Value conflicts in policing crisis into opportunity: Making critical use of experience

Abstract

In this paper, the authors argue that strong but informal norms of police conduct are often in conflict with the formal requirements of law and procedure. Tightening the rules and the publication of standards alone are unlikely to overcome these conflicts. Many policing decisions involve tension between this informal value system and the requirements of the rules. Competing personal values, loyalties to colleagues, to the job itself, or to friends and family, also produce value conflicts. These in turn, are sources of cognitive dissonance that are established precursors of emotional stress. Drawing on recent research that has developed a validated series of case studies, the authors argue that police officers can develop a repertoire of professional strategies to deal with these conflicts. They propose a programme of professional development using these case studies. They suggest that such a programme would help to resolve the anomaly between the requirements of the formal system and the informal culture ...