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‘Notorious’ canteen culture vs. populism-based policing
Police officers nowadays are under a multitude of pressures to act in ways that favor society.
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On alert: Police personnel stand on guard outside the United States Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta on Jan. 13, 2024, ahead of a rally to protest Israel’s strikes on Gaza. (Antara/Siti Nurhaliza)
D
iscourse about the negative image of the police is an evergreen topic. One notorious police-related image that continues to circulate among society is the “canteen culture”.
The “canteen” is a deep-rooted stereotype about conservative police culture that is full of inappropriate actions such as corruption, violence, racism and discrimination against marginal communities.
Why is this associated with the canteen? The answer is simple. Such values mentioned above evoke a grotesque portrayal of cops sat around in the canteen; they exchange inside jokes, are resistant to change, are comfortable only interacting with those they consider the “in-group” and irrationally uphold internal principles while rejecting feedback coming from communities outside their own.
I outline three, if not all, of the ramifications of this view.
First, the “canteen” is a result of the potent us vs. them mindset – an exclusive and out-of-touch police culture. It acts to affirm the competence of the force and justify each other’s opinions.
Second, the glorification of hostility, which leads to violations of the rules of conduct. As officers feel entitled to perform coercive policing actions, police cynically perceive the public not as a community to protect but rather as a disturbance.
Third, it promotes an excruciatingly defensive solidarity. There are occasions where officers will attempt to conceal the improper acts of other colleagues to avoid further trouble, as the police force has an absence of praise when officers perform excellently, yet they are heavily persecuted for erroneous actions.
