In the United States most people have heard the phrase the "Blue Wall of Silence." This refers to police officers sticking together instead of reporting bad behavior when they see it. It all comes down to the police subculture and distinct aspects within it. These aspects include the following: 'us versus them' mentality, lack of acknowledgement and resources for mental health, and an overall toxic work environment, all contribute directly to the Blue Wall of Silence. Misogyny is deeply coated in the police subculture and directly leads to many police officers thinking that they are weak if they seek mental health help. This type of culture promotes immoral behavior not only in officers' professional lives, but also within their private lives as well. Many officers are violent with their spouses, and there is a dark history of police officers utilizing their power to rape teenagers. As if that was not bad enough, officers who are women frequently deal with workplace harassment and even abuse. There are also actual police gangs, who have initiatives like killing a civilian to gain entry into said gang, (look up the Executioners in LAPD if you don't believe me). Officers all around the nation have displayed that they have kept Jim Crow era legislation alive by utilizing racist techniques within their decision making. Such issues do not help when the United States Supreme Court established that police have qualified immunity. This means that police officers can break the law and because they are a police officer, they would simply not face any substantial consequences for it. It is interesting to hold average citizens with more accountability than the ones enforcing the law. Alas, I digress. The point is, there is a lot of fucked up shit happening within police forces across the nation, and we are about to delve into this very deep and dark rabbit hole.
Let's first discuss the overall work environment of a police officer. Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to the Blue Wall of Silence is the 'us versus them' mentality. It is ingrained throughout police officers that their coworkers are their lifeline. Each day could potentially be traumatic and if an officer has gone through a past traumatic event, it is likely that that officer will continually go into flight or fight mode when dealing with the public. This ties into a later point I will discuss which is that the police force does not encourage mental health in their employees. Police officers heavily rely on each other and due to their unique experiences with the public, they tend to side with their coworkers even if they witnessed their coworkers doing something unethical. The police subculture is basically one big echo chamber, and when one disagrees with them, they perceive that individual as a threat. This mentality of 'us versus them,' helps to create a clear division between the police and the public. Which helps to unify the police force more, which in turn contributes to the Blue Wall of Silence. We will see this trend a lot, as aspects of police subculture directly contribute to the Blue Wall of Silence. Furthermore, this 'us versus them' mentality paints the civilian force as one to be feared. Police really believe that most civilians would not hesitate to harm law enforcement officers. From day one of police training, these ideals are spread like a wildfire. It is not just one police force, or one officer, but this is something insidious. It spreads across each and every state, and it is why officers are so quick to utilize lethal force. They truly believe in each traffic stop and each interaction with the public that it could be their last interaction. When, it is more dangerous to be a kid going to school than it is to be a police officer in the United States.
Mental health is crucial when you are a police officer. It is not surprising that police officers encounter traumatic experiences, but what is a bit surprising is how officers deal with those experiences. Which is typically not at all- just suppress the feelings and hope they will go away. Seeking mental health is stigmatized even when you are not a law enforcement officer. But in policing there are many toxic behaviors that are idolized and having a 'warrior mindset' is one of these behaviors. This ties directly into the 'us versus them' mentality that was aforementioned. The warrior mindset prepares an individual to react combatively. I imagine it is hard to deescalate a situation if one is aimed at utilizing force with each public interaction. Furthermore, when an officer is given qualified immunity basically all they must do is say that they "feared for their life" and magically they will not be charged with any crime. How does the U.S. expect citizens to uphold the law if the ones enforcing it are just making it up as they go along? At what point are we going to address the ever-present fascist police state? Alas, I digress. Mental health is an issue in the States, as this relates directly to our failing medical care system. Needless to say, mental health in conjunction with reunifying the public and police would be a fantastic start to actually combat the fascism overtaking the U.S. police forces.
This last section is going to focus on the various crimes that police officers commit and how these behaviors originate from serving on the force. Like priests, law enforcement officers utilize their positions of power to prey on those who are most vulnerable- children. According to The Crime Report (TCR) their staff reports that from a study conducted in 2003 it displayed that 40% of reported police sexual abuse cases involved teens most often from youth engagement or job-shadowing programs (TCR Staff, 2020). In 2015, around 1,000 officers lost their badge due to sexual assault and sex crimes such as possessing child pornography (TRC Staff, 2020). It is vile that people utilize their power to control and manipulate the minds of children, especially those who are supposed to uphold the law. It is even more disgusting to realize that while many police may face some "consequence" over these actions, many times all that occurs is the relocation of that officer. So even when officers are caught, they still walk a free man. If any normal citizen were to do those things, they would be in prison. It is insanity that we have better people serving time in jail than we do serving in our police forces and government institutions. I will say that again, WE HAVE BETTER PEOPLE SERVING ACTUAL TIME THAN THOSE SERVING IN THE POLICE FORCE AND GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS. Sorry for yelling, I just wanted to make sure those in the back fully heard what I stated. This is just one type of crime that officers regularly commit. Another one is domestic violence. On November 3, 2021, there was a fatal shooting including two cops. These cops happened to be married, one a male and one a female. They got into some sort of altercation at their residency and the male gunned down his wife. This story- while tragic- sheds light on the police subculture. As aforementioned, the police have certain mentalities (us versus them, or warrior mindset) that cause them to react in extreme ways. This case demonstrates how when an officer is faced with any opposition, they immediately think their very lives are at risk- even if it is abundantly clear there is no threat on their lives. This is why police officers need to be trained in de-escalation efforts, not for their own safety but for the safety of those dealing with officers. Perhaps the crimes that police commit most are hate crimes. It is not a secret that police utilize racial disparities when making traffic stops. In 2021, data revealed that while Black Americans only account for 13% of the U.S. population, they accounted for 27% of those fatally shot by police officers (NBC News, 2022). The United States has a policing problem, and until those on the inside of the force start holding each other accountable absolutely nothing will change.
The United States needs lawmakers that will keep power hungry, toxic individuals out of government and law enforcement. These individuals need to start being held accountable, after-all they should have higher expectations than the average citizen. Unfortunately, that is not how it is in the United States. Those with power typically utilize it to control others instead of utilizing it to help others. Until police chiefs start to hold all their officers accountable, nothing will change. People will continue to get abused and murdered by the police without any repercussions involved for the officers.
References
Predators Behind the Badge: Confronting Police Sexual Misconduct. (2020, March 12). The Crime Report (TCR). https://thecrimereport.org/2020/03/12/predators-behind-the-badge-confronting-hidden-police-sexual-misconduct/
Report: Black people are still killed by police at a higher rate than other groups. (2022, March 4). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/report-black-people-are-still-killed-police-higher-rate-groups-rcna17169
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