Streetcorner Politicians in the Making: Cynicism and the Use of Coercive Authority among Police Recruits

• In Event: Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining the Police Workforce

Abstract

Muir’s well-known study of police as streetcorner politicians posited that deeply-rooted outlooks on human nature shape officers’ understanding of situational dynamics and their predispositions for the use of coercive authority. Officers with a “unitary” perspective on mankind, according to Muir’s analysis, have greater insight into the motives and perceptions of the people with whom they interact, which affords them a wider range of non-coercive options to resolve situations. By contrast, officers with a “dualistic,” cynical outlook are prone to judge people as either victims or victimizers and apply coercive measures to the latter. We test propositions derived from Muir’s framework by drawing on panel survey data on police recruits, including their projected responses to three hypothetical scenarios.

Authors

• Robert E. Worden, John F. Finn Institute & University at Albany

• Sara Fiegl, John F. Finn Institute & University at Albany