Law Enforcement Subcultures


 

Assignment Guidelines

You are a new patrol officer assigned with a veteran field training officer (FTO). He will be rating your performance for the next 16 weeks while you are on probation. His write-ups will make the determination on whether or not the police department will retain you as a regular police officer. Your FTO is outstanding. He teaches you more in the first week about the job than you believe you have learned in the 6 months you were in the academy.

One afternoon, you stop to have a hot dog for lunch at a local hot dog stand. Your FTO asks you to keep an ear out for emergency radio calls and calls out for you and him so that you can have a half hour lunch break. He then hands you the keys to the car and walks across the street entering a room door at the Sunshine Motel. He is inside of room 214 for almost the entire half hour. You have finished your lunch, and you are waiting. You observe the door open up, and the FTO passionately kisses a very young looking woman who appears to be a prostitute. She remains inside while your FTO partner saunters across the street and says, “Let’s go to work,” letting you drive the rest of the afternoon. Over the next 5 weeks, this happens twice more at the same location. You know the FTO is a family man with a wife and two kids. The woman in the hotel room is not his wife.

Please include answers in your main posting for the following questions. Support your answers with your research. You must provide meaningful feedback to the main postings of at least 2 of your classmates.

  • Address the following:
    • What, if any, are the violations that you believe your FTO is committing? Explain.
    • How could the FTO’s behavior affect your position in the police department? Explain.
    • What action do you feel compelled to take concerning this situation, and why? Explain.