Discuss the Social Hazards of Policing

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The police officer's role in society tends to alienate the officer from society as a whole. Although it is expected that officers risk their lives in the performance of their duties officers often believe that their efforts in doing so are not appreciated by the public. Since officers are generally not paid well in comparison to other professionals it is easy to understand why they feel so. A feeling of alienation is also quite common with officers resulting from the situation they find themselves in with the general public whom they often believe does not understand their role in society. Such a feeling may cause the police to view themselves as a minority within society and may affect their outside interests and their relations with their family members and others who are not police officers. For example, they may have a limited or restricted social life. This may result from the fact that at some social events police officers are often challenged by regular citizens for their views. This type of a situation probably explains why officers prefer to socialize with other officers when they are off-duty. However, the text notes that in reality, police officers are never "off-duty" because they may be called upon to perform a law enforcement function at any time.