The Case of officer Barton
Case Study: Officer Robert Barton Paper
Course/Number: CJA 474
Date: October 23, 2013
Instructor Name: Roy Villarreal
Case Study: Officer Robert Barton Paper
Officer Barton joined a big city police department six years ago. Officer Barton was a high school graduate and he was fluent on three languages such as French, Spanish and English. Officer Barton had difficulty adjusting to the police department at beginning after graduating from the academy due to the apparent bonds of loyalty and secrecy that the department had. He had to assimilate the new subculture that the officers had and create a bond with them. Robert Barton, like most of his peers, started out slowly and was overawed by the total process, but with time he began to feel, think and act like a cop. He wanted to protect and serve the community from criminals but the reality with the streets and social status that he sought, within the group; he quickly accepted the norms and values of his peers and of his field training officers. After three years in the patrol division, he was reassigned to the Gang Task Force that consisted of 26 investigators, 1 supervisor form 6 jurisdictions that formed a tightly knit work group. This group consisted of a homogeneous and cohesive group of bilingual individuals that identified with each other by having the same values, attitudes, and beliefs in relation to their job. Due to this tight relationship, the task force was able to control gang activities. But for the group to achieve this, the task force skirted the law and sometimes conducted illegal searches and stopped individuals that where known not to be related to gang affiliation. They were times where arrests were made without probable cause. Even though Officer Barton tried to be neutral and stick to his personal values but he felt that he needed to prove to the rest of the group that he was part of them and play a blind eye to those activities that were against his beliefs (Harry W.
Course/Number: CJA 474
Date: October 23, 2013
Instructor Name: Roy Villarreal
Case Study: Officer Robert Barton Paper
Officer Barton joined a big city police department six years ago. Officer Barton was a high school graduate and he was fluent on three languages such as French, Spanish and English. Officer Barton had difficulty adjusting to the police department at beginning after graduating from the academy due to the apparent bonds of loyalty and secrecy that the department had. He had to assimilate the new subculture that the officers had and create a bond with them. Robert Barton, like most of his peers, started out slowly and was overawed by the total process, but with time he began to feel, think and act like a cop. He wanted to protect and serve the community from criminals but the reality with the streets and social status that he sought, within the group; he quickly accepted the norms and values of his peers and of his field training officers. After three years in the patrol division, he was reassigned to the Gang Task Force that consisted of 26 investigators, 1 supervisor form 6 jurisdictions that formed a tightly knit work group. This group consisted of a homogeneous and cohesive group of bilingual individuals that identified with each other by having the same values, attitudes, and beliefs in relation to their job. Due to this tight relationship, the task force was able to control gang activities. But for the group to achieve this, the task force skirted the law and sometimes conducted illegal searches and stopped individuals that where known not to be related to gang affiliation. They were times where arrests were made without probable cause. Even though Officer Barton tried to be neutral and stick to his personal values but he felt that he needed to prove to the rest of the group that he was part of them and play a blind eye to those activities that were against his beliefs (Harry W.
References: Harry W. More, G. F. (2012). Organizational Behavior and Management in Law Enforcement. Prentice Hall.