Police Code of Silence in Times of Change

Abstract

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.