Breaking the Code of Silence: Blue Wall of Silence

Occupational socialization is said to be the process by which "a person acquires the values, attitudes, and behaviors of an ongoing occupational social system" (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2008, p. 222, cited in lecture notes). Within many police organizations, there is a strong ethos of not reporting the misconduct of other officers: the phrase often used is the 'blue code of silence.' "The Blue Code of Silence is an unwritten rule among police officers in the U.S.

not to report on the errors, misconducts or crimes of one of their fellow officers. According to the unwritten code, if an officer is questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another officer, the officer being questioned will claim to be unaware of another officer's wrongdoing" (Breaking the code of silence, 2014, Houston Forward Times). Officers who challenge the Blue Code risk being 'shut out' socially and emotionally from their fellow officers and are regarded as betrayers because of their actions as whistleblowers.

Despite the fact that "federal laws strongly prohibit officer misconduct, including officers who follow the blue code by neglecting to report any officer who is participating in corruption… [officers] fear facing the consequences that come as a result of it; such as being shunned, losing friends, losing back-up, receiving threats, having one's own misconduct exposed and more importantly, being terminated" (Breaking the code of silence, 2014, Houston Forward Times). Occupational socialization and police solidarity is not an entirely negative phenomenon, however.

It can serve an important social function given the stresses that police officers face on a daily basis. There is a need for a level of comradeship, perhaps more so than in other jobs. However, this does not excuse overlooking the civil liberties of citizens and ultimately everyone suffers if the police overlook necessary legal protocols when dealing with suspects. There will be an eventual public erosion of trust in the force. There is a limit to what one officer can do, particularly a new officer.

Even very distinguished officers may face resistance and pushback when they expose misconduct. Recently, in Houston, "HPD Officer Christopher Zamora was awarded $150,000 for compensatory damages which include emotional distress and damage to his professional reputation and standing in the law enforcement community" simply because he reported discrimination against Latinos to the EEOC within the department (Breaking the code of silence, 2014, Houston Forward Times). Even when the formal, articulated demands of the job cause for reporting illegal behavior, the informal codes of the job are often tremendously resistant to such candor.

For change to take place, particularly in a bureaucratic organization such as a police department, it must often.