Police officer attitudes toward peers, supervisors, and citizens: A comparison between field training officers and regular officers

This article assesses whether police Field Training Officers (FTOs) display patterns of attitudes that distinguish them from non-field training officers. The analysis focuses on attitudes toward four important groups: fellow officers, immediate supervisors, top managers, and neighborhood residents. Interview data used were collected from Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) during the summer of 1996. Findings show that FTOs are more critical of their immediate supervisors and district managers than non-FTOs, whereas FTOs and non-FTOs hold similar attitudes toward their co-workers and neighborhood residents. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.