The Blue Wall of Silence: Myth or Reality - Essay Example

This is obviously a detrimental thing and worth looking at more closely. Often when the police accidentally shoot someone there is a lot of community outrage, but it can be very difficult for the public to see what caused the shooting as the investigation is often internal. When the results come out they might be favorable to the police officer, eliciting more anger. A few years ago there were a number of such situations in Los Angeles and New York. Joseph McNamara, a former chief of police in Kansas City, thinks that current police culture is to blame for these problems that end up reinforced by the blue wall of silence.

He particularly faults the aggressive street-policing tactics that led to Dorismond’s [a bystander shot by NYPD] death. The fundamental duty of police, says McNamara, is to protect human life. But in many places that understanding has been superseded by a militaristic approach, one that allows for an acceptable number of casualties and that views much of the population as hostile. The result, says McNamara, is those police officers who should be protecting us are asking people to commit crimes.

1 Part of the key to solving this problem—which is not a necessary evil—is to ensure that police are taught loyalty principles not just to one another but to their profession. We might be inclined to look the other way when our partner makes a mistake in course of duty (the code of silence does not usually extend to looking the other way while an officer takes bribes), but we should also remember that as police officers we represent a very honorable tradition and also the state. One expert says the Idaho State Police Department has successfully dealt with the issue or begun to deal with it.

"Officers told me how they would attack new officers with peer pressure if they thought the new officers were committing minor infractions of the policy.