This book examines the code of silence within police forces and offers policy recommendations aimed at fostering an environment less prone to police misconduct. In response to growing demands for police reform, it addresses concerns about the perceived illegitimacy of police actions and the protective shield the code of silence provides to officers who violate rules. Through a case study of a medium-sized U.S. police agency, the book utilizes police integrity theory to deliver empirically grounded insights into the code of silence. It investigates how organizational factors and individual attitudes influence officers' adherence to this code in instances of corruption, excessive force, and other forms of deviance. Key areas of focus include the effects of organizational rule dissemination, disciplinary measures, and fairness on the code's prevalence; the role of organizational justice in encouraging officers to report misconduct; the impact of self-legitimacy on adherence to the code; the influence of peer culture on officers’ decisions; and how officers’ perceptions of themselves, their organization, and their community affect their willingness to report wrongdoing.
Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic Bücher
