TRANSFORMATION OF THE ORAL TRADITION OF THE POLICE SUBCULTURE THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-6136(2000)0000002009
Date20 December 2000
Pages107-132
Published date20 December 2000
AuthorAlbert J. Meehan
TRANSFORMATION OF THE ORAL
TRADITION OF THE POLICE
SUBCULTURE THROUGH THE
INTRODUCTION OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Albert J. Meehan
ABSTRACT
The oral tradition among the police is an important part of the police
subculture and an agent of socialization for new recruits. While oral
traditions generally have the character of remaining stable over time,
information technologies (IT) are being incorporated into the oral
tradition in policing in ways that change its character. Amusing or
sensational audio and video tapes, often remarkable for the startling
character of the images they portray than for their relationship to a
tradition of shared values, are replacing the apocryphal stories that
formerly characterized the oral tradition. Information technology is
generally viewed as increasing the efficiency of the police as an
organization. However, it may in fact be significantly altering and
strengthening the police subculture at its core. This paper examines the
officers’ uses of audio and video materials through a detailed analysis of
the materials themselves, extensive field work documenting the officer’s
uses of them and stories about them, and formal interviews.
Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Volume 2, pages 107–132.
Copyright © 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
ISBN: 0-7623-0680-7
107
INTRODUCTION
The oral tradition among the police has always been an important medium of
the police subculture (Shearing & Ericson, 1991; Waddington, 1999) and an
important agent of socialization for new recruits (VanMaanen, 1978; Manning,
1977). Oral traditions generally have a resilient character which facilitates their
capability to remain stable over time (Ong, 1982; Edwards & Sienkewicz,
1990) and promote group solidarity (Couch, 1989). Recently, information
technologies (IT) are being incorporated into and supplementing the oral
tradition in policing in ways that change their character. The apocryphal stories
chosen by officers to highlight the shared values of the group, or instruct other
officers about their work, are being replaced and/or supplemented by amusing
or sensational audio and video tapes that are often remarkable more for the
startling character of the images they portray than for their relationship to a
tradition of shared values or ethos. Thus, the introduction of IT promises to
alter the oral tradition of policing in important ways.
The concept of a distinctive occupational subculture has largely informed
police research which uses this concept to explain the emergence of a
distinctive and shared police world view and its consequences for under-
standing police behavior (Manning, 1989; see Herbert, 1998 and Waddington,
1999 for a review). Further, the police subculture is often considered a
formidable obstacle to organizational change (Goldstein, 1990) and a cause of
police deviance (Kappeler et al., 1998). In recent years, the concept of ‘police
subculture’ as traditionally conceived has been recast by researchers (e.g.
Fielding, 1988; Shearing & Ericson, 1991; Waddington, 1999) in interactionist
frameworks of varying types. These approaches consider the study of the police
subculture to be the study of the talk or other linguistic forms (e.g. stories,
narratives, myths), occurring within this context that demonstrate the rich and
complex meanings that permeate the texture of the police subculture.
These arguments propose that the study of the police subculture focus upon
interactional occasions where naturally occurring talk displays (sub)cultural
competencies (Fielding, 1988); that the sharing of police stories and myths are
figurative guides for action in the police subculture (Shearing & Ericson,
(1991); or that police talk is a form of rhetoric that is palliative by providing
meaning to experience and preserving occupational self-esteem (Waddington,
1999).
The present study considers how various forms of information technologies,
or what Ong has characterized as ‘secondary orality’ (1982, p. 11), have
emerged alongside the oral tradition in policing. The question of what effect
this will have on policing itself and its oral traditions is an important one.
108 ALBERT J. MEEHAN

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