The Police Code of Silence - The problem and the solution
The Police Code of Silence
Recently I was asked a question pertaining to a comment on a post over at Injustice in Seattle.
The main post, published on February 18, 2009, was titled "Flowing From The Top - A Disturbing Trend or More of the Same"
It concerned a number of reported incidents of law enforcement misconduct and criminal activity by top level leadership (makes me wonder about the direction they're leading). The post is worth reading and taking note of all the top level law enforcement officers involved in misconduct is stunning.
Here is my original comment to the post:
"The large volume of high level law enforcement officials caught in various acts of misconduct now coming to light is not because the misconduct is an aberration or because somehow some localities are cleaning house. It is because the misconduct in police culture is so pervasive along with the code of silence that misconduct is bursting at the seams.
There will be some who still claim it is only a few bad apples - that these high level officials are only a small fraction of all police officials.
The evidence tells me otherwise. The police Code of Silence is strong and it prevents much misconduct from seeing the light of day but the actual amount of misconduct which occurs just can't be completely contained by the Code of Silence.
It is like pouring ten gallons of water into a five gallon bucket. The bucket is the Code of Silence and the misconduct we see and hear about is the spill over.
And to all who say "what about all the 'good' officers in law enforcement?" Ok, what about them? Why aren’t more speaking up?
Because of the Code of Silence."
Another person who commented on the "Flowing From The Top" post, indicated he, or she, was a former officer under one of the Chiefs engaged in the misconduct. Here is that comment:
"I can explain why most good officers do not step forward. I was an officer that stepped forward to report about one of the Chiefs on this very list and now I will never be a police officer again. No agency would take me and it has caused many sleepless nights for me but I have come to terms with the fact that I did what was right. Seeing the justice that was done here makes me feel like I did right but that isn't good for a person who has only police work to fall back on. Reporting abuse over another cop let alone a chief is career suicide."
That is the comment which elicited a direct email request for me to comment further.
I think the issue is serious so I am addressing it here.
The first and last sentences of the comment above explains the Code of Silence in a nutshell - "I can explain why most good officers do not step forward...Reporting abuse over another cop let alone a chief is career suicide."
The Code of Silence says don't talk to outsiders. Don't say what really happened...or else!
The Code of Silence may not always guide the actions of all officers but it does happen and far too often.
Don't just take my word for it however. Look at some interesting statistics on a study conducted under the auspices of the United States Department of Justice for which I previously posted back in August 2008:
"...More than 80 percent of police surveyed reported that they do not accept the “code of silence” (i.e., keeping quiet in the face of misconduct by others) as an essential part of the mutual trust necessary to good policing (see exhibit 3).
That means that the surveyed officers said that the Code of Silence was not essential for the trust required among officers, yet the same study indicated that the Code of Silence is still a significant part of policing. Here are more stats from the USDOJ study:
"...However, about one-quarter (24.9 percent) of the sample agreed or strongly agreed that whistle blowing is not worth it, more than two-thirds (67.4 percent) reported that police officers who report incidents of misconduct are likely to be given a “cold shoulder” by fellow officers, and a majority (52.4 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that it is not unusual for police officers to “turn a blind eye” to other officers’ improper conduct (exhibit 3). A surprising 6 in 10 (61 percent) indicated that police officers do not always report even serious criminal violations that involve the abuse of authority by fellow officers..."
If you look at the statistics coupled with an understanding of police officers and how they may respond to such a study, it is not unreasonable to strongly suspect that the Code of Silence and its unrelenting pressure to keep one's mouth shut is even stronger than indicated by the statistics.
The first statistic of "80 percent of police surveyed reported that they do not accept the 'code of silence...' is what you might expect. Ask an individual police officer if he or she accepts the Code of Silence and most will say no because it is something not pleasant to admit.
Who wants to publicly admit a significant and dishonorable aspect of one's profession?
I have had many officers tell me they would never disclose various types of misconduct about other officers. Those same officers, if participating in a survey would not admit their participation in the Code of Silence to an outsider. Other officers and supervisors I know who would publicly say there is no Code of Silence were often earnest participants.
The other statistics are more telling because the researchers were not inquiring if an individual respondent participates in the code of silence. That made it easier for a respondent to answer closer to the truth.
If large numbers of anonymously surveyed officers are indicating that, whistle blowing is not worth it, it is not unusual for police officers to “turn a blind eye”, and police officers do not always report even serious criminal violations that involve the abuse of authority by fellow officers, then the Code of Silence and it's self-enforcing oppressive nature is why many law enforcement officers do not step forward to report misconduct. It is a rare and often career ending move.
The police Code of Silence is a self-perpetuating danger to public safety.
The only way it will be overcome is when laws requiring complete transparency of all police conduct and training are in place and the public is allowed, by law, its inherent right to oversee law enforcement. That is the only way to significantly change the police culture which fosters the Code of Silence.
In order for that to occur, many people, civilians and ethical law enforcement officers, need to get on board. For some civilians, it may mean getting off the couch. For some police, it may mean growing a backbone.
Categories: Civilian oversight
Tags: Civilian Oversight Misconduct
I think this is one of your strongest posts ever.
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Thanks...although some might think it one of the worst.
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Very good blog.
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Thank you. Glad you stopped by. KM
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I am a former police officer who was involved with a capital murder case in which the assistant chief and Chief of police were accused of perjury and tampering with evidence. While I do believe that the suspects are guilty as charged, the tactics and actions of the police officers involved cloud the case.
The appellate court seems to believe that JM’s confession was not exactly legal, here are a few excerpts:
“the evidence of (JM’s) illegally obtained confession”, “evidence of specific instances of their untruthfulness”, “Evidence that police obtained (JM’s) confession in violation of his rights”, “Evidence of violations of (JM’s)s rights”. The court appears to believe there is validity in the allegations of perjury by Pruett.
Regarding the facts I have stated, the appeals court basically ruled that the fact that perjury was committed, and that JM’s statement was possibly tainted, did not have bearing on SB’s case, but did on JM’s, that is why he was given life in prison instead of the death penalty. Further, my allegations were never disproved, to the contrary they were confirmed by a former police dispatcher who I was not aware of as having heard the chief and assistant chief talking about JM being deputized and a tape being destroyed, SB’s defense attorney (who testified outside the presence of the jury) said that they received more than 5 phone calls from an anonymous source regarding JM being deputized and a tape recording being destroyed.I testified under oath to the allegations, yet no ivestigation was done against me or was I ever charged with perjury. The DA’s office did an “investigation” the police. But the DA’s office to keep their conviction intact, choose not to present the perjury case to the grand jury.
As for me, I was fired me within weeks, AFTER the police dept found out that I had talked with the DA’s office, who told them that I had talked with the defense attorneys, and several other law enforcement and officers of the court. You can fire someone in Texas for anything, I was fired for not wanting to just hand over my firearm to a bailiff at family court, I was there to testify on behalf of the state, I was in full uniform, and questioned why I should hand over my firearm. and questioned the safety of the place where my weapon was going to be placed (in an unlocked desk drawer).
I could go on and on, but the fact is, I knew what the consequences of my actions would be for breaking the ‘Code of Silence’, I must admit in my past, I have kept silent on certain things I should not have. Maybe my returning to my faith, convicted me to do what I knew was right. I tried every measure possible to avoid having to step out on my ownm but in the end, I had to stand alone.
The whole reason the ‘Code of Silence’ works so well, is because when those those of us who step forward and speak out, we are told we are disgrundled ex-employees, we have a vendetta, or what ever. In reality, we just want the truth to be known.
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I understand where you are coming from.
Thanks for commenting. KM
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Great posting! Depressing but very informative. I totally agree with the transparency.
I have a very jaded view of police chiefs. For example, I've been getting harassed online including the posting of the neighborhood where I live and information coming in is that it's people who work for or support a particular elected official. So report it to the police? Well, that's where it gets interesting. This elected official shared his house with the police chief for several years not disclosing that information. The chief moved out just before the official filed for reelection.
That's completely unethical. Two lieutenants sued that the official threatened a third that if he hung with them, they wouldn't get promoted. The guy he lives with does the promotions! So at some point at the very least, the tax payers will be paying for some settlement or verdict from that case.
And there's more reports of officers being compromised inhouse for personal use by people outside the department.
Whether they're appointed (and our two sheriffs in my region like the case in O.C. are currently appointments made by the county board)or elected, the tops of LE agencies are thoroughly compromised in one way or another. If they're interested in accountability at the top, there's no hope for the bottom.
I think your solution is the necessary one. There needs to be transparency in the laws. Whistle blowing needs to be a doable option for officers. Having passed around the hat for officers who can't even make their house payments after whistle blowing, there needs to be more freedom for them to expose problems.
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Your article and the replies posted echo what I have been told by numerous people "they do it all the time!" For those of us who would celebrate jumping off of our couches to help break the "Code of Silence" where do we turn? Starting at the local level first puts you right back on your couch! This is like seeking help from the bank robbers who walked in and held up the bank. I have experienced this first handed. Still working out loud to break the Code of Silence which falls on deaf ears. The District Attorneys Office cannot hear me they cannot find my case file, where are they holding it? They holding up their own office by misplacing my case file which in turn has held up the courts and they are running away with my statues of limitations! I suffered personally being beaten by my former husband, hospitalized, a felony arrest was made, EPO was issued. He has never seen a day in court and I have yet to be contacted by the responding agency the Police Department nor the District Attorneys Office! The Sheriff Department is listed as the responding agency and they have yet to contact the victim, ME! Those working the Code of Silence did their job well on this 273.5 Incident Code. Yes, Mr. Mansoor "The large volume of high level law enforcement officials" struck a chord with me. My former father in-law was a former Senator of our State!
We the people have shared suffered my case as well. The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened! The Code of Accountability is our job!
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We have the same problem in Canada.
In September 2008, I was assaulted, injured and handcuffed by a Peel Regional Police constable who also attempted an illegal pat down moments before all this happened. His actions were very racially motivated. He received a detailed description of a suspect he was suppose to be looking for. I didn't come close to matching the description and he knew it...so did his partner.
His partner was a young trainee, a woman 9 days on the job. He was her training officer. Needless to say, both of them wrote out false incident reports which were laced with lies.
I had documented physical disabilities at the time which don't support the officer's story that it was I, the victim, who was the aggressor (textbook strategy of police when trying to cover up an assault).
The matter is currently going through the provincial Human Rights Tribunal.
According to the National Institute of Ethics, almost 80% of police cadets in training know about the Code of Silence.
It obviously isn't surprising for new recruits hired by a police force to abide by it--not wanting to be ostracized by fellow officers for being a snitch, especially so soon into their career.
By not opening her mouth to speak up to her training officer, this female trainee put herself in a position where she no doubt thought she had no choice BUT to lie; not only to protect her fellow officer but also her career.
Police academies need to implement a training system to teach cadets how to speak up superior officers when witnessing misconduct and criminal actions while on duty.
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I don't think any of us should tolerate any form of abuse form police officials. They are supposed to keep the society from harm but instead some of them assume legal immunity and go beyond limits. No, it's not just few bad apples. They were at first but those bad apples made other good apples rot and this needs to be stopped.
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