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Police Influence on Society

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Police Influence on Society
Robin Betts
CJA/344
December 7, 2015
Diana Mitchell

Police Influence on Society
Policing has been evolving slowly but surely since the 1950s. The traditional policing model was exposed during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. America is known as a country of diverse ethnic, racial, and religious groups. Or as many would refer to America as a melting pot. This is not the case though.
Policing in smaller homogeneous societies tend to be more uniformed. The reason for this is that people tend to know each other on more intimate levels. Most of the time they have the same outlooks on the world and the same view about what is considered right and wrong. Social control is easier to achieve in smaller homogeneous towns. There is a general agreement about what is wrong or right, bad or good, illegal or legal. This is called the “collective conscience”(McNamara & Burns, 2009). The morality is stronger in theses community because there is a greater agreement on the importance of social life and their involvement in it. The bad side to this society is that change will happen very slowly or there will be no change at all.
Heterogeneous societies are completely the opposite. People in this group are way more diverse and come from many different racial and ethnical backgrounds. Instead of building trust and getting to know each other on a more intimate level, individuals get to know others by what that person can do for them or how that person can meet their needs. The police department has trouble bringing these diverse groups together in or to solve problems cooperatively.
The civil rights movement changed how the police are supposed to handle racial situations and involvements. This was done through social upheavals surrounding the civil rights movement. There were widespread riots and protests against the racial injustices that

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