Formation of a social portrait of a police officer of the Russian Federation at the present stage

Over a long period of time since the birth of sociology as a science, interest in various social groups has only increased. Political, economic, social conditions, ideological attitudes, behavioral reactions, beliefs and foundations are changing, but the need to study the characteristic features of social (professional) groups does not lose its relevance. The concept of "social portrait" is widely used in modern sociology. In particular, researchers in the field of social psychology use this term in their scientific papers. For example, the social portrait of youth, students and age groups is considered in the studies of L.A. Belyaeva ^[4], A.I. Kovaleva, V.A. Lukov ^[11]. The social portrait of police officers is described in the works of S.A. Alekseev ^[2], A.M. Vorobyov ^[5]. It should be noted that public opinion about the activities of the police can be formed, including on the basis of a social portrait of a police officer. Research on the study of public opinion is reflected in the works of M.K. Gaidai, V.A. Ilchenko, Kapralov S.V., E.A. Shatskaya ^{[6, 8, 10, 15]}.

Despite the fact that the problems of organizing the service of police officers, public opinion about their activities and other aspects of this profession are attractive for scientific analysis, the question of the approach to the study of social portrait remains open. Analyzing the published scientific works on this topic, attention is drawn to point studies of the social porter of a police officer. S.A. Alekseev, D.A. Shpilev, E.N. Shlyagina very accurately note that insufficient attention is paid to the collection and analysis of empirical data obtained as a result of a survey of employees themselves. At the same time, the research conducted by them ^[2] covers only a part of the issues of interest to us. 

Referring to previously conducted studies, it was revealed that scientists did not come to a single scientifically based definition of the concept of "social portrait". The article notes that the portrait translated from French "portrait" means "reproduction of something line by line". From this position, a social portrait is an integral characteristic of a social group, expressed in the most essential features of perception and display of social reality.

From an artistic point of view, A.V. Lunacharsky very precisely defined the term "social portrait": "this is when an artist in a particular "person" saw and showed a whole social stratum" ^[12]. V.I. Kazakov demonstrates very clearly the heterogeneity of this term, giving the "social portrait" the status of a "concept", in the study of which clear strategies are not used.  ^[9] In general, a social portrait is an abstract generalized characteristic (arithmetic mean) of a certain social community; a holistic description of the social essence of an object.

I would like to draw attention to the use of various options in the use of portraits. For example, a forensic portrait, which is a collective concept. Thus, N.M. Malykhina defines the content of a forensic portrait as a set of information about the biological, psychological and social properties of a person ^[13]. L.Ya. Drapkin, V.N. Dolinin, A.E. Shuklin identify the concept of a forensic portrait with psychological, with verbal portraits ^[7].

In science, a criminological portrait is also known, which means a set of properties and traits that determine and preserve criminal behavior. In the works of O.R. Afanasyev, M.V. Goncharov, the important indicators studied when compiling a criminological portrait include gender, age, educational level, social composition and occupation of criminals ^[3].

The psychological portrait, implying subjective personal characteristics of a person, the peculiarities of the course of psychological processes, is interpreted in different ways in research. For example, V.V. Popov, Yu.Yu. Troichenko reveal it as a standard document containing morphological, socio-demographic characteristics ^[14]. More often, the psychological portrait of a person is studied by analyzing the following aspects: temperament, character, abilities, orientation, emotionality, intelligence, sociability, self-esteem, strong-willed qualities, self-control, ability to work collectively, motivation, social attitudes. We believe that it is possible to make a psychological portrait only if there is special knowledge, since various methods of personality research are used: questionnaires, psychological testing and interpretation of the results obtained, included observation. Of course, personal data, social status, basic biography (place of birth, significant events in life) are analyzed.

From the point of view of sociology, the term "social type" is close to the concept of "social portrait", by which it is customary to understand a certain set of people with similar socio-value attitudes, equal opportunities and social status ^[16]. Based on the definition of the term "social type", we believe that only in the context of socio-value attitudes can these concepts be considered as similar. Another position, revealing the basis of a social portrait in the form of a "mask", also cannot be fully justified. Undoubtedly, the social mask is one of the elements of the game in society, however, with the regular performance of certain actions, the "mask" becomes part of everyday life.   

In our scientific search, a social portrait will be understood as an integrated description of the social essence of an object (social group), including a system characteristic of all its components, as well as social processes and relationships associated with it. The social portrait includes socio-demographic, economic, ideological characteristics, educational status.

In order to obtain objective data in the study of the social portrait of a group, it is important to cover most of the studied group. It is preferable to study the entire general population, but due to organizational and material difficulties, a sample population is formed. In fact, the study of any group is based on inductive reasoning, where a general idea of the studied group is formed on the basis of individual psychological data. In this regard, we can propose a classification of portraits. The first group includes a psychological portrait, the second – a social one, which can be divided into criminological, criminological and others, depending on the objectives of the study.

In sociological science, research can be based on the search for both common and distinctive features of a group. A characteristic feature of these groups is either unity of action, or the territory of residence, or gender and age characteristics, or the amount of authority, or income level, or lifestyle. In other words, a social portrait is an integrated characteristic, the result of collecting and processing the information obtained using general scientific and private scientific methods.

The practical significance of drawing up a social portrait of a police officer lies in the formation of the need for personnel for police service; carrying out personnel measures for the qualitative selection of applicants for police service and for the creation of a personnel reserve; moral and psychological support of official activity.

It should be noted that a social portrait is not a research method, but a kind of generalization of the facts being studied, a grouping of material or an algorithm for studying. The formation of a social portrait of a police officer implies the definition of basic components, the study of which is possible with the use of a questionnaire survey, interviews, content analysis. Let's formulate the main components under study used in compiling a social portrait of a police officer.

1.                Gender and age characteristics of police officers. In accordance with the Federal Law "On Service in the Department of Internal Affairs", the age limit for entering the service is 35-40 years, depending on the position, and the right to enter arises from the age of 18. A fairly wide age range of 18-40 years, respectively, there will be distinctive features in the ideological, socio-psychological components of persons entering the service of the internal affairs bodies for the first time. The proportion of men and women who have chosen this profession is interesting, as well as the turnover of personnel depending on the gender component.  

2.                Marital status. There is no doubt that the family is fundamental in the life of any person. The creation of one's own family significantly affects the values and behavioral reactions associated with risks in official activities. The creation of a family, the birth of children are social needs, along with work, the satisfaction of which becomes an incentive for further improvement in professional and personal areas.

3.                Motives for joining the police. Motivational attitudes when choosing a profession further determine the employee's attitude to official duties, colleagues, and offenders. These may include: monetary maintenance, social guarantees, authority, career growth, the realization of a childhood dream, the desire to fight crime, the desire to avenge past grievances using official position, the example of parents and acquaintances, the presence of a real opportunity to influence people's behavior, public life, the opportunity to get an apartment, high prestige of the service the police.

4. Professionally important qualities of police officers: business, moral and psychological, integral. Any profession defines a set of professional and personal qualities that contribute to mastering this type of activity and bringing their skills to mastery. No special natural inclinations are required to fill positions in the police. However, striving and diligence in acquiring any abilities are acquired. The lack of desire in the development of psychological potential, including an individual psychological component, social and ideological, does not cause the lack of inclinations, but speaks about the peculiarities of upbringing, during which the necessary qualities were not formed. In this regard, self-education is also important. Therefore, studying the qualities of police officers will make it possible to understand their compliance with the requirements.

5. Regulators of their own behavior. The moral and ethical component in the official activity of a police officer affects the formation of an image. Interaction with different categories of citizens requires compliance with ethical standards. However, it should be understood that the police officer acts as a regulator of his behavior: social norms (norms of law and morality, traditions and rituals), habits, fear of punishment, advice from authoritative people, calculation, etc. This will make it possible to create a social image of a police officer, as well as to develop a set of measures to resolve moral and ethical problems in official activity.  

6. Desired performance results. Personal interest in the conscientious performance of official duties will subsequently favorably affect the results. If a police officer is primarily focused, for example, on filling a certain position, obtaining another special title, or recognizing success from colleagues, then it is hardly possible to talk about a professional attitude to the case.

7. Desired time periods of service. When entering the service, most candidates think about career prospects, about realizing their potential. During the period of social and professional adaptation, the preferred time period of service is determined. The specifics of the police service leave an imprint on employees, in this regard, it is important to understand how long they plan to be in this profession. The shorter the service period, the higher the staff turnover, and this adversely affects the professional staff, respectively, the social portrait is unstable. The time periods of service can be determined: to serve until the age limit, before the right to a pension arises – 12 years, less than 12 years, before the appearance of prospects in the civil service.

8.                Assistance in achieving the desired results. In official activity, such a need as belonging to a professional group is of no small importance. Police service is one of the professions where every employee contributes to the common cause. Therefore, the result of official activity will depend on well-coordinated joint work. To understand the general orientation, it is necessary to determine what, in the opinion of the police officers themselves, will contribute to achieving the desired results: I hope only for myself, I expect help from colleagues, help is provided by management, help is provided by other persons holding certain positions (excluding internal affairs bodies).

9.                The influence of police service on the worldview. Undoubtedly, any activity leaves an imprint on a person, on the one hand. And on the other hand, in the process of life, each of us in the period of growing up, crisis situations had to face a rethinking of our positions. In general, this contributes to the acquisition of life experience, emotional maturity, and a deep understanding of certain behavioral reactions. Various methods of psychological self-regulation play an important role in the professional work of a police officer. In this regard, it is necessary to study the spiritual component, the level of culture of a police officer, since we believe that the higher the level of culture, the more variable the decision-making process is, the search for alternative ways to solve the problem. Consequently, reading fiction, newspapers, magazines; visiting theaters, cinemas, exhibitions, expositions, libraries; passion for sports, fine arts, music, somehow have a beneficial effect on the personality of a police officer.

10.           The impact of police service on social well-being. To answer this question, it is important to investigate the changes in the lives of police officers after the expiration of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 years of service. In this perspective, an analysis of existing problems is required, for example, such as: lack of time for family, regular quarrels in the family, constant financial difficulties, lack of own housing, inability to promote, high crime rate, constant stress in the service, bureaucracy in work, formalism in work on the part of the authorities, the inability to reflect real results (postscript or concealment), conflict relations with colleagues or management, some alertness of the environment in dealing with a police officer and his family members, the formation of personnel from unfavorable segments of the population (police service is considered as salvation from unemployment), etc.      

Conducting a comparative analysis with previously conducted studies, we note that the proposed approach is based on a comprehensive study of the social portrait of a police officer. While the work of S.A. Alekseev, D.A. Shpileva, E.N. Shlyagina ^[2] reveals only the social well-being of police officers, based on the identification of the most pressing problems for the police officer, the opinion of the employees themselves on satisfaction with the conditions of service, social security and social conditions. In our proposed approach to the formation of a social portrait of a police officer, the importance of studying the selected basic components that allow us to track the dynamics of ongoing changes in the life and service of a police officer, in social, ideological, and labor aspects is determined. 

Based on the above, we can conclude that a social portrait is not a visual image. A social portrait is an integrated characteristic of a social group, for example, a professional group such as police officers, recording the most common, frequently occurring features of the object under study.

By examining the basic components in the formation of a social portrait of a police officer, it will allow a comprehensive approach to solving personnel issues related to the formation of personnel and reserve, training of employees according to professional training programs, moral and psychological support, social guarantees.