A comparative study of the police code of silence

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the contours of the police code of silence, a critical component of the ability to control misconduct and enhance integrity within any police agency. Unlike the extant research, dominated by single-country studies, this paper provides an in-depth exploration of the code across five countries and tests the relation between the code of science and societal characteristics. Design/methodology/approach A police integrity survey was used to measure the contours of the code of silence among police officers in Australia (n=856), Croatia (n=966), South Africa (n=871), South Korea (n=379) and the USA (n=664). The respondents evaluated 11 hypothetical scenarios describing various forms of police misconduct. Findings Bivariate analyses reveal considerable divergence in the code of silence across the five countries. Multivariate models of the code of silence show that, next to organizational factors (i.e. the respondents’ assessment of peers’ willingness to report, evaluations of misconduct seriousness and expected discipline) and individual factors (i.e. supervisory status), societal factors (i.e. the Corruption Perceptions Index score and the percent of irreligious citizens) are significant predictors of the respondents’ willingness to report. Research limitations/implications While the same questionnaire was used in all five countries, the nature of the data collection differed somewhat across the countries (e.g. online survey vs paper-and-pencil survey), as did the nature of the samples (e.g. representative sample vs convenience sample). Practical implications Perceived peer pressure, measured as the perceptions of whether other police officers would adhere to the code of silence, is the key variable explaining the police officers’ expressed willingness to adhere to the code of silence. Changing the police officers’ perceptions of peer culture and potentially changing the peer culture itself should be critical elements in the toolbox of any administrator willing to curtail the code of silence. Originality/value Whereas the study of the code of silence has started several decades ago, no prior study has tested the effects of organizational and societal variables on the code of silence in a comparative perspective.

Predicting the police code of silence in China: does rural or urban setting matter?

“…, 2016a). It is worth noting that, overall, the predicting power of these demographic factors for the code of silence seems to be lower than that of factors at the organizational or environmental level (Kutnjak Ivković, 2012; Kutnjak Ivković et al. , 2019).…”

“…Moreover, studies have generally revealed that officers' years of experience were negatively associated with police misconduct and the code of silence (see Kutnjak Ivkovi c et al, 2016a). It is worth noting that, overall, the predicting power of these demographic factors for the code of silence seems to be lower than that of factors at the organizational or environmental level (Kutnjak Ivkovi c, 2012;Kutnjak Ivkovi c et al, 2019).…”

“…The term refers to an informal norm that dissuades officers from reporting misconduct by fellow officers. Decades of research has suggested that the code of silence is a universal phenomenon among police worldwide, though its extent varies across countries (see Kutnjak Ivković et al. , 2019).…”

Sexual Misconduct in Police Recruits as identified by Police Trainers

“…Previous research into police attitudes to sexual misconduct has described this as part of the ‘blue wall of silence’ (Kutnjak Ivković et al, 2019; Maher, 2003). This wall is reportedly strengthened by collegial loyalty, organisational resistance in encouraging reporting and supervisors turning a blind eye (Lee et al, 2013).…”

Intention to report misconduct of the Royal Malaysian Police: Examining perceived offence seriousness, perceived disciplinary fairness and perceived legitimacy

“…Mollen (1994) also describes the major obstacle to controlling misconduct in the workplace as a code of silence. Numerous scholars have argued that the code of silence is a key element of police occupational subculture, with veteran officers socializing junior colleagues to express loyalty to their peers by engaging in and upholding the expected silence (Branko et al, 2016;Kutnjak Ivkovic ́et al, 2016b, 2019Louise and Tim, 2016). As a reward for keeping silent about their peers' misconduct, police gain the faith of their fellow officers and expect to obtain reciprocal protection when needed (Kutnjak Ivkovic ́et al, 2019).…”