Reference no: EM133113734

The Wall of Silence, also known as the blue wall, is about the unspoken rules that police do not report their fellow officers for anything done against policy, procedures, or the law itself, while on the job. Recruits are taught from day one of the academy to work together, "buddy system," to accomplish the goals of protecting one another from the evildoers. They are told to trust their classmates (partners) and instill the "us" versus "them" mentality. Because police officers have emotions, are human, they sometimes lose their composure or make poor decisions in the moment. Because of this "human" element, most police officers believe this shouldn't mean they, or their partners, should be disciplined or lose their job for a lapse in judgment. They consider this career survival. When dealing with supervisors, administrative investigations, or criminal investigations, "ratting out," out a fellow police officer is deemed to be taboo. The "Wall of silence" will create distrust in any police agency in the eyes of the public. The media portrays these incidents as agency-wide corruption and broadly brushes all police officers as corrupt and unethical. The media quickly describes an incident as the norm rather than the exception. One way to hamper the Wall of Silence is always to be impartial, fair, and consistent when implementing discipline.