Blue Wall of Silence

¶ … corrections officer subcultural norms identified by Kelsey Kauffman and the 6 stressors identified by Elizabeth Grossi and Bruce Berg?

What are your views on the idea of an unwritten code of conduct governing the behavior of police and corrections officers?

You are a police officer and you witness your partner of 6 years strike a criminal suspect who has been arrested and is secured in handcuffs. The actions of your partner are in violation of your department's Use of Force policy. Your partner has already received punitive sanctions in the past for unwarranted use of force, and this incident may jeopardize his career. What would you do?

A clear component of most of the subcultural norms regarding the performance of officers pertains to the ethos of protection -- individuals who work in the criminal justice field have an unspoken, unofficial commitment not to 'rat' on their fellow officers. Because of the stressors of the job, professional insiders often feel that outsiders do not understand what they go through on a daily basis to bring justice to the public. In many ways this is true on one hand -- however, on the other hand, such a mentality can be used to justify cutting ethical 'corners.' Some of the norms identified by Kaufman are positive and necessary for functioning in the field such as to "always go to the aid of an officer in distress" while others such as "always support officer sanctions against inmates" can be problematic if they are used to support unethical behavior (Kaufman 1988: 86; Jones & Carlson 2004: 70). Common stressors which can further reinforce these norms include the threat of physical danger; violence directed at officers by inmates; unreasonable demands and tedium of the workplace; and a discrepancy between unrealistic ideals and public expectations and the realities of the workforce (Jones & Carlson 2004: 70).

Within the institute of policing, this is often called the 'blue wall (or code) of silence.' A recent study of the Chicago PD found that while most law enforcement officers are law-abiding, "an embarrassingly large number of police officers violate citizens' rights, engage in corruption and commit crimes while escaping detection and avoiding discipline or prosecution for many years" (Flood 2013). The mentality must shift when violations of citizens' rights occur. Instead of an acceptance of covering such behaviors up, the observing officer must think about the impact this has upon the reputation of the force as a whole. Ultimately, playing 'fast and loose' with citizens' rights results in less respect being shown to the force and does not improve the enforcement of criminal justice. Rather than being concerned about jeopardizing the career of the officer who violates such rights, the concern should be for the greater responsibility the officers have to the public. When taken to the extreme, commendable loyalty and love for one's fellow officers can subvert the mission they have to protect and serve. Instead of making excuses that the officer was stressed, there should be counseling and retraining available. (This does highlight that having immediate disciplinary action in the form of firing may not be the best policy and encourage underreporting of such violations, however). There should also be training to support and manage high stress levels before problems occur. "Administrators who show more concern for employees' lives might serve as models for other officers to emulate. Training for new officers, whether male or female, might need to better address workplace stress as younger officers