The Wall of Silence can impact and have major ramifications on an officer and their agency.
The Wall of Silence can impact and have major ramifications on an officer and their agency. The wall of silence, or code of silence, is a practice in which officers refuse to talk about other officers involvements in incidents which involve illegal activity. This could be done either on or off the job, and information is not only kept from the public, but from police administration as well. Essentially, this is a means by officers to control the outcomes of events. An example could be that an officer and their partner pursue a subject for a warrant. The officer’s use force on the subject which causes injuries such as broken bones. The subject makes a formal complaint, but both officers state the subject fell during the pursuit causing their own injuries. The code of silence is in effect here in that neither officer tells the truth of what happens. The impact of this can be detrimental, in that the community now has a negative view of the law enforcement agency who can’t be trusted. This not only impacts the officer and their agency, but others as well. The reputation of law enforcement in general is now tarnished in the view of the community. Nowadays, the code of silence on a patrol level can be quite difficult to uphold, as most agencies have body worn cameras. Most policies of agencies that have these cameras state that officers must activate them when encountering the public under certain circumstances. The purposes of the body worn camera is to show transparency to the public, as well as protect officers from certain civil liabilities.
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