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"An Oral History of Irish Policing in New York City and Westchester County"
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Benmergui, Leandro D.
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Spring 2025
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2025
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9859_William_Draper.pdf
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This thesis investigates Irish Police officers from the 1970-2020, examining the impacts that the Irish heritage had on civil service, culture, and an evolving police landscape in the United States of America. Drawing on oral testimonies and peer-reviewed research, this paper argues that Irish police officers have had a multifaceted impact on society - particularly in shaping community relations and highlighting the importance of officer wellness in modern policing practices. Using testimony from active and retired police I will explore how this group impacted civil service in this country, culture through community relations, officer wellness practices, while promoting an Irish legacy. How this profession would turn into a family business for so many who saw this as a great way to be of service while having the safety of a civil service position. I will use their implantation of unions and social clubs to describe their long history as a tool for impacting their communities, using visual and symbolic culture to aid in broadening their reach. And how their brotherhood and camaraderie used tools like humor and other coping mechanisms that would ultimately help transitioning the older police model into a modern era. The history of emigration prior to the 1970's and its impact on why Irish men and women flocked into this profession. As well as certain sex divides in the profession during a time when an even larger majority of the force were me. Finally the impact that the Catholic religion had on so many emigrants and their children who would go on to become police officers in these areas.
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