Police Code of Silence in Times of Change (SpringerBriefs in Policing)

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: The impact of organizational rule dissemination, discipline, and disciplinary fairness on the scope of the code of silence The role organizational justice plays in shaping police officer willingness to report misconduct The effect that police officers’ self-legitimacy has on their decisions to adhere to the code The influence of peer culture on individual police officer amenability to maintain the code The relationship between officers’ views of themselves, the organization, and the community on their willingness to report misconduct Contents About the Authors Chapter 1: The Pressing Need to Study the Code of Silence Introduction The Code of Silence The Code of Silence and the Theory of Police Integrity Measuring the Code of Silence Police Officer Sample Overview of the Book References Chapter 2: The Code of Silence and the Theory of Police Integrity Introduction Studying the Code of Silence Correlates of the Code of Silence Organizational Correlates Individual Correlates This Chapter Methodology Sample Measures Dependent Variable Organizational Independent Variables Individual Independent Variables Analytic Strategy Results Contours of the Code of Silence The Effects of Police Integrity Measures on the Code of Silence Police Corruption Use of Excessive Force Organizational Deviance Interpersonal Deviance Conclusion References Chapter 3: The Code of Silence and Disciplinary Fairness Introduction Discipline Fairness and Police Integrity Theoretical Approaches Empirical Measurement of Discipline Fairness Studying the Relationship Between the Code of Silence and Perceptions of Disciplinary Fairness This Chapter Methodology Sample Measures Dependent Variable Organizational Independent Variables Disciplinary Fairness Independent Variables Individual Independent Variables Analytic Strategy Results The Effects of Discipline Fairness on the Code of Silence The Effects of Discipline Fairness and Police Integrity Measures on the Code of Silence Police Corruption Use of Excessive Force Organizational Deviance Interpersonal Deviance Conclusion References Chapter 4: The Code of Silence and Organizational Justice Introduction Organizational Justice Effects of Organizational Justice on Police Attitudes and Behavior Organizational Justice and the Code of Silence This Chapter Methodology Sample Measures Dependent Variable Organizational Independent Variables Organizational Justice Independent Variables Individual Independent Variables Analytic Strategy Results The Effects of Organizational Justice on the Code of Silence The Effects of Organizational Justice and Police Integrity on the Code of Silence Police Corruption Use of Excessive Force Organizational Deviance Interpersonal Deviance Conclusion References Chapter 5: The Code of Silence and Self-Legitimacy Introduction Self-Legitimacy Effects of Self-Legitimacy on Police Attitudes and Behavior Self-Legitimacy and the Code of Silence This Chapter Methodology Sample Measures Dependent Variable Organizational Independent Variables Self-Legitimacy Independent Variables Analytic Strategy Results The Effects of Self-Legitimacy on the Code of Silence The Effects of Self-Legitimacy and Police Integrity on to the Code of Silence Police Corruption Use of Excessive Force Organizational Deviance Interpersonal Deviance Conclusion References Chapter 6: Lessons Learned About the Code of Silence Introduction Disciplinary Fairness and Organizational Justice Organizational Justice and Self-Legitimacy Disciplinary Fairness and Self-Legitimacy This Chapter Methodology Sample Measures Dependent Variable Organizational Independent Variables Disciplinary Fairness Independent Variables Organizational Justice Independent Variables Self-Legitimacy Independent Variables Individual Independent Variables Analytic Strategy Results The Effects of Police Integrity, Distributive Fairness, Organizational Justice, and Self-Legitimacy on the Code of Silence Police Corruption Use of Excessive Force Organizational Deviance Interpersonal Deviance Conclusion References Index