External Loyalty In Police Subculture

Police subculture has many elements that define the law enforcement culture and is a common denominator around the globe. "The sense of being different from civilians and the knowledge that a police officer can depend only upon other officers in a moment of need fosters a sense of security and occupational solidarity known as the police subculture", (Doerner, 2016, p. 171).The police subculture is police officers supporting others within their department or other agencies as every law enforcement officer has the same mission, just different tactics, and uniforms. According to Introduction to Law Enforcement, secrecy is the single most important element in police subculture as trust is always and will always be critical in this culture (Doerner,

First, external loyalty refers to the officer alone and is defined by how the officer applies the oath they swore to uphold during the course of their duties, even in catastrophic events. Every officer on a shift or in a unit can identify another officer by their loyalty after they have worked under pressure. Secondly, internal loyalty is usually a reflection of external loyalty as internal loyalty defines the level of loyalty a department has for its employees through actions and not words, not to exclude the support to officers by the department. A healthier internal level of loyalty in a department that shows a powerful amount of support towards its officers will result in a more external level of loyalty by the officers to the general orders and demands of the department and a greater level of respect. Lastly, if the aforementioned levels of loyalty are pure and strong, the level of interpersonal loyalty will be exhibited among every officer, because each officer can depend on the support of their fellow officers as well as their department, and no task is too great for them and they cannot conquer. The orchestration is harmonic and provides a strong foundation within the police subculture (Doerner, 2016). The aforementioned only applies to a perfect world and we certainly

Each department has that group of people that are by the book and others that are more flexible and only want the job to get done, regardless of how it's accomplished. Savitz's research resulted the public wasn't a police officer's best choice of a backup during times of chaos and each department had their share of weak loyalties. Interestingly, "just about every single officer stated that even if they were off-duty and not in uniform, they would help an officer who was in trouble", (Doerner, 2016, p. 172). Consequently, the police subculture remains loyal in today's society, regardless of the badge, race, religious belief, sex, or rank, the "thin blue line" is more than a police subculture, it is a