Worksheet
- Do you believe that there are (and always have been) significant differences between the police officer as a worker and other workers?
Specimen Answer / Discussion
There is no hard and fast answer here. You might point out that few jobs require an individual to wear a uniform and deny that individual some of the basic workplace rights (such as the right to strike) if he or she believes that there is a problem at the workplace, or over relations between senior and junior staff, or over pay. (And, while you may not be aware of the fact, it might be added here that the police in many other liberal democratic societies do have the right to withdraw their labour.) Looking to the information provided in the module on the Police and Public Order, you might also have noted that the police are the principal work group that can be deployed to observe other workers that are on strike, and to restrict the behaviour of such workers.
The module has pointed to a specific workplace culture that developed among the police; but, while the police culture is distinct, other jobs also have their own workplace cultures. And on the very basic level, while the uniform and the regulations that have structured the police officer’s day are specific to the job, the basic issues of pay and conditions probably have created as much trouble among the police as among other groups.
William Edward Pearce 1853-1883