Incidents

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Describe what you think is meant by the blue wall of silence
Blue wall of silence is a set rule among the police officers which they follow, and it dictates that they should never expose a colleague for his or her wrongdoing (Punch, 2009). In case a police officer gets questioned, he should say that the colleague was ignorant or he saw nothing that happened. However, the law is illegal, and anyone who follows it risks immediate dismissal from duty. Police officers tend to use the law for personal reasons and to protect fellow officers from losing their job as a result of wrongs like corruption, police brutality and many others. The code originated from mid to late nineteenth century when the constitution later made most of their activities like engaging in racial discrimination illegal. Following that, many officers got criminalized, and those that went against the law risked jailing. To protect each other from getting convicted, the officers devised the code which they follow and obey.
Does it truly exist or is this just a perception?
The blue wall of silence indeed exists, and it’s not a perception. The code acts as a way of showing royalty among the police officers even if the constitution identifies it as illegal (Westmarland, 2005). Democracy is set to protect every citizen, and the police must maintain law and order in the country. That does not always happen peacefully and violence might exist at some instances. Doing that means that the police will be risking their precious jobs.

The case of Frank Serpico is a good example showing that the code is in existence and explains the consequences that a fellow police officer might face when he goes against it.
Would a police officer with very strong morals, values, and ethics fail to expose officer wrongdoing?
A police officer with strong morals will fail to report a colleague in case of wrongdoing. Being a police officer means that staying like the others and following the set rules of the career. The repercussions of failing to do that are severe which will prevent even the person with the strongest morals from reporting any wrongdoing. Considering the case of Frank Serpico, no one individual whistleblower can manage eliminating the code. It’s a culture all across the police departments implying that a person planning to deal with the wrongdoers will have to focus on tearing down the culture and change how the police carry on with their daily activities. When a police officer fails to follow the code, he or she will report the matter but then face the consequences which apply, and the implementors make them as severe as possible.
Does the subculture constrain the officer’s individual values?
When joining the profession, every police officer has his or her own values which they follow. The recruiting period introduces the police culture in them, and they start complying with it to the letter (Skolnick, 2002). Obeying the code will require them to leave behind the morals that one followed earlier. That will constrain one’s individual values in many ways. A person who lived a straight life without pretense will now have to live a different experience. To fit in the career and appear similar to other colleagues in the profession, a person completely adopts the subculture. The police tend to behave in relation to the mainstream society and an officer employed for a lifetime career implies that the code will significantly constrain his values. That in turn ensures that he has a smooth life as a police officer, lives happily and has the best experience.
Works Cited;
Westmarland, L. (2005). Police ethics and integrity: Breaking the blue code of silence. Policing and Society, 15(2), 145-165.
Punch, M. (2009). Police corruption: Deviance, accountability and reform in policing. Routledge.
Skolnick, J. (2002). Corruption and the blue code of silence. Police Practice and Research, 3(1), 7-19.