The Thin Blue Line is a symbol of honor to most and corruption to some, but the mainstream media has portrayed it as a symbol of maleficence and betrayal to the people. This symbol isn’t just for those Police Officers that wear the badge over their heart day in and day out. It’s for the 99% of citizens who live an unsullied lifestyle as well. I am extremely proud to be within the ranks of the aforementioned group. The Blue represents the Police Officer and the courage they find deep inside when faced with the insurmountable odds of violence. The first half of the black is a reminder of our fallen brothers and sisters. The second half of the black is the law abiding citizens that support law and order. If rogue behavior or maleficence
I remember at the police academy in 2002 and listening to one of the instructors talk about the, Thin Blue Line. As he spoke to us his tone of voice was softened as if it were a term not to be spoken about outside the presence of law enforcement officers. He described it as the line that separated us from them. What he meant by “us” was the police officers and the law abiding citizens on one side and the criminal element on the other as “them”.
I was somewhat perplexed as to why it seemed so secret. I thought it was a prestigious symbol that I could easily get behind. As a young police recruit straight from the military, I was unaware that this term was also recognized by some to have a dark side. I began to hear stories about how officers would cover up for each other under the appearance of the Thin Blue Line using it as a symbol to protect other cops from whatever happens at any cost. This protection was not in a physical officer safety context but rather as an after action review to conceal any
Some media outlets portray police officers as the most nefarious and corrupt humans to walk this earth. Other more conservative outlets actually get behind the badge and portray themselves as proponents of the law and order in America. For the most part when officers come forward to report illegal or unethical behavior, they are commonly referred to as “crossing the thin blue line” by some. This suggests that the thin blue line exists to hide such activities, but this isn’t the case. That is not the true meaning of The Thin Blue Line and it is important police officers take pride in it. The Thin Blue Line describes us as the sheepdogs that we are all familiar with and the men and women of a prestigious profession. To the contrary is just noise created by those who want to create controversy and cause hatred around the
Officers would patrol the political boundary, known as line watches, between the two nations. These line watches were ineffective because of the size of their jurisdictions and the sheer size of the borderlands between Mexico and the United States. Soon it became clear to Border Patrol officers that most illegal migrant activity developed in the greater borderlands regions than along the boundary between Mexico and the United States. “Instead of enforcing the boundary between the US and Mexico, BP officers patrolled backcountry trails and conducted traffic stops on borderland roadways to capture unsanctioned Mexican immigrants as they travelled from the border to their final
The Code of silence or blue curtain of secrecy is another element of the police sub-culture. This is the practice of officer to not come forward if when aware of the ethical transgressions of other officers (Pollock, 2015). This can come in many forms such as unnecessary
It is both a result and a cause of police isolation from the larger society and of police solidarity. Its influence begins early in the new officer’s career when he is told by more experienced officers that the “training given in police academies is irrelevant to ‘real’ police work”. What is relevant, recruits are told, is the experience of senior officers who know the ropes or know how to get around things. Recruits are often told by officers with considerable experience to forget what they learned in the academy and in college and to start learning real police work as soon as they get to their Field Training Officers. Among the first lessons learned are that police officers share secrets among themselves and that those secrets especially when they deal with activities that are questionable in terms of ethics, legality, and departmental policy, are not to be told to others. They also are told that administrators and Internal Affairs officers cannot often be trusted. This emphasis on the police occupational subculture results in many officers regarding themselves as members of a “blue
The police are there to protect and serve the community. Racial profiling has prevented police from serving all the community, because in their minds it has been segregated. This has often been disregarded while in reality, racial profiling has corrupted society’s perception of groups of people, especially in law enforcement. On our nation's highways, police ostensibly looking for thugs and criminals routinely stop drivers based on the color of their skin. This practice is so common that the minority community has given it the derisive term, "driving while black" – a play on the real offense of "driving while intoxicated."
Police Officers are punished by their colleagues and bosses who have cover for them. There are police officers who were fired for egregious misbehavior. “Color of law” means the person doing the act is using power given to him/her by a governmental agency. A law enforcement officer acts “under color of law” even if he or she is exceeding his or her rightful power. (www.justice.gov)
As taught in the lectures, it is impossible for police officers to win the war against crime without bending the rules, however when the rules are bent so much that it starts to violate t...
In “Patrolling Racial Borders: Discrimination Against Mixed Race People," Heather Dalmage provides a brief history of and social context for the discrimination against multiracial people in the United States. She identifies people who discriminate against multiracial people as “border patrollers," or people who believe the color line is fixed and permanent, and thus they have the ability to discern between “themselves” and “others”. She goes on to identify broad areas of everyday life in which multicultural children are “patrolled” and face discrimination, through the patrolling of the child’s physicality, linguistics, interaction with embers of the out-group, geographies, and cultural capital. Her main point is that border patrolling is the
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
This era is where the shift from a centralized task force has gravitated to a decentralized task force, causing some friction from both the community and the officers that serve it. Police are told that they are needed to listen to the concerns for the community; however, law enforcement is still the primary goal. Police forces now have to defend the values for which the forces were built upon. The idea of problem solving has come into question with police discretion towards certain run-ins with the law. Williams and Murphy argue it is due to the lack of sensitivity from minorities and the concern on crime itself than the community. Kelling and Moore contradict Williams and Murphy, with Kelling/Moore suggesting the era is more about listening to concerns of the community and improving the citizen satisfaction. But both the article came to the conclusion of the silent underlying problems that are becoming more of a “quiet riot” with the police and the
Law enforcement officers are quickly to be stereotyped by society whether they are wearing their uniform or not. Basically, they don’t have a normal life compared to civilians who don’t wear that uniform. Law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard even when it comes to politics. These officers are expected to abide by a strict guideline of rules in regards to political campaigning. However, if these agency’s ethical principles are broken by law enforcement officers, disciplinary actions are taken against these officers.
The tradition was first established in London, where the world’s first police force was in London, United Kingdom of 1829. The first worn uniforms were red and white, so citizens can easily detect an officer, the decision was changed to dark blue. Dark colors make law enforcers easily detectable when out in public (Why are Police Uniforms blue?, 2012). Psychological studies that dark colors signify power. Unconsciously the color of authority uniforms changes the way people view them. Also darker shades have the advantage of being worn, as darker colors hide stains ensuring a clean look at all times. The style of police uniforms contributes to how society sees them. The shoulder always carry extra material, creating an illusion to broad shoulders. The uniforms are never form fitting, and the pants are in a cargo style, making legs look bulky and large. These features can create a muscular look that isn’t really there. The gold police badges worn on the left side of the chest right over the heart, symbolizes honor. Producing more honorable, muscular-looking officers creating a far more respected and imitating
Police brutality on citizens are one of the immediate issues associated with the police force, since it has marked its presence deep in the roots of history. Pennsylvania State University describes police brutality as, “the deliberate use of excessive force, usually physical, carried out during law enforcement activities with the population.” The dependency of law abiding citizens on officers are now intertwined with an ominous sense of mistrust towards the law enforcers. Several violent instances of police misconduct and brutality has surfaced, igniting anger within American communities, leading to the creation of revolutionary campaigns such as the “Black Lives Matter” campaign that advocates for rebuilding the Black liberation movement (Blacklivesmatter.com). With the media focus centered on police forces, the White House has repetitively tried
One of the main subjects in the current national news is, of course, police involved shootings: in the aftermath of the deaths regarding Philandro Castile, Alton Sterling and others. A less discussed subject would be violence against law enforcement within the nation. This can be discussed within the context of violence as a backlash against the so-called police brutality and a display of itself. In the last few years the “War on Police” has escalated because of the one sided reporting fueled by most media outlets and is not only affecting the attackers but the officers and their families.
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve the objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession-Law Enforcement.
When law enforcement dons their badge, swears to uphold the law and protect the people, they are held to a higher standard than the rest of the population. This stands to reason since they are the representation of the law, they live it, understand it and carry it out in their daily lives. Thus when an officer acts unethically, there is a certain level of mistrust between the civilians and the department. Often, instead of seeing a lone officer, or a handful of officers behaving in such a way, the department is seen as a whole in conducting the behavior. This is one of the reasons why consistent training in ethics is invaluable. It should not be done only in preparation but should be reinforced throughout an officer’s career regardless of rank or duty station. “Ethics is not limited to the acts of a single person. Ethics is also interested in the correct practices of governments, corporations, professionals and many other groups” (Ward 2018) The Shared Responsibility training technique is described as the “next step in