Psychology of a police officer image: state and potential positive dynamics

A negative perception of a police officer by citizens mostly focuses on the sphere of officers' legal consciousness and professional responsibility but not other factors (personal, social) which become secondary ones. An image is one of the main elements of a professional policeman and it comprises a generalized image reflecting its parameters of psychological and professional characteristics. Therefore for a positive image it is important to develop psychological and professional characteristics of a proper perception, create a generalized image of an ideal policeman, a highly qualified professional with developed moral qualities and communicative skills. The analysis of theoretical material on the problem of an image in general and image of a policeman in particular allows the authors to prove its connection with “Self-concept”. It is empirically proved how much self-perception of the participants of the experiment devoted to peculiarities of their personality correlates with the concept of an image in their minds. The results show that one of the key roles in building an image of a policeman is played by his self-identification, how he perceives himself and correlates himself with the surrounding world.