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Introduction
Given the implications ascribed to police culture, understanding and investigating it is a major issue. For instance, many authors describe police culture as a relevant determinant of officers' mental and physical health as well as their “everyday functioning” (Paoline, 2003, p. 200). Some cultural aspects such as solidarity and support within workgroups seem to be beneficial, while others appear harmful, such as excessive alcohol consumption or suppression of negative emotions (Martin, 1999; Ménard and Arter, 2014; Schaible and Gecas, 2010; Violanti et al., 2011; Waddington, 1999). Another reason for the relevance of police culture lies in the essential role the police play in modern societies. Specifically, officers have certain discretionary power when fighting crime and enforcing laws, and their behavior is considered to rely largely upon shared cultural values (Loftus, 2009; Waddington, 1999). Hence, the way police officers behave towards citizens in ambiguous situations should be influenced by the culture in their unit. Further often mentioned consequences are resistance to reform (Chan, 1996), undue suspicion and isolation from social and family relationships (Woody, 2005), misuse of police authority and thwarting of investigations in case of officer wrongdoing (Paoline, 2003). On the other side, police culture contributes to integrating new members by teaching them implicitly about police work and preventing inappropriate police conduct by providing value orientation (Caldero and Crank, 2010; Paoline, 2003).
As Crank states, “culture is neither bad nor good, but rather it is a central organizing principle of social life [...] So it is for the police as well. It is culture that makes police like the rest of us, not different from us” (2004, p. 14). Thus, appreciation and understanding of the specific culture are as important and necessary as a critical examination of possible dysfunctional aspects (Waddington, 1999). However, in this connection it is important to go beyond the explicit, communicated police culture (e.g. in mission statements) and to consider the implicit, de facto police culture, which really affects police officers' behavior (Waddington, 1999).
An empirical investigation of such presumed relationships requires a tool for measuring police culture. The vast majority of literature on police culture is of qualitative nature. It provides deep insights into officers' daily lives, but does not allow for statistical analysis of relationships. Few studies...