“The Blue Wall of Silence” and Police Culture. Trikea Williams American Public University System CMRJ 308: Ethics in Criminal Justice Professor Dr.Sadulski August 18, 2024 Abstract. The United States police officers have their own code of silence known as the blue wall of silence, which encourages officers to cover each other when they have committed any type of unethical behavior. Blue wall of silence is not a valid code that is written down under a policy, it is a silent code that all officers understand. Officers now wear body cameras because of this blue wall of silence to confirm when officers act out of order. Police culture and the blue wall of silence have been a special code used between officers that have been around …show more content…
The association of blue in the term blue wall of silence is that the color represents command and authority. Blue wall of silence discusses that power is abused by officers, yet it is never reported by the officers. Police culture is the values, laws, and structures set by the police departments. The important role of police culture is explained by how the agency operates. Introduction Over time, “Blue Wall of Silence” has been around for a very long time and has played a significant pragmatic role in the world today. Police misconduct is a common problem going on in the world today. The “Blue Wall of Silence” is a term used that is unspoken yet often used in the law enforcement department. There is nothing new about police failing to report certain interactions in the United States. It is very common. The “Blue Wall of Silence” is a silent way for police officers to protect one another when a wrongdoing has occurred. Also, “Blue Wall of Silence” gives privileges to the silent conspiracies. This form of silence can be considered as an unofficial oath where officers do not snitch on one another. According to Rothwell and Baldwin …show more content…
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History of police Culture The word culture means a group of people sharing the same beliefs, values, knowledge and behavior. The culture of policemen evolved as with the development of policing. Policeman is individuals empowered by the state to enforce law, serve and protect. The word police have a history from a Greek word called politeia. The word politeia in Greek was used to refer to dealings that affected the stability and safety of the Greek State. In the 18 century the word “police” were taken
To understand the blue wall of silence we must understand the definition. The blue wall of silence is defined as: An unwritten code among police officers not to report on another officer’s errors, misconducts, and or crimes when questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another colleague, during a course of an inquiry. Even though the blue wall of silence originated from the understandable need for law enforcement to be able to trust and rely on each other, it is neither morally justifiable
agree on is that change needs to take place within the subculture to overcoming the blue wall of silence and reinforce ethical behavior (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010, p. 91). Transforming the police subculture requires adjusting the core principles of developing cultural integrity to support the need for a normative inclination to resist abuse that serves self-interests. Experts argue that the reason the code of silence exists is out of protective aspirations against social pressure, social isolation,
Chapter 3: Defining corruption and the Code of Silence The term corruption means “utterly broken”. The word was first introduced by Aristotle and later by Cicero who considered the term to identify with “bribe” and “abandonment of good habits”. Hauben (n.d.) describes the totality of corruption: He realizes that, "corruption brought by bad habits is so great that it extinguishes, so to speak, the sparks given by nature and allows corresponding vices to spring up and flourish." Cicero does not
The Unwritten Rule Blue code of silence, the blue wall, the cocoon of silence and the blue brotherhood all contain the same meaning: to remain quiet. The blue code of silence is an unwritten rule that is embedded within police forces that displays the honor and loyalty officers are required to posses, by not following the code would be considered an act of betrayal. The silence portrays both solidarity and protection for the officers within the organization, and follows years of tradition. While
Explain how police sub-cultures can undermine an agencies code of ethics? Analyze strategies to improve the ethical environment and maintain high standards for all of police department personnel. The police subculture is an important aspect of the behavior displayed by police officers. When a police department has an ethical code that is strictly enforced the police culture will contain ethical behavior that is displayed by the police. Creating and maintaining and ethical environment involves a
Chapter 9: Moving forward from Corruption Figuring out what actually causes police corruption is a difficult task to say the least. The examination of the consequences of police corruption is even more difficult. But when we consider the issue of potential signs of corruption in context about what we know about corruption, ideas begin to emerge as far as developing theories to contrast the outlasting effects of corruption. Normally, corruption is only noticed when someone is caught and media
most successfully defuse a situation in which alcohol and attitudes are involved. The informational interviews I conducted between the Chief of Cleveland police and the State Fire Marshall were both helpful in connecting the classroom to the real world. The Chief of Police was very insightful when asking him questions about the Cleveland police department. I asked about Tamir Rice
said, the police culture is a subculture of its very own. A subculture is a group of individuals within the general cultural environment comprised of people who adopt and share common attitudes, values, and rules (Ortmeier & Meese p. 89). The law enforcement subculture is no different than any other professional subculture other than the delicate standards and stresses that come with the legal authority placed upon them to serve and protect without violating civil and human rights. The police subculture
Although police misconduct in Canada has been viewed primarily as a rotten apple problem, there are more systemic issues that exist in policing. Research suggests that police misconduct in Canada is both a rotten apple problem and a rotten barrel problem, with the latter not being as prevalent (Griffiths, 2015). That does not mean, however, that entire police services have not engaged in misconduct; that could simply mean that they do a good job of hiding it from the public. If there is widespread
Since the 1800’s, the main duties of a uniformed police officer revolved around carrying out patrols and investigations into crimes (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a). A usual patrol involves the officers either walking on foot or using vehicles travel around neighborhoods as a way of deterring criminal activities (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a). The investigative part of a police officer’s work usually comes in when a suspect of the case at hand has not been identified (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a). Usually, the detective
the communities, the police have a highly visible and primary role in overcoming the threat and fear of crime. The process of policing a democratic society is complex and due to this fact, a police department is probably one of the most difficult public institutions to manage effectively. It is therefore important to have processes that are critical to operating police departments and their commitments in securing peace in the society. In order to understand the field of police administrations, one
Inequality within the police force is not only race, but gender, sexual preference and also social standing. The institute like many is still quite a caucasian, masochistic created environment and continues to be run this way with not many complaints due to either fear or embarrassment. I will be discussing the origin and aspects of police culture, the different types of inequalities within the police, supporting my statements with examples of cases which represent inequality within the police institution
Sexual harassment is a serious issue in the workplace, especially one that is still a predominantly male workforce like the police force. The legal definition of sexual harassment is “verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that unreasonably interferes with the employee’s work or cerates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment” (Sbraga, O’donohue). There is also a psychological definition of sexual harassment, which is defined as “an unwanted sex related behaviour at work
The Clash Between Amish Culture and Modern American Culture in the Film Witness Witness is a mix of genres; it has romance, action, is part murder/detective story, and is a thriller. The aim of the director, Peter Weir, is to show the clash of cultures between the Amish and the Modern American culture. Peter Weir the director likes to place characters into an unusual situation like in this film he has a Pennsylvanian cop, John Book, having to hide and live in an Amish community. 'Pennsylvania'