Office Robert Barton
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case_study_officer_robert_barton.docxCase Study
Case Study: Officer Robert Barton
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Case Study: Officer Robert Barton
One thing most people have in common is the need to fit in or to feel accepted. People that feel reject from society do not have the same success as people embraced by the social group. Groups are said to develop through a series of stage that result in the group becoming a team and successfully accomplishing team goals. These stages include the forming, storming, norming, and performing. The forming stage is when the group is formed. In this stage the group makes introductions and begins to learn about each other (Neil, 2007). The group was already formed when Barton joined the police department but later when he joined the Joint Gang Task Force the group began to form after they were assigned to the taskforce and began to get to know each other.
Storming is when the group begins to identify differences and belief systems and to try to find their position amongst the group. When Officer Robert Barton joined the police station and the Joint Gang Task Force he initially held individual rights and due process of the suspect above all else. In order to adopt the values of the group, Barton had to release his rigid views about individual rights and due process and adopt the more lax views of the new law enforcement group. Even though Barton did not initially believe in violating a suspect’s right after joining the gang task force he had to adapt the views in order to become a more cohesive member of the group.
Next is the norming stage where the values of the group become the values of the individual. In this case Officer Barton was willing to conform to the group in order to be accepted by the group. While everyone want to be accepted in a group it is essential for the police officer to be accepted by the group for their own protection. If Officer Barton was not accepted by the group he would not receive the same level of protection and support in the field increasing the level of danger he faced. The same would happen if Officer Barton refused to conform and accept the less than legal actions being displayed by his fellow police officers.
Last in group formation is performing. This means the group or team is working effectively and efficiently toward achieving its goals (Neil, 2007). In this case the Joint Gang Task Force became a performing group when they all began to display the same behavior, attitudes, and values. Members of the Joint Gang Task Force embraced the thin blue line; therefore, embraced even the bad behaviors displayed by the group. Because the task force rewarded loyalty, secrecy, and conformity group members quickly adapted their behavior to adopt the behaviors being displayed within the group.
Group cohesiveness is when a group began displaying similar behaviors that lead to the successful accomplishment of goals. Group cohesiveness ceases to be positive and becomes pathological when the group encourages illegal behaviors or the group dynamics result in a loss of individuality. In the case of the Joint Gang Task Force the members began to embrace the behaviors displayed in the group even though they have a legal obligation as police officers to follow the law and they knew these behaviors violated the rights of gang members. Group cohesiveness becomes pathological when the group will accept no outside ideas and rejects any free thinking.
Groupthink can encourage the view of untouchable (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2012). This appears to be the view of the Joint Gang Task Force. This group of law enforcement officers has rejected social norms that dictate they follow the law and do not violate rights of suspects. Instead they have accepted group norms that allow them to ignore the rights of the gang member in the name of public safety. Even though they make excuses for their illegal behavior the behavior displayed by Officer Barton and the group is wrong.
Subcultures in police work are inevitable. Police officers work in an environment where every day they face potential life or death situations. The only way to ensure their safety is to garner the respect of fellow officers so they will have their back in the field. Police officers experience the same level of stress and must display similar authoritarian type behavior in the field. Between the need to protect each other from danger and having the same goal of stopping crime, a unique and distinct subculture develops. This subculture, also known as the thin blue line, requires loyalty above else. Any officer not loyal to the Joint Task force would be rejected by the rest of the group. Officer Barton understood the need to conform to the police subculture.
Preventing a subculture from developing where it is acceptable to ignore the law in lieu of arresting a gang member requires solid training and leadership that rejects these behaviors and the police subculture. Police must obey the law above all else and never ignore the rights of the suspect even if the end result is a criminal is removed from the streets. Officer Barton has a duty to report the wrong doings of the group and to remember his training and legal obligation but he has failed in his duty.
References
Neil, J. (2007). Group Dynamics, Processes & Development. Retrieved December 21, 2014 from
http://www.wilderdom.com/Group.html
