Factors in the Permeability of Traditional Police Values

This article presents the results of the fourth and last survey administrated among a cohort of Quebec police recruits between 2000 and 2008 (N ranged from 731 subjects at the on-set of this research, to 281 at its last stage). The questionnaire (170 items) is an adaptation of the tool developed for the pioneering study conducted in France by the late Dominique Monjardet. In this article, we present the evolution of respondents’ opinions and attitudes regarding various aspects of police functions, police duties and police ethics. Results show, on the one hand, that after 6 to 7 years as police officers, respondents are still highly confident that they made the right career choice and that being a police officer will fulfill the opportunities they first foresaw when they opted for the profession. On the other hand, the results also show a regular and steady decrease in respondents’ attitudes regarding ethical standards and global confidence in public safety institutions in order to help them fulfill their duties and obligations. We explore some of these issues in order to better understand their origins and the impacts they might generate in the increasing professionalization of police functions in Quebec.