Police personality: What is it and why are they like that?

Debate has swirled around the issue of the term “Police Personality.” The debate over this has been mainly over the issues of definition and development; i.e., what is a police personality and how does it form? Is it a predispositional model of personality or is it created by the nature of the work itself (an occupational-socialization model)? Perhaps the issue is not as simply dichotomous as that; perhaps it is a combination of both predisposition and experiences that forms this elusive personality. This paper will review the relevant literature pertaining to police personality, both predispositional notions and job created notions, as well as the literature on personality theories in a broader perspective.