Abstract

Democratic police reforms have reduced the isolation of officers from the public, putting recent public demands for changes to U.S. policing into stark relief with existing practices of police agencies. This qualitative study examines role conflict related to negotiating external expectations for policing among 48 U.S. police officers. Findings suggest that role conflict related to incoherent policing priorities is a robust feature of officers’ experiences and results from operational processes that are poorly aligned with agency or officer priorities, and public expectations that are incompatible with officers’ work realities. Given the legitimacy crisis facing U.S. policing, policymakers and practitioners should develop strategies that directly address this incoherence by (1) assessing and reflecting public priorities in the generation of public safety, and (2) developing organizational resources and processes that strategically support valued activities. Doing so may strengthen the foundation for improving police-community relations as public priorities are incorporated into police practice.

摘要

民主警察改革减少了警察与公众的隔离，使最近公众对改变美国警务的要求与警察机构的现有做法形成鲜明对比。这项定性研究调查了 48 名美国警官之间与协商外部警务期望相关的角色冲突。调查结果表明，与不连贯的警务优先事项相关的角色冲突是警官经验和结果的一个重要特征，其来自与机构或警官优先事项不一致的操作流程，以及与警官工作现实不符的公众期望。鉴于美国警察面临的合法性危机，政策制定者和从业者应制定直接解决这种不连贯性的策略，方法是 (1) 评估和反映公共安全生成中的公共优先事项，以及 (2) 开发从战略上支持有价值活动的组织资源和流程。随着公共优先事项被纳入警察实践，这样做可能会加强改善警察与社区关系的基础。