Plot of Playboy of Western World

Plot Summary. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. It is an autumn evening along the Irish coast in County Mayo. Shawn Keough stops at Michael James Flaherty’s country pub to visit Flaherty’s daughter, Margaret, called Pegeen Mike by her family and friends. Keough, a fat young fellow devoid of wit or talent, means to marry pretty Pegeen, a spirited colleen of twenty who is minding the tavern in her father’s absence. But she entertains no fancy for Shawn. When he pesters her about the â€Å"good bargain† she would have in becoming his wife, she tells him to stop tormenting her while she is doing her job. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Her father enters with Philly Cullen and Jimmy Farrell.They are on their way to Kate Cassidy’s wake. Flaherty and his friends enjoy wakes, which are among the few lively activities in the Mayo countryside, and they generally stay for the whole night to watch the corpse while imbibing spiritous glee. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pegeen is upset about having to tend the pub alone. After all, who knows what evildoer might steal in from the shadows to set upon her. She complains, â€Å"It's a queer father'd be leaving me lonesome these twelve hours of dark, and I piling the turf [peat] with the dogs barking, and the calves mooing, and my own teeth rattling with the fear. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. When Flaherty suggests that Keough keep her company, Shawn begs off, saying he would incur the wrath of Father Reilly for staying alone with her the whole night. By and by, a slight young fellow named Christy Mahon stumbles in, tired and dirty, and asks for a glass of porter. When he inquires whether the police frequent the establishment, Michael Flaherty thinks he might be on the run. Flaherty and his friends question Christy. Did he commit larceny? Did he stalk a young girl? Did he fail to pay his rent? Is he a counterfeiter? Does he have three wives? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Christy, who speaks in a wee voice, says he is the son of a well-to-do farmer and therefore has no need of money. And, says he, he is a decent fellow who would never do wrong to a woman. When Flaherty and the others continue to pump Christy, Pegeen comes to his defense: â€Å"You did nothing at all. A soft lad the like of you wouldn't slit the windpipe of a screeching sow. † But Christy balks at that observation, as if she had accused him of not being man enough to commit a crime. Then he reveals that he is indeed on the run, for he has killed his father, who was â€Å"getting old and crusty, the way I couldn't put p with him at all. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Flaherty, intrigued, motions for Pegeen to refill Christy's glass, then asks Christy how he did the deed. Christy says, â€Å"I just riz [raised] the loy [club] and let fall the edge of it on the ridge of his skull, and he went down at my feet like an empty sack, and never let a grunt or groan from him at all. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. After he buried him, he hit the road, walking for eleven days, â€Å"facing hog, dog , or divil. . . .† Jimmy Farrell praises him for his bravery, and Pegeen joins in: â€Å"It's the truth they're saying, and if I'd that lad in the house, I wouldn't be fearing the . . . ut-throats, or the walking dead. † Christy Proud †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Christy swells with pride, and Flaherty offers him a job in the tavern. Keough objects, but Pegeen silences him. Christy, feeling safe and welcome, decides to stay at least for the night. Jimmy Farrell says, â€Å"Now, by the grace of God, herself [Pegeen] will be safe this night, with a man killed his father holding danger from the door, and let you come on, Michael James, or they'll have the best stuff drunk at the wake. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. After Flaherty, Farrell, and Philly Cullen leave, Shawn Keough—jealous—offers to stay with Pegeen, but she pushes him out the door and bolts it.Pegeen now has a brave man, a hero, to protect her, and she and Christy warm to each other, exchanging compliments about th eir looks and other qualities. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Meanwhile, the Widow Quin, a woman of about thirty, stops by after hearing from Keough about Pegeen’s visitor. Widow Quin is locally famous for reportedly having murdered her husband. Eyeing Christy, she says, â€Å"Well, aren't you a little smiling fellow? It should have been great and bitter torments did rouse your spirits to a deed of blood. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. She wants to take Christy with her to her place.Pegeen tells Christy that the widow killed her husband â€Å"with a worn pick, and the rusted poison did corrode his blood the way he never overed [got over] it, and died after. That was a sneaky kind of murder did win small glory with the boys itself. † Mrs. Quin retorts that a woman who has buried her children and murdered her husband is a better match for Christy than a girl the like of Pegeen. But Pegeen fends her off, for she is determined to keep Christy for herself. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. In the morning, three village girls—Sara Tansey, Susan Brady, and Honor Blake—come by the tavern with gifts for the brave man that killed his father.Sara has duck eggs, Susan has butter, and Honor has cake. Widow Quin enters after them, saying she has registered Christy in a local athletic competition featuring racing, leaping, and pitching. At the women’s prompting, Christy tells his murder story. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. He first points out that his father tried to make him marry the Widow Casey, a 45-year-old â€Å"walking terror† who weighed 205 pounds, had a bad leg and a blind eye, pursued both young and old men, and suckled him after he was born. When he refused to marry her, his father swung at him with his scythe. â€Å"I gave a lep to the east,† says Christy. Then I turned around with my back to the north, and I hit a blow on the ridge of his skull, laid him stretched out, and he split to the knob of his gullet. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pegeen comes in, well knowing wha t the women are up to, and chases them off. Later, Shawn Keough comes back, followed by Widow Quin, to tell Pegeen some of her sheep have strayed into a neighbor’s field to eat cabbage. While Pegeen runs off to fetch the sheep, Keough offers Christy a new hat and coat, as well as breeches and ticket to the western states, if he will just go away so that Shawn can resume courting Pegeen. The widow butts in, telling Christy to try the clothes on.He can decide later, she says, whether to accept Keough’s offer. When Christy goes into another room to try them on, Keough tells the widow he thinks that Christy is just dressing up for Pegeen and has no intention to leave. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The widow then offers Shawn a bargain of her own: Shawn must give her his red cow, a ram, the right-of-way across his rye path, and a load of dung at Michaelmas. Shawn not only agrees to her demands but also says he will throw in a wedding ring, a suit for Christy for the wedding day, and vari ous wedding gifts, including two goats for the wedding dinner. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.After Christy comes back out wearing the new clothes, Shawn leaves so the widow can go to work on Christy. But Christy, spying a fearsome sight coming toward the pub, hides behind a door. It is his father, still alive! After old Mahon enters the pub, he asks Mrs. Quin whether she has seen a young man on the run. She tells him hundreds pass by each day to catch the Sligo boat, then asks why he is looking for him. Mahon says, â€Å"I want to destroy him for breaking the head on me with the clout of a loy. (He takes off a big hat, and shows his head in a mass of bandages and plaster, with some pride. It was he did that, and amn't I a great wonder to think I've traced him ten days with that rent in my crown? † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The villain, he says, is his own son. When the widow—who is able to see Christy behind the door—questions old Mahon about his son, Mahon says his son is a good-for-no thing lout who is afraid of women, gets drunk on the mere smell of liquor, and once required medical treatment for drawing on a pipe of tobacco. He’s â€Å"dark and dirty,† says the old man, â€Å"an ugly young blackguard. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Widow Quin tells him she did see such a young man on his way to catch a steamer.She then gives him directions that send him on a wild-goose chase. After old Mahon leaves, the widow scolds Christy, mildly, for pretending to be the Playboy of the Western World. Then she invites him to marry her and live in her house, where she will protect him from inquiries about whether he committed murder. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Outside, young ladies are calling for Christy. They want to escort him to the sporting competitions. Christy, meanwhile, tells the widow he has his heart set on Pegeen. He would be forever in the widow’s debt if she helped him win Pegeen.The widow says she will if he promises to give her a ram, a load of dung at Mich aelmas, and a right-of-way across land. Christy promises to do so. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Later in the day, Jimmy and Philly return from the wake, both tipsy, and enter the tavern. They speculate about how Christy killed his father and buried him, wondering what will happen if someone discovers the old man’s bones. While they are talking, Old Mahon comes in and sits at a table, for he has had no luck finding Christy. Continuing his conversation with Philly, Jimmy says that when he was a boy he found the bones of a man in a graveyard and tried to put them together like a puzzle.What a sight those bones were, Jimmy says—one would never again find the like of them. Overhearing that part of the conversation, old Mahon gets up and shows them his skull, saying, â€Å"Tell me where and when there was another the like of it. † He tells them it was his own son who struck him. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. They are impressed—but unaware that Mahon is Christy’s father. The window Quin comes in again, aghast to see old Mahon. He tells her he had no luck tracking down his son. Mrs. Quin gives him a drink and seats him out of earshot of the others. Then she tells Jimmy and Philly that old Mahon is daft.It was a tinker who split his skull, she says, but the old Man—upon hearing about the local hero, Christy—claims it was Christy who did it. They believe her. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Cheering is heard. Everyone in the tavern looks out the window and sees Christy winning the mule race. When the spectators raise him onto their shoulders, old Mahon identifies him as his good-for-nothing son. Widow Quin pronounces Mahon mad for thinking so, for how could his son—if he is the fool that Mahon says he is—be such a great sportsman and win the admiration of so many people?Mahon admits he has not been himself lately: â€Å"There was one time I seen ten scarlet divils letting on they'd cork my spirit in a gallon can; and one time I seen rats as big as b adgers sucking the life blood from the butt of my lug. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The widow tells him he’d best leave, for the lads in the crowd don’t take kindly to madmen. When he goes on his way, Philly goes with him, saying he will give the old fellow some supper and a place to rest, then check to see if he is as mad as the widow says. Meanwhile, with the continuing cheers of the crowd following him, Christy enters the tavern in his jockey’s uniform with Pegeen and other girls.The people present him prizes, including bagpipes and a fiddle. Christy, riding the glory of the moment, asks Pegeen to marry him, and she consents. Michael Flaherty Returns †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Michael Flaherty returns then from the wake and congratulates Christy for his great victory in the race. When Pegeen tells him she plans to marry Christy, her father at first objects. But moments later, when Shawn Keough is afraid to fight Christy for Pegeen, old Flaherty renounces Keough as a coward a nd welcomes Christy as his daughter’s future husband. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Then old Mahon returns with a club, reveals himself as Christy’s father, and begins beating Christy. The crowd then turns on Christy for posing as a murderer. Even Pegeen condemns him, saying, â€Å"And to think of the coaxing glory we had given him, and he after doing nothing but hitting a soft blow and chasing northward in a sweat of fear. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Christy has only one option—to kill his father again. The two men fight. Christy grabs the club and chases Old Mahon outside. In the center of the crowd, Christy brings down the club. There is a cry, then dead silence.Christy returns to the tavern in a daze. This time the crowd, having witnessed a real murder close up, is horrified at the deed. Pegeen says: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. â€Å"I'll say, a strange man is a marvel, with his mighty talk; but what's a squabble in your back-yard, and the blow of a loy, have taught me that there's a gr eat gap between a gallous story and a dirty deed. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. After the people tie Christy up, he asks Pegeen to release him, but she refuses. Then they burn his leg with sod. A moment later, though, old Mahon—wonder of wonders—comes back from the dead one more time.When he asks Christy why he is tied up, Christy says, â€Å"They're taking me to the peelers [police] to have me hanged for slaying you. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Old Mahon, who now admires his son for his bravery, unties him and says, â€Å"My son and myself will be going our own way, and we'll have great times from this out telling stories of the villainy of Mayo, and the fools is here. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Christy willingly goes along but declares that henceforth he will be master of the house. He is a changed man—confident now, self-assured. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Shawn Keough declares that a miracle has been worked in his favor.Now, he says, he can marry Pegeen. She boxes his ears and te lls him to go away. Then, throwing a shawl over her head and weeping, she says, â€Å"Oh my grief, I've lost him surely. I've lost the only Playboy of the Western World. † . Theme: Escaping a Humdrum and Suffocating Life †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Christy Mahon acts to change his life—first by cracking his father’s skull and second by telling a grand tale that endears him to his listeners. Neither action, of course, is how a young man in the real world should go about improving himself.But The Playboy of the Western World takes place in a fanciful world that allows the author to do the implausible and the outrageous. So Christy describes himself as the most admirable of murderers to the rural folk of County Mayo. Ironically, though, Christy really does transform himself in response to the adulation heaped on him. However, his admirers—people hungry for diversion from their humdrum life—do not change; the closest they get to an exciting life is to drink, liste n to exciting stories, or attach themselves to a hero, Christy, from the outside. After he returns home, they return to their monotonous life. Climax . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.The climax of a play or another literary work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of The Playboy of the Western World occurs when the local residents discover that Christy's father is still alive. According to the second definition, the climax occurs when Christy â€Å"kills† his father a second time but reconciles with him after the old man recovers. . Synge’s Style †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Synge was a master at writing lively dialogue laced with exaggeration and colorful imagery.In The Playboy of the Western World, he infuses the speech of his characters with the rich English-language dialect of the Mayo County Irish, a dialect in fluenced by the syntax and vocabulary of Gaelic—an ancient Celtic tongue of Ireland and Scotland. To learn the intonations and speech patterns of the people of western Ireland, Synge lived several years in the Aran Islands off the Atlantic coast, in Galway Bay. Gaelic and Gaelic-tinged English have been spoken there for centuries. It was not uncommon for Synge to take notes when he heard Aran denizens speaking. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.When writing the dialogue for Playboy, Synge laced it with authentic western-Irish regionalisms and vulgarisms, as well as inflections and rhythms characteristic of western-Irish speech. However, he also peppered the dialogue with words or phrases common in other parts of Ireland. Synge explained his writing scheme in the preface to the play. The preface says, in part: In writing The Playboy of the Western World, as in my other plays, I have used one or two words only that I have not heard among the country people of Ireland, or spoken in my own nursery before I could read the newspapers.A certain number of the phrases I employ I have heard also from herds and fishermen along the coast from Kerry to Mayo, or from beggar-women and balladsingers nearer Dublin; and I am glad to acknowledge how much I owe to the folk imagination of these fine people. Anyone who has lived in real intimacy with the Irish peasantry will know that the wildest sayings and ideas in this play are tame indeed, compared with the fancies one may hear in any little hillside cabin in Geesala, or Carraroe, or Dingle Bay.All art is a collaboration; and there is little doubt that in the happy ages of literature, striking and beautiful phrases were as ready to the story-teller's or the playwright's hand, as the rich cloaks and dresses of his time. It is probable that when the Elizabethan dramatist took his ink-horn and sat down to his work he used many phrases that he had just heard, as he sat at dinner, from his mother or his children. In Ireland, those of us who kno w the people have the same privilege. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. As to the imagery, it relies heavily on vivid metaphors and hyperboles.For example, when Michael Flaherty asks Christy Mahon whether he has committed larceny, Christy replies that he has no need to stoop to thievery, for his father â€Å"could have bought up the whole of your old house a while since, from the butt of his tailpocket, and not have missed the weight of it gone. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Most of the humor in the play grows out of the dialogue—but not all of it. Synge also relies on situation comedy for humorous effect—having a character hide behind a door or barge in unexpectedly.Old man Mahon pulls off the ultimate surprise—coming back from the dead. In making the transition from one conversation to the next, Synge demonstrates superlative writing skill. Never do the transitions seem forced or contrived; instead, one conversation flows smoothly into the next. The trick is that Synge steers the di alogue in one conversation toward a subject of interest to a person who initiates a new conversation. The theatergoer or reader hardly notices that the author has been tugging at his marionette strings.

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As emergency operators, these officers have to respond to various cases, ranging from unexpected childbirths, family fights, road accidents, drunken fights in the middle of the night, to the occasional incidents of crimes (Morgan Newburn, 1998). 2.1.3 The Social Enforcer According to Bittner (1967): The role of the police is to address all sorts of human problems when and insofar as the problems solution may require the use of force at the point of occurrence. One of the core aspects of policing is the use of coercion to enforce the law and to maintain public order, and as stated by Bittner, it is the unifying feature of police work and the source of authority (Kleinig, 1996). To ensure crowd control and for peacekeeping purposes, coercive powers are required, as well as to bring to an end family disputes and other confrontations. However, the role of the police does not revolve solely around the powers of coercion but service to the citizens is equally important if not more. Moreover, the majority of the public find the police intimidating and not all situations demand the use of force. Therefore, a model which reconciles the role of enforcing the law of police officers with the expectations of the public is required. 2.1.4 The Social Peacekeeper As said by Kleinig (1996) the social peacekeeper model accommodates more aptly the various tasks of the police officer. This model emphasises the role of the crime-fighter and the emergency operator. Although the model gives police officers the authority to use coercive force, more emphasis is laid upon the subservient character of policing. Studies have shown that peacekeeping is the primary function of the police (Morgan Newburn, 1998). Yet, it is important to note that fighting crime and ensuring peace and order in a society is not the duty of the police but of the citizens as well because as they are part of the society, they also have the duty towards it, and they also should be committed to it. 2.2 Ethics in Policing Police functions have existed as long as human societies have existed (Kleinig, 1996) as the main tenet underlying police conduct and police ethics are, firstly the respect for human dignity and human rights and secondly, respect for the legal rule and the principle of legality. It is crucial that enforcing law and maintaining public order must be congruent with respect for the human person (Domingue, 2003). According to Sunahara (2002), discussions on ethics entails discussions on relationships, therefore, any discussions on relationships is also synonymous of discussions about the relationship between the police and the public. Even during arrest, detention and interrogation of suspects, maintenance of ethical standards is an important procedure. That is why the respect for human rights is the core principle of ethical policing, and policing in a democracy must be grounded on the consent of the population (Domingue, 2003). Since law enforcement is a profession, ethics and ethical conduct play an important role. Ethics and ethical standards involve doing the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason (Grant, 2002). To gain the respect of the public, police officers must behave correctly all the time both on duty and off duty. According to the police code of ethics, an officers fundamental duties are to serve the community, to protect people and property alike, to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice. The code of ethics also states that officers must keep their private lives untarnished and recognise the badge and the uniform as a symbol of public faith and trust (Grant, 2002). Unless they are put into practice, these codes of ethics are mere words. The codes of ethics should have the same value for the police officers as the sacred texts for the religious individuals. What is essential is that police officers should act impartially, maintain confidentiality, make use of discretion, use force only when necessary and most importantly police officers should possess integrity. Ideally, by adhering to the codes of conduct, the officers will perform their duties correctly, according to procedures, and ultimately, no one, neither the media nor the public will tarnish the image of the police; but in reality this is not what happens. Given the nature of the police work, the public has a keen interest in it because policing is like a moral crucible in which the risks taken by the police and the prospects for moral actions are magnified (Cohen Feldberg, 1991). This scrutiny on the behalf of the general public is probably due to the fact that the police officers are the guardians of law and order in a democratic society. Every misconduct or mistake is exacerbated by the general public because the latter holds the belief that police officers should be the pillars of morality. Moreover, it is generally expected that officers, with no time for pondering, should act quickly and confidently in situations where the outcome is not readily anticipated (Cohen Feldberg, 1991). Nonetheless, one should not expect police ethics to characterise a distinctive type of ethics, but rather to be the expression of a more general ethics within the police context. The ethical demands on police under which all are placed, by virtue of common humanity, they are demands coloured by the specific roles that the police have and shaped by the circumstances under which they must decide (Kleinig, 1996). 2.3 Ethical Issues faced by the Police Force For an objective study on police deviance, it is necessary to define the term deviance. In simple terms, deviance is defined as behaviour which is totally different from or unacceptable by the norms and standards of society. However, given the complexity and the range of norms and values affecting the police, the study of deviance within the police demands an understanding of the difference in norms expressed at the legal, organisational, and internal levels (Kappeler, Sluder Alport, 1998). The discovery of police deviance is almost difficult to detect, but there exist some generally acceptable standards which evaluate the acceptability of behaviour. There are two groups of ethical standards which govern the police conduct, the first group being the external standards which include: constitutional, criminal and civil laws. The external standards apply to both the police and the general public. The second set of standards is internal standards, which are the departmental policies, pr ocedures, and regulations, and apply solely to the police (Kappeler et al., 1998). However, despite the existence of rules and laws governing police deviance, deviant police officers are a reality which cannot be ignored. When there are these types of occurrences, the responses are rather negative, depending on who discovered the deviant(s). On a first level, depending on the gravity of the act, the officer will have to be sanctioned; secondly, if the deviant behaviour has been discovered by a member of the press, then most probably the matter would be blown out of proportion so as to render the information sensational, and thirdly, there would be a decrease in trust for the police by the general public (Kappeler et al., 1998). Before embarking on the different types of deviance, it is important to understand the classification of the forms of misconduct. According to OConnor (2006), they are classified as: Malfeasance intentional commission of a forbidden act or intentional unjust performance of some act which the party had no right (e.g., gratuity, perjury) Misfeasance performance of a duty or act that one is obligated or permitted to do in a manner which is improper or negligent (e.g., report writing, aggressively reprimanding a citizen, improper searching of arrestees) Nonfeasance failure to perform an act which one is obligated to do either by law or directive due to omission or failure to recognise the obligation (e.g., failure to file a report, improper stop and search, security breach) 2.3.1 Types of Police Deviance 2.3.1.1 Affective and Discriminatory Acts Affective acts involve the expressions of emotions, but not all affective acts lead to police misconduct, as behaviour driven by emotions can lead to positive results (Sunahara, 2002). However, affective acts become deviant when it leads to overly aggressive behaviour, which makes the officer to physically or verbally assault a suspect, and such behaviours are against the police code of conduct, and frowned upon by the general population. Discriminatory acts are actions resulting from the negative assessment of a persons group characteristics (Sunahara, 2002). These acts can be translated into racism, xenophobia, homophobia, or they can be directed towards the marginalised individuals (for e.g., those people who are from deprived areas or homeless persons) and people belonging to minority groups. 2.3.1.2 Police Shakedown Police Shakedown occurs when a police officer extorts a business owner for protection money and it arises mainly with bars, prostitution rings, drug dealing and illegal gambling (Domingue, 2005). Extortion is characterised by any form of taking or obtaining property from another person by means of illegal compulsion or oppressive exaction. In common law it is defined as a crime committed by an officer of law, who, under cover of office, unlawfully takes any money or other valuable. 2.3.1.3 Police Perjury Perjury is generally defined as the false statement made under oath with respect to a solid matter, either in legal proceeding, as by witness at a trial, or in matters in which an oath is authorised or required by law. In this case, it would be the officer giving a false testimony. Police perjury is amounted to an act of corruption as the officer would be lying commission or by omission so as to ensure that the perpetrator is punished. It has been observed that most acts of perjury are committed by good cops who believe that the criminal would be acquitted if not for their lie (OConnor, 2006). 2.3.1.4 Police Brutality and Abuse of Authority According to OConnor (2006), police brutality is defined as force, name-calling, sarcasm, ridicule, and disrespect, which is a milder definition of police brutality unlike Kania and Mackeys (1977) much harsher definition, who view police brutality as excessive violence which does not help the legitimate police purpose. Besides, brutality in the police also involves abusive language, threats of implied violence, and actual use of physical force (Domingue, 2003). Police Brutality occurs in concurrence with police perjury as officers who commit police brutality will most likely lie on the stand to prevent the possibility of a lawsuit or departmental charges. In the Mauritian context, police brutality as perceived by the public is a real scourge. According to the Mauritian press, some police officers view their uniform as a sign of superiority, which also give them a sense of immunity to punishments and reprimands (LExpress, 2007). As stated by the same article, the Police Complaints Investigation Bureau received some 400 complaints of physical and verbal abuse in 2003. However, in Mauritius Times (2005) the reasons given for such acts committed by the law enforcement officials were the long hours put by the police, which in the case of some, lead them to lose their calm, the latter also deal with habitual criminals and people who would not think twice before attacking the police or change their statements. 2.3.1.5 Police Corruption According to the Select Committee on Fraud and Corruption in December 2001: It is impossible to measure the actual extent of corruption in Mauritius. Corruption leaves no visible trace, no blood stain and no finger prints. It is a consensual crime shrouded in secrecy. The participants are willing, consenting and happy. Not a crime of passion, corruption thrives on secrecy and silence. It is only when a person feels cheated or is actuated by a rare sense of duty and loyalty that he will report an instance of corruption. Rarely does a participant have an interest in revealing the deal. Few crimes are as hard as to prove. Perceived to be a victimless crime, it has a devastating effect on our livelihood This small excerpt was on the general occurrences of corruption. Police corruption is form o police deviance, and is an extension of the definition of corruption as given by the Select Committee (2001). However, to put in simpler words corruption is defined as the abuse of police authority for personal or organisational gain. This comes in many shapes and sizes, from the major drug trafficking and money laundering to looking the other way on minor everyday violations of the law (Grant, 2002). Corruption can be broken down into two sections, internal and external corruption. Internal corruption is the illegal acts and agreements within a police department by more than one of the officers. External corruption is the illegal acts and agreements with the public by one or more officers in a department. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: firstly, misuse of authority, secondly, misuse of official capacity, and lastly misuse of personal attainment (Holloway, 2002). 2.4 Moral Dimensions of Policing During the pre-World War era, the idea of police ethics seemed to be contradictory, as it was portrayed progressive but few police officers advocated its practice and fewer civilians demanded it (Cohen Feldberg, 1991). However, this is not the case nowadays because; the public are now more keenly interested in the nature and proceedings of policing. This is so because the nature of the occupation in this particular domain is like a moral crucible, in which the risks taken by the police officers and the opportunities for moral actions are magnified. This scrutiny by the public is probably due to the fact that these officers act as the guardians of law and order in a democratic society. The general population also has the mistaken belief that, given the nature of the work, police officers need to be pillars of morality. In this context, it is expected of the officers to act, with no time for pondering, quickly and authoritatively in situations where the outcomes are not readily anticipated. On top of that, these officers are accountable for every event and/or every choice made. In this line of work, every action and non-action carries a moral weight for the officer. One of the key aspects of policing is discretion, which serves to help the officers in maintaining their duties as societys peace keepers and law enforcers. Nevertheless, this powerful tool that discretion represents is restrained by the laws and rules (for example, the code of conduct for police officers), which govern the actions of the police. Police officers, as figures wielding authority, are not complete free agents. For example, for the arrest of a suspect, they have to follow a certain procedure. This is illustrated by making sure that an arrest is lawful. Therefore, it is imperative that the reasons for the arrest, the power and the identity of the arresting officers are known (Domingue, 2005). However, despite the efforts employed to regulate police work, there is a degree of opportunity for options and choices in the performance of the job. According to Jerome Skolnick (1966), the work of the police is such that even the most routine work contains an element of discretion. The officer has the freedom to be a witness of the violations of law and order, which will lead to a subsequent arrest or he/she can turn a blind eye on such illegal occurrences. The officer has also the choice to end a dispute (for example, domestic dispute or dispute among neighbours) quickly or can hand over the case to a court clerk or lawyer and make the matter drag in court for a long period of time (Cohen Feldberg, 1991). The gist of the matter in this case is that the officer has the opportunity to make use of discretion, that is, make decisions on his or her own, almost on a daily basis and the occurrences are more frequent when the officer is on field. Another important matter to be taken in to consideration here is that a crucial part of policing involves the use of authority and coercion. According to Kleinig (1996), the concept of authority understands a complex unity. The term authority can be subdivided into three forms of authority: Positional or de jure authority (i.e., where the individual is in authority), Actual or de facto authority (i.e., where the individual has authority), and Expert authority (i.e., when the individual is an authority). It is usually claimed that these three forms of authority are conceptually independent; because someone who has authority does not necessarily mean that he or she is in an authority or is an authority. The same argument goes for the other two forms of authority. Authority is not a property which people possess but is essentially a normative social relation, i.e., a status which is granted. An individual who is in authority or has authority or is an authority, is one which is recognized by others as being in position to do or require or know about the object of authority. An important matter to be taken into consideration is that authority is often associated with power. But in many circumstances, where the police officers are concerned, this power is regulated by laws and rules. The underlying notion of authority is the presumption that the officer (or any individual) is in the know (Kleinig, 1996). This does not mean that the person is an expert about the object of authority. Police authority is a form of governmental authority and if the government loses credibility in the eye of the public, this will be reflected in the authority perceived to possess by the police. As authority figures, police officers are met with hostility on behalf of the public, because as law enforcers and maintainers of public order, they have as one of their duties to execute unpopular policies. In such cases, they are seen as oppressive rather than authoritative. Another factor which makes the public more hostile towards the law enforcement officials is the use of coercion. But coercive force is required in policing and it becomes a moral problem because coercion is both permitted and limited (Cohen Feldberg, 1991). It is important to take into account that: Police tend to have no greater moral insight or powers of analysis than the rest of us, but they have jobs that throw them into more perilous situations (italics added, Cohen Feldberg, 1991, pg. 6). 2.5 Stress in Policing 2.5.1 Definition of Stress Stress is the condition that results when person-environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy, whether real or not, between the demands of a situation and the resources of the persons biological, psychological or social systems. In medical terms, stress is the disruption of homeostasis through physical or psychological stimuli. Stressful stimuli can be mental, physiological, anatomical or physical reactions. The term stress in this context was coined by Austro-Canadian endocrinologist Hans Selye, who defined the General Adaptation Syndrome or GAS paradigm in 1936. Stress is a complex term to define. Its simplest definition might be that it is an event or situation that forces a person to adapt to the event. Stress is the event itself and the reaction to that event within the person experiencing it. Thus stress is completely subjective. What may be stressful to one person might be pleasant or fun to another. Flying, for example, can cause some people to develop anxieties and panic attacks while others love to fly and look forward to the flight. What is more, everyones body responds in the same way to a stressful event, or any event for that matter, but the people that suffer from stress related illness and problems find it hard to turn their bodys response off. Psychological stress is more to do with the turning off of the bodys stress responses to a situation. The bodys stress response is to increase the flow of hormones adrenaline and cortisol in the bloodstream. This has the affect of raising the heart rate, redirecting blood from the extremities and stomach to the vital organs, changing the consistency of the blood for potential injury and making our senses more aware. Psychological stress may have evolved from a real event that caused an emotional disturbance in the past. This event may have been the messy splitting up from a relationship that leads to emotional pain. As the event recedes into the past other sentiments within the persons psyche tend to cause anxiety and stress. So the person might feel unattractive to the opposite sex or lose confidence in socialising with people. These issues will cause stress for the person and can lead to other behaviours that induce stress. They may find it hard to stay focussed or feel that their personality is disintegrating or get anxiety attacks. 2.5.2. Work-related Stress Work-related stress is the process that where work demands of various types and combinations exceed the persons capacity and capability to cope. It is a significant cause of illness and disease and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other indicators of organisational underperformance including human error. Occupational stress is defined as the mind-body arousal resulting from the physical and/or psychological job demands. The appraisal of a stressor as threatening leads to anxiety and anger and the associated activation of the autonomic nervous system. If severe and persistent, the resulting physical and psychological strain may produce adverse behavioural consequences (Spielberger et al., 2003). A healthy job is likely to be one where the pressures on employees are appropriate in relation to their abilities and resources, to the amount of control they have over their work, and to the support they receive from people who matter to them. As health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but a positive state of complete physical, mental and social well-being (WHO, 1986), a healthy working environment is one in which there is not only an absence of harmful conditions but an abundance health-promoting ones. A healthy work environment is one in which staff have made health and health promotion a priority and part of their working lives. 2.5.3. Work-related Stress amongst Police Officers Police stress can be found wherever there is functioning police officers. Unlike any other work-related stress, research has proved that causes and effects of stress amongst police officers are more pronounced and unique among law enforcement officers (Finn Tomz, 1996). Law enforcement is considered to be one of the most stressful occupations which results in domestic violence, alcoholism, suicide, and other emotional and health problems (Anderson King, 1991). Exposure to police stressors can lead to serious physical and psychological health problems, and these problems can result in reduced work productivity, increased absenteeism, higher turnover and so on (Parsons, 2004). In a study carried out by Mandy Larcombe in 2007) it was found that stress among police officers was such an issue in years 2004 and 2005 that about 250,000 days were lost across the United Kingdom police forces due to stress related illnesses, which had amounted to a loss of  £40M a year, and 20 percent of those police officers had exhibited symptoms of depression. 2.5.3.1 Sources of Stress for Police Officers Different officers are likely to perceive different events as stressful, depending on their individual background, personalities, expectations, law enforcement experience, years on the job, type of police work they perform, and access to coping resources (Kirschman et al., 1992). Nevertheless, the sources of stress which seem to be common among police officers fall into three main categories: Organisational Stressors; Operational Stressors, and Stress related to the individual officers personal life and approach to stressful events. 2.5.3.1.1 Organisational Stressors Although many people perceive the danger and tension of law enforcement work (glamorised in books, movies, and television shows) to be the most serious stress for officers, research has shown that much of the stress felt by police officers emanate from the organisation itself. Kahn and Byosiere (1992) categorized stressors in organisational life into two groups termed task content and role properties. Task content stressors are the physical aspects of organizational life that characterise the task at hand including its complexity, simplicity, or monotony and the physical conditions under which it must be carried out, such as extreme temperatures, equipment inadequacies or excessive noise. Role properties on the other hand, are the psychosocial aspects of organisational life, which characterise the social nature of the job including role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and interpersonal relations between superior officers and subordinate personnel. 2.5.3.1.1.A Task Content It is generally assumed that police officers often work in dire physical conditions, for example, patrolling in adverse weather conditions which may lead to stress. However, the feeling of stress may be compounded by substandard equipment and facilities. In addition to the physical conditions, police work cannot be said to be simple. Policing a democratic society is exceedingly complex (Goldstein, 1977) and the opportunity for contradiction is always present (Kinnane, 1979). Police-citizen encounters occur within a defined set of laws, rules and regulations which is ever increasing and indistinct, where decisions are not differentiated into right and wrong, yes or no. The decision environment is often vague and less than ideal, which may not produce the ideal result. More than often, police work is monotonous and tedious, especially during nightshift. Boredom is punctuated by brief periods of excitement that raise and lower physiological responses to the stimuli creating fatigue (Coman and Evans, 1991; Dwyer, 1991), which may weaken judgment, slow reaction time and increase the risk that a police officer will respond in an inappropriate manner (Lauber and Kayten, 1988). 2.5.3.1.1.B Role Properties Role properties are also referred to as the psychosocial aspects of the work environment, which involve relations with co-workers and supervisors. 2.5.3.1.1.B(i) Role Conflict Role conflict is defined as the perpetual differences regarding the content of the role or the relative importance of its elements (Muchinsky,1996). These differences may occur among the police officers who may not have the same role expectations. One example which may portray role conflict among the police officers is their role as Social Peace-keeper and that of Crime fighter. The conflict emanates from these two models where the police officer is expected to deal aggressively against criminal behaviour while at the same time, protect the constitutional rights of the citizens. The contrast between what the police are expected to do and what the police actually do is enormous. Unfortunately, the police function suffers from numerous conflicts, contradictions and ambiguities that are not easily resolved. Another instance of role conflict stems from the paradox between police training and the realities of police work. 2.5.3.1.1.B(ii) Role Overload Muchinsky (1997:308) defines role overload as a variant of role conflict in which conflict is experienced as a necessity to compromise either quantity, time schedule or quality. Todays police officers are being told to work faster in the face of an increasing workload that is set within longer shifts (Heiler, 1998; Winefield et. al, 2002). Some research differentiates the concept of role overload as too much work (quantitative) and work that is too difficult (qualitative) (Cooper and Marshall, 1977). 2.5.3.1.1.B(iii) Role Ambiguity Role ambiguity is derived from the symbolism and rhetoric proffered by police departments to legitimize aspects of its behaviour. Top police administrators often resort to symbolic measures and rhetoric to preserve the status quo and to create favourable public impressions (Lorinskas et al., 1985). Symbolic statements or perfunctory policies serve a variety of functions, many of which police executives use to shape the workforce and community sentiment for the agency and its policies instead of making any substantive change (Kelling, 2008). 2.5.3.1.2 Operational Stressors Although organisational factors and policies may be the most widespread and frustrating sources of stress for many law enforcement personnel, there are occasions when the work itself constitute a source of stress. Operational stressors ar