This book explores the contours of the code of silence and provides
policy recommendations geared toward creating an environment less
conducive for police misconduct. It responds to the recent calls for
police reform, in the wake of the perceived illegitimacy of police
actions and the protection that the code of silence seems to provide to
the police officers who violate the official rules.
Using a case study of a medium-sized U.S. police agency, this book
employs the lens of police integrity theory to provide empirically
grounded explanations of the code of silence. It examines the potential
effects of organizational factors and the attitudes of individual police
officers on their willingness to adhere to the code of silence in cases
of police corruption, the use of excessive force, interpersonal
deviance, and organizational deviance. The book focuses on the following
factors that could influence the police code of silence in the times of
change:
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The impact of organizational rule dissemination, discipline, and
disciplinary fairness on the scope of the code of silence
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The effect that police officers' self-legitimacy has on their
decisions to adhere to the code
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The relationship between officers' views of themselves, the
organization, and the community on their willingness to report
misconduct