<i>The Police Code of Silence in Queensland</i> The Impact of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Reforms

Brereton, David; Ede, Andrew

doi:10.1080/10345329.1996.12036731

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Two additional individual-level explanations of police misconduct, code-of-silence attitudes and noble-cause beliefs, also warrant attention. The code of silence has been discussed at length and has been shown to be present in agencies throughout the United States and internationally (Brereton & Ede, 1996;Chin & Wells, 1997;Knapp Commission, 1972;Micuccui & Gomme, 2005;Mollen Commission, 1994;Rothwell & Baldwin, 2007a, 2007bSkolnick, 2002Skolnick, , 2005. Research has shown that officers who adhere to the code of silence are less likely to report fellow officer excessive use of force or corruption (Knapp Commission, 1972;Micuccui & Gomme, 2005;Mollen Commission, 1994;Skolnick, 2005) and more likely to commit perjury during a trial (Chin & Wells, 1997).…”

Section: Police Misconduct Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct

Wolfe

Piquero²

2011

Criminal Justice and Behavior

279

261

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Although police misconduct has interested policing scholars for many years, extant research has been largely atheoretical and has ignored the role of organizational justice in understanding the behavior. This study uses survey data from a random sample of 483 police officers employed in the Philadelphia Police Department to explore the role of organizational justice in police misconduct. Results indicate that officers who view their agency as fair and just in managerial practices are less likely to adhere to the code of silence or believe that police corruption in pursuit of a noble cause is justified. Furthermore, perceptions of organizational justice are associated with lower levels of engagement in several forms of police misconduct. The results suggest that organizational justice is a promising framework to understand police misconduct and may help guide police administrators in the implementation of effective management strategies to reduce the incidence of the behavior.

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Section: Police Misconduct Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct

Wolfe

Piquero²

2011

Criminal Justice and Behavior

279

261

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“…Examples of recent police-related work by the Research Division include a study of complaints of assault committed by the police (Brereton & Burgess, 1997;CJC, 1997b), a survey of defendants' perceptions of the investigation and arrest process (CJC, 1996), a study of police ethical decision making (Brereton & Ede, 1996;CJC, 1995), and a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the reform of the police complaints and discipline procedures (CJC, 1997d). These papers and reports indicate some of the kinds of data that are available to monitor police misconduct and to evaluate the impact of prevention measures.…”

Section: A Commission-wide Strategy For the Prevention Of Police Miscmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Brereton and Ede (1996) demonstrate in an analysis of several of the data sources listed above, there are some signs that the police code of silence has less of a hold over the rank and file than pre-Fitzgerald. For example, around one third of police against police complaints made to the CJC now originate from information provided by officers below the rank of sergeant.…”

Section: A Commission-wide Strategy For the Prevention Of Police Miscmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Investigation and Prevention

Hömel¹

1997

QRE

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The British scientist Lord Kelvin once asserted that if something can be measured, it can be understood. To the extent that this is true, social scientists who want to understand political corruption or police misconduct would seem to be in big trouble, for some fairly obvious reasons. Corruption and misconduct by their nature usually involve prohibited actions committed by consenting adults in private, the offenders sometimes occupy positions of considerable power, any victim is often as compromised as the offenders or (especially in the case of an organisation) is unaware of being victimised, and whistleblowers historically have got such a raw deal from their departments and from the authorities that only the most heroic have persevered with their claims. No doubt its covert nature and reach into the upper echelons of power are reasons why there is still debate about how much corruption there really was in Queensland prior to the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and why there is continuing controversy about whether the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), set up in late 1989 to continue the work of the Inquiry, has been a success or a failure.

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“…In an endeavour to ascertain whether the influence of 'the code' had weakened, the CJC collected and analysed a range of data: interviews with experienced police officers; surveys of recruits, junior constables and experienced officers about ethical issues and their willingness to report misconduct; and, data from CJC complaints files where police have reported other police for misconduct. As we have presented these findings at some length in a previously published paper (Brereton & Ede 1996), we will summarise them only briefly here. In short, the CJC's research shows that, while there has been a weakening of 'the code', particularly in the upper levels of the Service, there is still considerable resistance among rank and file police to the idea that they should have to report misconduct by fellow officers, especially for those forms of misconduct which are seen as less serious.…”

Section: Police Culture and The Code Of Silencementioning

confidence: 95%

What has Reform Wrought?

Brereton¹,

Ede²

1997

QRE

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On 24 September 1997 the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) released a comprehensive report entitled Integrity in the Queensland Police Service: Implementation and Impact of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Reforms, in line with its statutory obligation to report to Parliament on the implementation of the recommendations of the Inquiry. Earlier reports have examined the implementation of the Inquiry's recommendations relating to recruitment and training and the restructuring of the police service (see CJC 1993, 1994). This most recent report addresses issues such as whether the Fitzgerald reforms have enhanced the effectiveness of the complaints investigation process, led to improved standards of behaviour within the Queensland Police Service (QPS), reduced the incidence of corruption and weakened the influence of the police ‘code of silence’. In addition to providing a retrospective assessment of the ‘Fitzgerald reforms’, the report identifies key areas where further action is required by the QPS and provides a reference point against which to measure future progress. This article summarises the key findings of the report and briefly discusses the implications for further reform of the QPS and the role of the CJC in that process.

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The Police Code of Silence in Queensland The Impact of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Reforms

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct

Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct

Integrating Investigation and Prevention

What has Reform Wrought?

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