The Blue Wall of Silence is a common phenomenon in policing where officers are afraid to report or turn in peers who are engaging in misconduct. This could be due to fear of retaliation or out of loyalty.
In a post prepared by the Montana Innocence Project,
The blue wall of silence is inspired and maintained by the strong subculture in policing. Former police lieutenant with the Boston Police Department, Tom Nolan, argues that the subculture promotes a “cult of masculinity” that enforces deliberate misrepresentation.
Police accountability is difficult at best and impossible at worst. It’s not a mistake that so many police procedural dramas make fun of Internal Affairs; because bureaucracy loves nothing more than secrecy, and no one likes more paperwork.
More protections should exist for police department insiders who oust misconduct.
In response to this great need, the Government Accountability Project prepared a fantastic guide for protecting police-whistleblowers from retaliation.
Read it here.
