The Social Disconnect Between Law Enforcement and Civilians

The Social Disconnect Between Law Enforcement and Civilians Thomas Gorman Social and Behavior Sciences Sociology Armando Arias California State University, Monterey Bay Introduction Society decided it needed a force to handle the wrong doings in our civilization and created individuals to handle the issue. In the world of law enforcement, there is a disconnect between officers and civilians. The disconnect can lead to violence, negative feelings and disapproval towards officers. This disconnect impacts relationships and causes a negative stigma associated with police officers. Methods Participants A total of 47 civilian respondents took a convenience survey through Google docs and their responses were coded based on their replies to 24 questions asking their perception of police practices and feelings towards their community. 5 Police Officers interviewed in regards to the disconnect between law enforcement and civilians. Results In my data analysis, I make the claim that civilians are socially disconnected from police officers. Civilians are disconnected from the world of police officers and have little idea what transpires in the daily life of an officer. Civilians seem to get a lot of their information from social media and television. My claim is significant because there is a lot of civil unrest between civilians and law enforcement. I believe that if civilians knew what police do on a daily basis they would have a better understanding of police work. Discussion What I found in my research that is significant is the possible post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) that officers can endure from serving the public. The impact of PTSD can be extremely impactful to the effectiveness of law enforcement officers. Officers that are suffering from PTSD will exacerbate the social disconnect with civilians. An officer with PTSD cannot interact with civilians to the best of their ability. My interviews between K and G were polar opposites. • Interviewed police officers • Surveyed Civilians • Discovered the underlying causes of PTSD in law enforcement Theory General strain theory (GST) is a sociology and criminology theory developed in 1992 by Robert Agnew believed that Merton's theory was too vague in nature and did not account for criminal activity which did not involve financial gain. The core idea of general strain theory is that people who experience strain or stress become distressed or upset which may lead them to commit crime in order to cope. Bibliography Gouré, Daniel. “Non-Lethal Force and Peace Operations. ” Geo. Journal, Vol. 37, No. 2, The Military Environment (October 1995), pp. 267 -275, Lawrence W. Sherman, “Perspectives on Police and Violence”. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 452, The Police and Violence (Nov. , 1980), pp. 1 -12 Polsby, Daniel. “Reflections on Violence, Guns, and the Defensive Use of Lethal Force. ” Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 49,