Us vs. Them: Police Officers, Administration, and Community Trust

Introduction: The Divide Within and Without

There has probably always been some tension between the average worker and the "higher-ups" — that is, administration — in factories, offices, stores, institutions, and other workplace environments. The same applies to the tension and anxiety between the "men in blue" — police on the street, also known as "line officers" or "beat patrol" police — and the top brass of a police department. This paper focuses on that tension, that clash, that ongoing stressful relationship between officers in squad cars patrolling city streets and officers walking the beat on one side, and their supervisors and administration on the other. It also examines the friction between street-level police and the public they serve.

The cop on the street tends to absorb the brunt of criticism when it comes to police–citizen stressors and gaps in protective services that fuel public protest. Yet there are often administrative and political disputes and pressures behind those issues that do not come into public view in a timely way. Retired police officer Cas Gadomski — who worked on the streets of Marietta, Ohio — has written an essay called "The 'Us vs. Them' Syndrome." In it, Gadomski asserts that early in his career as a beat cop he recognized an "us vs. them" attitude toward the public, and he also claims the "brass" in his police department "could be more of a threat than the dirt bag on the street" (Gadomski, 2001). How can that be so?

Gadomski asserts that during his time on the beat he witnessed "a disturbing event — an increasing militarization of police — and also an increase in the 'us vs. them' attitude of police." He believes that federal law enforcement agencies have wielded too much authority over local police, creating an "us vs. them" attitude between local officers and federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF). He describes the BATF as "a federal agency of black-clad ninjas with covered faces who make war on citizens, burn children, stomp cats, trash homes, and engage in conduct that rivals that of the KGB and Nazi Gestapo."

Officer Culture and the Origins of Us vs. Them

While Gadomski's assertions may seem extreme, the "us vs. them" scenarios he describes — between cops and their brass, cops and citizens, and local cops versus federal agents — are supported by broader evidence. Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, a law enforcement career expert writing on the law enforcement professional community site PoliceLink, insists that after only a short time a fresh recruit cares "less about 'them' and more about 'us.'"

Smith says officers tend to separate themselves from "the rest of society, even from our family and friends" (Smith, 2008). The problem with this "us vs. them" attitude begins in the police academy, says Smith, a 28-year veteran of her police department. The emergence of this belief is rooted in the "elitist feeling" that officers develop during training. Because cops witness more "human tragedy in the first three years" of service than most people see in a lifetime, they become "skeptical, paranoid, and hyper-vigilant" and come to view the world as "a violent place full of idiots, con artists, and liars" (Smith, 2008).

Administrative Distrust and Departmental Morale

On a Police Link forum thread titled "Leadership vs. Management," officers posted their perspectives on the "us vs. them" conundrum. One user ("brooks125") asks why "natural leaders seem to get pigeon-holed at Sergeant or other front-line supervisory positions, and 'managers' tend to climb right up the ranks to the top." Saying he just wants to "do my job, and have brass that backs me up," this poster claims that "so much gets hampered by the bean-counting managers up front" that officers on the street cannot do their jobs properly. Another user ("bikekop") offered a distinction: "A manager (lieutenant and above) is one who does things right. A leader (Sergeant or peer leader) is one who does the right thing. Any agency needs them both."

Police morale in some departments — strained by clashes between rank-and-file officers and management — is in need of serious improvement. The Rutland Herald of Rutland, Vermont, reported on a pair of morale surveys administered to Rutland police officers over the course of three years. Results were not made public by police department officials until the newspaper submitted formal public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The surveys revealed that "trust" was "nonexistent" between leadership and rank-and-file officers (Curtis, 2009). Law enforcement consultant Kenneth Kelly, who authored the report, found that the department was "factionalized" and that "the negatives clearly outnumbered the positives" (Curtis, 2009).