These cultural beliefs make police reluctant to accept new ideas and embrace innovative concepts, such as community policing. New recruits often find the social reality of police work far different from what they had originally anticipated. They are generally unprepared for the danger, emotional turmoil, and conflict that accompany police work today. Membership in the police culture helps recruits adjust to the rigors of police work and provides the emotional support needed for survival. Police Personality Police experts have claimed that, due to the stress of the job and unfavorable social experiences and disappointments, many police officers exhibit a unique set of personality traits that distinguish them from the average citizen.
Many authorities characterize the police personality as dogmatic, authoritarian, and cynical.
Maintenance of these negative values and attitudes is believed to cause police officers to be secretive and isolated from the rest of society. We have already determined that policing involves a multitude of diverse tasks, including, but not limited to, peacekeeping, criminal investigation, traffic control, and emergency medical services. Part of socialization as a police officer is establishing a working attitude, or style, through which he or she approaches policing. Police personality influences working style. Each style is said to influence police decision-making.