A microcosm is a subset of any group which is a reflection of the community as a whole, in a microcosm it is assumed there will be an equal percentage of “bad apples” as in the community as a whole. This concept applied to police agencies would make the assumption that there would be an equal percentage of “bad applies” in that police agency because it is in fact a microcosm of the community.

While it is a valid assumption that there in fact will be a particular number of “bad apples” in any police agency, that number should also be theoretically reduced by the screening process that police agencies have in place. It would not however be possible to have a police agency that is without any “bad apples.”. Therefore my answer would support the argument fatalism and the microcosm argument applies to police agencies, but only to a limited degree.

APA Citation:
Smith, Nathan. M. (2006). Fatalism and the Microcosm Argument.
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