Blue Wall of Silence
There is a “blue wall of silence,” an unwritten code which prohibits law enforcement officers from disclosing misconduct by fellow officers (Chin and Wells, 1998). To what extent is this statement true? Homework help – Write a paper that addresses the perceived “Blue Wall of Silence” as it relates to law enforcement officers’ ethics and conduct. In this paper utilize and define the terms “grass eaters” and “nonfeasance”. There is a common belief that police collude to protect one another through observing a code of silence, what has the research found in this area? Assignment help – Discuss what actual research reveals related to the willingness of police officers to “blow the whistle” (to report) and the frequency of officers blowing the whistle on the misconduct of other officers.
Support your statements with scholarly references sources, use a minimum of four reference sources cited in proper Help write my thesis – APA format, include an Help write my thesis – APA formatted reference page. You may include the textbook and the references cited in the Blackboard classroom and syllabus as two of those four required reference sources.
Chin, G. and Wells, S. (1998). “The “Blue Wall of Silence” and “the Blue Curtain of Secrecy” as Evidence of Bias and Motive to Lie: A New Approach to Police Perjury”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 59: 233. SSRN 1810012 Freely accessible.
Textbook: Introduction to Policing, 3rd ed by Steven M. Cox, Susan Marchionna and Brian D. Fitch.
Blue Wall of Silence
The Blue Wall of silence is also known as the Blue Code in other terms and often refers to an undisclosed code among police officers to not turn against each other. This rule according to Chin and Wells is defined as a rule agreed upon by fellow police officers to refrain from telling on each other’s mistakes, errors, and even crimes such as police brutality (1998). They are expected to protect each other even during questions in case there is some sort of inquiry. Such a code, however sacred, could compromise the ethics and conduct of the police. It covers up the errors made by the police to the extent of neglecting the victims of police brutality. In case the victims appeal for help, the fellow police officers are allowed to lie or deny to the actions that took place in order to protect their own. The book introduction to policing written by Cox claims that Blue Code is one of the reasons why police officers uphold the irregular activities that occur in their department (2017). Ethically, the Blue Code serves as grounds for wrongful acts that may pose a danger to both the police and the community.
As the code protects those in the police force, it gives opportunities to nonfeasance and grass eaters. These are types of misconducts that are common within the law enforcement but pose great danger. Nonfeasance is the failure to act according to ones responsibilities. This is mostly within the lower level of the police force whereby the juniors cannot report the misconduct of their superiors. Therefore, someone is forced to turn a blind eye to the illegal activities of those at a higher level. Grass eaters on the other hand are the type of police officers who indulge in criminal activities. Their main aim is to scavenge for whatever possible opportunities they can get so as to generate extra income. According to Braswell’s Justice, Crime and Ethics he gives an example of grass eaters against meat eaters (2012). Meat eaters supply drugs whereas grass eaters look for the customers they can supply drugs to. This behavior is destructive and poses a danger to all correctional institutions.
It is rare to find police officers blowing the whistle on each other. According to Karen Hess in the book Management and Supervision in Law Enforcement more than half of the police officers agree that it is quite common to turn a blind eye towards the misconduct of each other (2012). Whether the crime is minor or major, the research indicated that it was unlikely for police officer to tell on each other. Hess conducted another study on whistle blowing which would analyze willingness versus the actual action. There is the policy that encourages whistle blowing but more than often, it is easier said than done. Most officers are afraid to be banished from their social groups if they tell on minor crimes. They therefore refrain from blowing the whistle due to these informal sanctions. However, supervisors were the major reporters of misconduct since it was their duty. It would be better if the police acted as whistle blowers against bad behavior as it is the ethically right thing to do. The misconduct among the law enforcement would reduce since the problems faced by the group will be easier to detect.
References
Hess, K. (2012). Management and supervision in law enforcement (6th ed., pp. 273-274). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Chin, G. and Wells, S. (1998). “The “Blue Wall of Silence” and “the Blue Curtain of Secrecy” as Evidence of Bias and Motive to Lie: A New Approach to Police Perjury”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 59: 233. SSRN 1810012 Freely accessible.
Cox, S., Massey, D., Koski, C., & Fitch, B. (2017). Introduction to policing (3rd ed.). Sage Publishing.
Braswell, M. (2012). Justice Crime and Ethics (7th ed., p. 272). Elsevier.
