This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Sparger, J. R. Articles by Giacopassi, D. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Police Resentment of the Upper Class

Department of Criminal Justice, Memphis State University, 405 Mitchell Hall, Memphis, TN 38152

David J. Giacopassi

Department of Criminal Justice, Memphis State University, 405 Mitchell Hall, Memphis, TN 38152

Social class, or socioeconomic status, is an important determinant of individual behavior. Criminologists have generally examined the variable in three ways: social class of the police, reflection of middle class values in the law, and the clash between the values behind the law and values held by the lower class. This paper enters a new area, attempting to determine police perceptions of the upper class and their perception of how members of this. class are treated by the criminal justice system.

Fifty-four officers with two years of police experience in a large Southern city completed a detailed questionnaire to assess their attitudes toward the upper class. They were also asked to categorize themselves as members of the lower, middle or upper class. Findings indicate that police officers see the wealthy as possessing different values and being accorded a privileged status by the criminal justice system, resulting in some resentment on the part of the police. Also, a number of statistically significant findings result when self-perceived class background of the officers is cross-tabulated with their perceptions of the behavior and attitudes of the wealthy.

Criminal Justice Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, 25-33 (1986)
DOI: 10.1177/073401688601100104


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?