Influence of Professional Status on the Quality of Police Service
Warren Wylupski, David R. Champion

Abstract
This qualitative study investigates the effectiveness and quality of police service. We propose that there is a link between quality of police service and how officers attain extraprofessional status and intraprofessional status. The current research incorporates Abbott’s model of extraprofessional and intraprofessional status in examining how police officers interacted with each other and with the public within each of the police roles as detailed by Wilson and Bittner. Concurrent attainment produces strain between these two status types, which suggests loss of effectiveness as officers choose one form of status over the other. A third type of status attainment, hands-dirty status, emerged as a differing form of intraprofessional status. The results indicate that new policing models must take into consideration the experiential world of officers, and in particular how they strive for professional status.

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