Police force, cop, MPS Metropolitan Police Service, cop culture, police's governing authority, UK United Kingdom, police culture, power, public order, laws, patrol, crimes, england, Wales
Despite over three decades since the implementation of stop and search legislation, no police force has fully grasped the consequences of utilizing these powers. This has resulted in evident disproportionality, as reflected by statistical data. For example, in the 2019/20 period, individuals belonging to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups were more than four times as likely to be subjected to stop and search compared to their White counterparts. For Black individuals specifically, the likelihood was nearly nine times higher (HMICFRS, 2021). Recently, several highly publicized cases have highlighted gross misconduct and unlawful actions by police officers, particularly within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Therefore, police forces in the UK are experiencing a severe crisis in maintaining public trust and confidence, primarily due to cop culture. This paper aims to examine the issue of cop culture and determine its role in the disproportionate use of stop and search in England and Wales.
[...] W. (2019). The politics of the police. Oxford University Press. Bradford, B., & Tiratelli, M. (2019). Does stop and search reduce crime UK Justice Policy Review, 4, 1-11. HMICFRS. (2021). Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force. Loftus, B. (2008). [...]
[...] Dictionary of Policing. Cullompton: Willan Press, pp. 203-205. [...]
[...] Furthermore, 'cop culture' has been interpreted in various ways by different experts, adding to the complexity of the subject. It has been described as a combination of values, attitudes, prejudices, and work routines commonly prevalent among lower-ranking police officers (Waddington, 2008), as well as a set of shared informal norms, beliefs, and values that shape and inform the attitudes and behaviours of police towards the general public (Loftus, 2008). Some key features of cop culture include group loyalty, manifested in a 'we vs them' mentality between management and uniformed officers, officer bias and resistance to change, and a general sense of suspicion towards the public (Skolnick et al., 2010). [...]
[...] (2010). A sketch of the policeman's working personality. Race, ethnicity, and policing, 15-31. Vomfell, L., & Stewart, N. (2021). Officer bias, over-patrolling and ethnic disparities in stop and search. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(5), 566-575. Waddington, P. A. J. (2008).' Police Culture', in Newburn, T. and Neyroud, P. (2nd Edn.). [...]
[...] This has resulted in evident disproportionality, as reflected by statistical data. For example, in the 2019/20 period, individuals belonging to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups were more than four times as likely to be subjected to stop and search compared to their White counterparts. For Black individuals specifically, the likelihood was nearly nine times higher (HMICFRS, 2021). Recently, several highly publicized cases have highlighted gross misconduct and unlawful actions by police officers, particularly within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
