The scope of this paper was to analyze the perceptions of civil police officers regarding their professional identity, the institution they belong to and their opinion concerning the image society has of their performance. The data are derived from a survey focused on their work and health conditions, using a questionnaire, interviews and focus groups including managers, sheriffs and officers. The relative frequency and average return for answers about working conditions, professional fulfillment and life quality improvement after joining the institution were then determined. Qualitative questions were selected about the officers' opinion of how society perceives the civil police and what it is to be a police officer in the area under study using sense interpretation method analysis. The results point to a negative image that the police officers believe society has about them, which reaffirms the bad image associated with the profession. Rejecting this negative identity, they try to distinguish the differences between the civil police and the military police officers. The conclusion is that action is required to improve working conditions and develop channels of dialogue with the community and promote health campaigns.
Image; Identity; Civil Police
