Police evaluative perceptions of themselves,the general public and selected occupational groups

In recent years the police have faced sharply increasing pressures, criticisms, and role confusions due to such factors as rising crime rates, widely publicized incidents of police corruption and brutality, judicial changes in legally acceptable due process procedures, and new functions and tasks being assigned to police. This study investigates aspects related to the effects of increased strains and role confusions on police. Specifically, the study examines, with a semantic differential scale administered to 492 state and city police, how police perceive themselves and their roles, and their perceptual evaluations of the general public and various groups they interact with. The findings indicate that the respondents evaluate themselves and their profession highly implying they have a positive self-concept and are favorably disposed to their career. The four most negatively evaluated groups were lawyers, college students, politicians, and prison inmates. The low evaluation of lawyers may be due to the respondents' view that attorney frustrate and complicate the criminal justice system.