Whistle-Blowing and the Code of Silence in Police Agencies

Abstract

This article reports the findings from a study that investigates predictors of police willingness to blow the whistle and police frequency of blowing the whistle on seven forms of misconduct. It specifically investigates the capacity of nine policy and structural variables to predict whistle-blowing. The results indicate that two variables, a policy mandating the reporting of misconduct and supervisory status, surface as the most consistent predictors of whistle-blowing. Contrary to popular belief, the results also show that police are slightly less inclined than civilian public employees to subscribe to a code of silence.

Towards a Custom-Made Whistleblowing Policy. Using Grid-Group Cultural Theory to Match Policy Measures to Different Styles of Peer Reporting

“…First, these individual, situational and organisational factors may of course have an interacting effect, meaning that individuals who observe misbehaviour might combine various reasons to decide whether or not to report (King & Hermodson, 2000: 325). Most studies have, however, led to the conclusion that situational and organisational factors explain more variation in the decision to blow the whistle than do individual factors (Rothwell & Baldwin, 2007;Miceli, Near & Schwenk, 1991). Second, although interesting, the empirical findings in different studies do not seem to be completely consistent or conclusive (Near & Miceli, 1996: 515).…”

Bad Apples, Bad Barrels, and Broken Followers? An Empirical Examination of Contextual Influences on Follower Perceptions and Reactions to Aversive Leadership

“…Further, Rothwell and Baldwin (2007) recently found among a sample of 300 Georgia police officers that a friendship or team climate significantly predicted individuals' willingness to report misconduct on the job.…”

Understanding the knowledge gaps in whistleblowing and speaking up in health care: narrative reviews of the research literature and formal inquiries, a legal analysis and stakeholder interviews

“…For example, Rothwell and Baldwin, 37 examining whistleblowing in police agencies in Georgia, USA, noted that uniformed staff, in spite of close personal relationships with colleagues, were more likely than civilian employees to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, suggesting that the external values and formal regulation associated with uniformed service were important. Indeed, Alford 38 discusses the threat posed to organisations by the 'ethical autonomy' (cf.…”

“…To examine dental, nursing, pharmacy and physiotherapy students' narratives of professionalism dilemmas: the types of events they encounter ('whats') and the ways in which they narrate those events ('hows') A qualitative cross-sectional study; 69 health-care students participated in group/individual narrative interviews, resulting in 226 personal incident narratives that were analysed and coded By focusing on common professionalism issues (including whistleblowing and challenging) at a conceptual level, health-care students can share experiences through narratives. The role-playing of idealised actions (how students wish they had acted) can facilitate synergy between personal moral values and moral action enabling students to commit and recommit to professionalism values together 37 Monrouxe et al, 82 …”