Explain need theory and relate it to a criminal justice personnel scenario

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Abraham Maslow, who developed Need theory, based motivational factors upon human's physical and psychological needs. Maslow argued that these needs affect human behavior patterns. His list of needs include, physical, safety and security, social or belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
• Research in criminal justice has supported some tenets of Maslow's theory. It has been demonstrated that older police officers and those with higher levels of education perceive control of their environments and some autonomy as critical to their job satisfaction.
• It has also been demonstrated that corrections officers report leaving their positions due to the inability of management to improve their working conditions, which may also include their safety and security.
• Bennet has argued that the structuring of police work makes it difficult for some officer's needs to be met. For example, some departments have shifts that run twelve hours and involve a lot of waiting or idle time. Bennet has also found that some police departments had difficulty dealing with self-esteem needs of their officers.