imperative to him, I was slightly shocked by this answer. Maybe I was shocked because culture is an essential part to my identity and seeing how someone does not view it that way is strange. But when he said viewed is culture more on a national level versus a personal level, I became interested in why? When I observed him thinking of an answer, he seemed puzzled by the fact I questioned him on it. He started replying in more of a critical way versus his personal opinion, as if he needed to have some sort of evidence to help him explain it. Unfortunately, he could not go more in depth with his answer stating “it is hard to explain.” I understood and decided to move on. After he responded to this question I decided to take a slight break so he could regain his focus. During the break he seemed a little frazzled by the last question so I asked him if he could tell me a little more about himself. He started explaining his family life, and the way he was raised. This helped him to refocus and ready for the next part of the