The Informal "Code" of Police Deviancy: A Group Approach to "Blue-Coat Crime"

Abstract

The traditional stereotype of a policeman engaged in unlawful activity is usually that of an isolated deviation by an individtal officer-morally weak, intellectually dull, and personally corrupt. The study reported in this paper deals with police group deviation and the informal "code" whereby it is perpetuated. The author explores the process of recruit socialization into unlawful "code" practices, preservation of "code" secrecy; and group acceptance for practitioners is clearly documented. Difficulties in breaking the "code" without destroying police professionalism are discussed.

American police and subcultural support for the use of excessive force

“…Fostered by the bus versus themQ mentality, which work in a dangerous and hostile environment can produce, and by a punitive style of police management, cultural norms require that officers neither report nor incriminate fellow officers who engage in misconduct (Banton, 1964;Crank, 1998, p. 201;ReussIanni, 1983, pp. 14-16;Skolnick & Fyfe, 1993, p. 122;Stoddard, 1995;Westley, 1970, p. 113).…”

Current developments in police governance and accountability in Ireland

“…It is also a clear sign that internal and external oversight and governance mechanisms, however they exist, have failed. In spite of that, a common response, both from government and senior police management, is that the misconduct or corruption is in fact the result of a few bad apples and not in anyway institutionalised [45]. This is a destructive response which will be damaging for police morale and ignore the realities of problems at supervisory and management levels [36,39].…”

African immigrants’ perception of police in Finland: Is it based on the discourse of race or culture?

“…Despite these differences, however, available existing studies on police in the USA have also observed the existence of a code of silence within the police forces, which is then characterised as a feature of police culture (Brittner, 1970;Stoddard, 1968;Skolnick, 1993;Barker and Carter, 1991). In addition, many surveys have also made reference to the social and psychological concepts of ego defence and the police institutional image.…”