Blue Wall of Silence Essay

corrections officer subcultural norms identified by Kelsey Kauffman and the 6 stressors identified by Elizabeth Grossi and Bruce Berg?

What are your views on the idea of an unwritten code of conduct governing the behavior of police and corrections officers?

You are a police officer and you witness your partner of 6 years strike a criminal suspect who has been arrested and is secured in handcuffs. The actions of your partner are in violation of your department's Use of Force policy. Your partner has already received punitive sanctions in the past for unwarranted use of force, and this incident may jeopardize his career. What would you do?

A clear component of most of the subcultural norms regarding the performance of officers pertains to the ethos of protection -- individuals who work in the criminal justice field have an unspoken, unofficial commitment not to 'rat' on their fellow officers.Because of the stressors of the job, professional insiders often feel that outsiders do not understand what they go through on a daily basis to bring justice to the public. In many ways this is true on one hand -- however, on the other hand, such a mentality can be used to justify cutting ethical 'corners.' Some of the norms identified by Kaufman are positive and necessary for functioning in the field such as to "always go to the aid of an officer in distress" while others such as "always support officer sanctions against inmates" can be problematic if they are used to support unethical behavior (Kaufman 1988: 86; Jones & Carlson 2004: 70). Common stressors which can further reinforce these norms include the threat of physical danger; violence directed at officers by inmates; unreasonable demands and tedium of the….....