The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culture
The criminal justice system always strives to maintain high standards of ethics and integrity within the police force. According to Westmarland, and Rowe (2018), cases of police misconduct are common occurrences in a majority of the states in the U.S. Police misconducts are mainly encountered during searches and seizures, and in some instances during interrogations. Some notable examples include excessive use of force, warrantless searches, forceful arrests as well as police brutality. Police officers shield and cover their colleagues’ misconduct through the “blue wall of silence”. This paper discusses the association between the “blue wall of silence” and police culture.
The “blue wall of silence” is also referred to as the blue code or the blue shield, a popular term used in the United States. According to Westmarland, and Rowe (2018), it is considered as an unwritten rule that allows police officers to shield behaviors such as police brutality. The blue code is however viewed as a classic example of police corruption and misconduct. The majority of the police officers following the code tend to be corrupt and usually engage in the practices to protect their counterparts. Also, police officers following the code are unable to report their counterparts due to the unwritten agreement to protect their colleagues participating in corruption. The “blue wall of silence” has become enshrined into the police culture whereby police officers give false testimony in court known as police plagiary (Campeau, 2015). Officers who strictly follow written laws and do not give false testimonies in court are exempted and threatened.
Various researchers have identified different aspects of police cultures that go against the ethics and values of the police department and the community. According to Campeau (2015), there are several factors behind this form of police culture. One of the main contributors is the fact that police officers go through a unique type of tress at work. Secondly, police officers form a homogenous group participates in a closed social system away from civilians. Thirdly, enforcement has certain elements where the working environment establishes a coping mechanism for police officers (Westmarland, and Rowe, 2018). For instance, the perception of danger leads to suspiciousness which allows police officers to be in charge of their surroundings. Scrutiny from high ranked officers or supervisors leads to police officers keeping silence and laying low to protect their job and reputation. The informal blue wall code is socially taught to police officers differently from the formal professional code of ethics. The end of crime justifies unethical methods known as the noble-cause.
According to Campeau (2015), about sixty percent of police officers support lies and give false information to atta conviction. The code of silence is a continuum where officers do not present the misconduct side of their fellow police officers, loyalty among police officers means depending on each other in a critical situation such as in cases of life-or-death. Police officers believe that the community is not in any way concerned with police welfare. Therefore, when police officers feel isolated and stressed, their colleagues exercise loyalty (Campeau, 2015). Administrators also play a major role in encouraging the prevalence of the code of silence. Their involvement in retaliation against whistleblowers by informing the accused officers about their information encourages continuous growth and prevalence of an environment inhabited by the code of silence.
The police department is one of the few administrative sectors that are considered to be highly demanding. Both mentally and physically, they are exhausting especially due to the amount of work pressure involved and expectations from both the public and the senior management (McLane-Davison et al., 2019). Police officers, therefore, use culture to stick together and support each other through the “blue wall of silence”. Based on the expected standards, the officer’s exercise of authority should be morally correct, withholding high dignity, and respectful to individuals. In circumstances where force is applied, the cost of enforcement should not go beyond the cost of what calls it forth (McLane-Davison et al., 2019). Police officers should use the least amount of force possible to achieve its mission. The force applied should be appropriately motivated.
The “blue wall of silence” came into existence in 1960 when a police officer, Frank Serpico, reported his colleagues of misconduct such as taking bribes, drug dealing, and other illegal activities. Serpico’s accusations went to deaf ears because even after investigation no action was taken (Johnson, 2016). Good police officers have no power in the police department and usually receive no credit for their good work. Whistleblowers end up being threatened and isolated by their counterparts following the blue code of silence. Police culture has greatly contributed to the code of secrecy. Johnson (2016) further adds that transformation police officers are therefore expected to break some informal cultures such as their daily routine along their line of duty.
There are several reasons why the members of a community could choose to remain silent. One of the main reasons could be due to fear of retaliation after identification by police officers. They could also be afraid of a possible lack of protection from the department and loyalty between police officers. Over the years, police officers have been involved in criminal activities in cities such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. In Chicago, police officers do not report corrupt activities committed by their colleagues (Campeau, 2015). This has made quite difficult for the public to trust the police. Silence is considered as a way of internal cohesion. It allows police officers to act according to collective wellbeing instead of self-interest reasons. Johnson (2016) states that whistleblowing in the police department is considered as an act of breaking of police solidarity. Loyalty and solidarity among police officers are exercised in uncertain situations and others that could lead to severe punishment. An example could be excessive use of force by police officers.
Several reports explaining why police officers are not whistleblowers have been published. A report in Reason Magazine sought to evaluate why Barron Bowling was beaten in the hands of the DEA agent who claimed that the allegations had resisted arrest (Balko, 2011). Bowling underwent severe brain damage in the hands of police officers. The majority of the witnesses testified that the cop wanted to kill Barron. The DEA and officers from the police department remained silent on the issue until a whistleblower named Seifert testified on the events that led to the situation. Officer Seifert was however forced to retire early, isolated by colleagues, denied pension and shamefully treated by colleagues (Balko, 2011). The case of Officer Seifert inflicted fear to most police officers in doing the right thing.
When it comes to breaking the code of silence, mechanisms to ensure the protection of whistleblowers is the main issue. According to Johnson (2016), the protection of whistleblowers is based on various factors, for instance, the size of the police organization. Large organizations protect and treat whistleblowers more fairly compared to smaller ones. Police officers find it hard to maintain a close relationship with large organizations. As a result, they feel protected and less threatened.
Supervisors are allowed to guide and control police officers and hence report cases of misconduct. According to Johnson (2016), whistleblowing is mostly related to rank and role of the police officers where most supervisors are associated with whistleblowing. Police officers with great tenure are highly expected to be whistleblowers, for instance, senior employees in the police department, older police officers or highly influential employees. Police officers have mandatory reporting policies that allow them to report misconduct and have consequences in case of failure to report. A polygraph examination test is used to reveal silent police officers in case of misconduct Carlos, 2019). The polygraph test has enhanced whistleblowing making it more of a duty than a responsibility.
In the U.S, police departments perform diligently in disciplinary investigations on police misconduct. Some of the cases are serious and may lead to suspension, demotion or dismissal (Johnson, 2016). After the investigations, police officers are taken through interviews to provide detailed information about the alleged accusations. During the interview, the officers are provided with various privileges not accorded to other criminals. For example, during the interviews, police officers are given time breaks in between the process, the right to limited questions, as well as shorter interviews (Carlos, 2019). The procedures used work in favor of the police officers. Making the interview less threatening to the accused officers is also known as rules for delayed investigation.
The delayed privileges are considered socially friendly. They originate from the law enforcement officer’s bill of rights. According to Huq, and McAdams (2016), police officers are given a collective bargaining agreement during interrogation with 48 hours written notice before the interview. However, delayed privileges tend to have negative consequences for the police department. For instance, the high cost of investigation as well as delayed investigations provide time for guilty officers to forge documents and compose convincing narratives before the examination (Huq, and McAdams, 2016). Police officers can go to an extent of falsifying documents of arrest to cover for warrantless or illegal arrests.
Police officers train recruits about the official codes of ethics on how to investigate police officers in case of alleged criminal activities as well as protection of civilians against corrupt officers. Failure to report the misconduct may lead to severe punishment to the good cops where the pressure of providing evidence of the allegations which is difficult since most police officers are covered up and protected by the department (Huq, and McAdams, 2016). Delayed procedures are used to protect police departments from embarrassing and ruining police reputation as well as provide a chance for officers to perform their duties effectively.
The “blue wall of silence” is the main contributing factor to police corruption. According to reports from Chicago on crime, corruption and cover-ups are few and police officers are not highly convicted of corruption and other police brutality behaviors (Van Brunt et al., 2016). Several reports erroneously depict the idea that police officers adhere to the code of ethics which is not true. Many officers engage in corruption and other misconducts but escape disciplinary actions through the blue code of secrecy. Police officers’ corrupt activities have affected police department reputation as well as the economy. From various interviews, Albrecht (2017) shows that several police officers have said that there is no such thing as the blue code of silence but most officers protect themselves from being social outcasts. Academy police officers are well connected, especially through training. This unites them more closely thus motivating them to protect their colleagues from dismissal.
The sole purpose of having a police force is to serve and protect the community. If they were to serve their missions more diligently, the officers should not hide any information that would serve the community. According to Westmarland, and Rowe (2018), police cultures consider loyalty over integrity. The “blue wall of silence” contrary to the public undermines the ability of the police to protect and serve society. Police officers depend on the community to function. When the public loses trust from police officers, the criminal justice system becomes ineffective in society. In most cases, the code of silence reveals itself especially to the public in various scandals.
The “blue wall of silence” is deep and of great concern in police culture. In a survey done in twenty-one states, almost eighty percent of the officers confirmed the existence of the code of silence. The majority of them testified that the code of silence was not effective. Half the number of officers indicated that the code was effective and police misconduct was real. Most police officers are threatened to keep quiet in case of known misconduct and in case of a whistleblower they would be fired or isolated (Carlos, 2019). The majority of the officers have shown willingness and readiness to break the silence code. Continued adherence to the silence code has proved to promote injustice and abusive police officers and administrators are never punished for their misconduct.
Carlos (2019) indicates that several police departments especially large organizations have tried to properly investigate corrupt police officers although the situation is still questionable for instance the efforts of Manitoba’s justice system. Acts of police corruption, brutality, and other misconducts are challenging to prevent due to the strong blue code of silence. Police cover-ups are universal. The head of the police union in Benjamin Ward concluded that police cover-ups are highly exaggerated which is contradicting because most police misconducts are held pending and delayed for investigation (Carlos, 2019).
In conclusion, the “blue wall of silence” is a culture mostly practiced in the police department. Police officers are expected to act according to the professional code of ethics and serve society with higher integrity. Police officers have chosen loyalty instead of integrity where most police misconducts are shielded and investigation delayed in favor of the department and the alleged police officer. The blue code of silence is has affected society by denying society the right to freedom and justice but benefited police officers through maintaining a job and a positive reputation. Once a crime is committed to police officers cover-up for the behavior to avoid dismissal or demotions while high administrators cover-up for misconduct to protect the department’s reputation as well as avoid investigation charges. In American most police officers have engaged in misconducts especially through police brutality common towards black-Americans. Police brutality occurs mostly through forceful arrest or warrantless seizures which ends up unjustified due to the delays privileges during an investigation. The “blue wall of silence” has enhanced corruption in several states, especially in Chicago. Whistleblowing is a criticized form of reporting misconduct in the police department. Whistleblowers are socially excluded, demoted as well as punished by the high administrative or colleagues. The harsh treatment of whistleblowers has discouraged most good officers from reporting cases of police misconduct. Police organizations have tried to investigate and take disciplinary actions towards the accused officers and also encourage whistleblowers by offering them protection and also preventing retaliation that could occur.
References
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