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Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Christopher Bellavita. "March 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p.95-100). Also available online.

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of police organizational culture on officers' perception of integrity in the Turkish National Police (TNP). Adopting an organizational rather than an individualistic perspective, this study focused on police organizational culture to investigate the causes of integrity problems in the TNP. While focusing on police organizational culture, this study also aimed to determine to what extent officers' perceptions of integrity are influenced by personal and occupational attributes such as age, gender, rank, income, educational level, years of employment, and assignment type. The research was conducted in Turkey's two largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, as well as the largest city of southeastern Turkey, Diyarbakir. Three hundred officers, consisting of 200 regular police officers and 100 ranked officers, were selected from each city, making a sample size of 900 in total. With a total of 507 respondents, after eliminating cases with missing values, the study achieved a 57% response rate. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships, since it is the most appropriate statistical method for testing hypotheses based on relations among latent and observed variables. This method enabled the researcher to measure the perception of police integrity and the perception of police organizational culture with their multiple indicators, providing rigorous measurements for both constructs. The results of the statistical analysis supported the research hypothesis. The findings showed that officers' perception of police organizational culture negatively influenced their perception of integrity. It was also found that officers' age and educational level also had a statistically significant influence on their perception of integrity.

Performance management is a holistic approach to organisational improvement that integrates individual and organisational goals and fosters cooperation between supervisors and employees to develop a shared understanding of work expectations. The literature further clarifies a performance management system as having four practices – goal setting, performance appraisal, employee development, and rewards. The conceptualisation of performance management draws on the dominant HRM framework of bundles of “high commitment” work practices whereby an organisation involves employees in its goals and activities to promote their discretionary motivation towards desired outcomes and overall improvement. However, there has been limited research on fully theorising performance management with the four key components. Although some empirical studies have tested the performance management concept, they focus narrowly on only a few of these components. Moreover, empirical research has omitted the role of organisational commitment in explaining the commitment based mechanisms in which the performance management bundle operates to inspire employees to improve their contributions in a workplace. To address these gaps, this study proposes a conceptual model to empirically investigate the linkages between performance management and three employee outcomes of task performance, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and turnover intention as mediated by two focal bases of organisational commitment – affective and continuance dimensions. These relationships are explored in the Thai Police Service. The mediating effects are based on the argument that satisfactory work conditions inherent in performance management may carry perceptions of both organisational care and support and also accumulated investments underlying the development of the affective and continuance dimensions, respectively. While both mediators are hypothesised to decrease turnover, affective commitment tends to increase task performance and OCB, and continuance commitment tends to be either unrelated or negatively related to both performance variables. Furthermore, because organisational characteristics in police forces are generally distinct from others, police culture was included in the conceptual model to examine the incremental contribution of performance management to changes in the employee outcomes. This research embraced three related studies. Four focus groups of 27 patrol officers were conducted in Study 1 to explore key dimensions of police culture and examine officers’ understanding of performance management practices. Having developed a written questionnaire to test the conceptual model, Study 2 surveyed 161 patrol officers returning 152 usable questionnaires in order to assess the meaning equivalence and applicability of the translated measures of all constructs (from English to Thai) in the model, and to determine their validity and reliability. In the third and main study, a revised questionnaire was used to survey 516 patrol officers, 454 of which returned usable questionnaires that were half split randomly (224 and 230) to enable the analysis in two parts. Based on structural equation modeling (SEM), the first part allowed the measurement properties to be re-explored due to questionnaire revisions, and then confirmed, using both respective samples. The second part was based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique for testing the conceptual model using the second sample. Overall, the empirical analysis shows that performance management not only accounted for affective commitment but also, to a lesser extent, continuance commitment. Performance management also was related both directly with task performance and indirectly through affective commitment, only directly with OCB, and only indirectly (fully mediated) with turnover intention through continuance commitment. Even after controlling for the impact of police culture and demographic characteristics, the predictive strength of performance management remained significant. The hypothesized relationships of affective commitment to OCB and turnover, however, were not supported. The follow up analysis revealed that the positive relationship between the former actually existed, but was conditional upon a high level of continuance commitment. Some of the major theoretical implications include the conceptualisation of performance management as confirmed with four components, a better understanding of the role of organisational commitment in explicating the high commitment mechanisms of performance management and the impact of organisational culture on the operation of performance management. From a practical perspective, organisations are encouraged to establish the holistic process of performance management to elevate employee performance and overall productivity and to emphasise voluntary and supportive aspects of the implementation of performance management to ensure its positive effects through affective rather than continuance commitment. For police organisations particularly, management should strive for interventions that reinforce values of progressive thinking, people-centred operations, and cooperation to supplement the performance management system. Finally, the conclusion discusses limitations and directions for future research.

This thesis examines the idea that police officers have supportive factors in their lives which influence coping mechanisms used to handle occupational stress. This idea comes from police culture literature which suggests that officers are encouraged to use maladaptive coping strategies like drinking and emotional suppression to deal with stress. Additional research on management support and family support are introduced as alternative supportive factors which can promote the use of adaptive coping like agency offered services and programs. This thesis uses data from “Work and Family Services for Law Enforcement Personnel in the United States” (Robert, O’Quin, & Kennedy, 2000). A subset of questionnaire items and officer responses are coded and run through statistical analysis including linear regression and logistic regression. Finally, findings are discussed and future research on the topic is suggested.

The experiences of dyslexic adults in education as well as the 'caring professions' of nursing, teaching and social work continue to be fertile ground for academic study. This study extends the range of current academic knowledge of dyslexia in the workplace by exploring the experiences of dyslexic police officers across England and Wales. The context is the extension of disability-related equality legislation to the police service in 2004. The overarching aim of the study is to examine the experiences and perceptions of dyslexic police officers who are 'on-the-streets' and not in the classroom environment. This research is underpinned by the principles of the social model of disability (Oliver 1990) and in it, dyslexia is understood not as a stand-alone difference but rather as an aspect of neurodiversity (Cooper 2009) A qualitative and exploratory research strategy was adopted. Data was collected by way of self-completed questionnaires and from face-to-face semi-structured interviews with twenty-five serving or recently resigned dyslexic police officers from ten police services from across England and Wales. The data was analysed using Layder's theory of domains and his adaptive theory (Layder 2005 & 2013). This study identified that the overwhelming majority of dyslexic police officers experienced a broad range of attitudinal, procedural and police 'barriers' to their full integration into the police organisation. All of the participants in this study had disclosed to their employing police service that they were dyslexic. Participant understanding of dyslexia and disability was deeply rooted within the medical model rather than the social model. The study identified substantial evidence of bullying, and discrimination was identified across the broad range of police services as well as significant failings in the provision of workplace assessments by Job Centre staff. Despite this treatment very few participants complained or sought redress. The dominance of the medical model of disability in wider society, together with negative aspects of police 'occupational' culture, were identified as key factors in the participants' decision making processes. This research concludes that institutional disablism in terms of dyslexia is widespread across some police services in England and Wales despite the extension of the disability discrimination legislation to the police service. The research concludes with some recommendations for policy and practice.

Abstract The culture of law enforcement is an all or nothing proposition with no gray area where membership into this society is concerned. You are either “on the job” or you are not. Even references among officers to “the job” indicate there is only one job. Likened to a secret handshake, that initial phrase if answered correctly opens the door to instant fraternal acceptance, get out of violation passes, and the many other assumed privileges of brotherhood. Manning (1980) describes the powerful mystification of policing as the “sacred canopy”. He further asserts that “the police role conveys a sense of sacredness or awesome power that lies at the root of political order, and authority, the claims a state makes upon its people for deference to rules, laws and norms” (Manning, 1980, p. 21). These elements make policing unique to all other American occupations. The sacredness of the profession creates social autonomy protected by the officers’ code of silence. Operating in this vacuum apart from public accountability fosters an environment for behavior outside of laws the institution is charged with enforcing. My research shows the process of occupational socialization ushers officers into a state of becoming blue, or the enculturation of expectant behavior and actions. I confirm that assignments into the Special Operations Group (SOG) facilitate a subculture separate and apart from the institutional ideals (Librett, 2006) and encourage a darkening of the shade of blue identifying officers with a labeling of deviance. While previous research identifies the code of silence as a by-product of the policing culture, my research identifies it as fundamental for maintaining the covenant of the dark blue fraternity.

There is a noted discrepancy between police psychological services offered and services utilized. It is important to understand reasons for underutilization when creating services for officers. The purpose of this study was providing empirical evidence from the officers-perspectives to answer this question. The conceptual foundation was officers may refuse participation due to police culture. The conceptual framework was represented in research questions focused on officers- perspectives regarding psychological services provided by psychologists without law enforcement (LE) experience. The participants were employed law enforcement officers (LEOs) from regions across the United States. Officer participation from all 50 states was targeted to assist in ensuring demographic variability. Phenomenological methods were employed. Samples were gathered by contacting 2 police departments (PDs) per state, in arbitrarily chosen cities and rural areas. One questionnaire with pre-addressed, stamped envelopes was sent to each department indicating the research post office box. Data were analyzed by applying qualitative research data software, open coding, in-margin notetaking procedures, and individual recognition of themes. Ten to 25 participants were required and 10 were achieved. Two categories, 6 subcategories, 2 themes, and 3 subthemes emerged from the data analyses. Data analyses aligned with previous findings in 2 aspects and did not support others. Positive social change will be affected through identifying reasons for low service utilization. Agencies may begin restructuring program policies, developing more effective training, and other psychological protocols for LEOs and providers.

The Ferguson effect is a recent hypothesis that suggests police officers have been influenced by negative media coverage of police conduct. The problem this study addressed is how policing continues to deal with perception, civil liability, and accountability issues related to police misconduct when interacting with Latino and African-American communities. The research was conducted to examine influence the Ferguson effect may have had on the culture and perceptions of police officers in local police departments. With a phenomenological qualitative approach, the research data were collected from interviews with 7 police officers across 3 police departments. The theoretical background of Merton's theory of unintended consequences offered insights into how law enforcement functions and the kinds of policies that affect police-civilian relations. Data was analyzed with NVivo 12 data analysis software. Four predominant themes emerged: (1) commitment to service, (2) police officers' perception of the media, (3) impact of the Ferguson Effect, and (4) attitudes toward civil liability. The research indicates that the officers shared a strong commitment to service as well as being satisfied overall with the police department where they work. In addition, the participants acknowledged the Ferguson effect but did not believe it prevented them from performing their sworn duties. With this research study, the police officers' voices can be added to the national debate regarding the Ferguson effect and their perception of its impact on their culture in local police departments, community engagement with minority citizens, and civil liability.