The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral Term Paper

The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral - Term Paper Example Their misconduct is not only tolerated but accepted and defended. Whistle in an important little instrument in the life of policemen but when he does not blow it against a fellow policeman who deserves to be reprimanded and punished he adds one more brick to â€Å"The Blue Wall of Silence.† The difference between the politician and the policeman is, the job of the former is for a fixed term, and the latter will render disservice to the people till the age of retirement. The saving grace for this harsh observation is the statement is not applicable to all. A microscopic minority of honest people exists amongst the police personnel as well and the rare find of a duty-conscious, law abiding police hero excites the Hollywood movie-makers. Police force works under tremendous pressure. In every case fast results are demanded by the aggrieved party, but being part of the law enforcing agency it has to follow the rules and while doing so, an investigating officer has pressure building at the back of his mind, that his actions and reporting are liable for legal scrutiny. The greatest bane of working in the police department is the political interference in their day to day functioning. Every accused person is a voter and expects that his elected representative comes to his rescue, even if one has committed an act of offence. To face demonstrations and protests of the people is part of their life and every police officer is suspect and corrupt from the perspective of the public. Police service is not like any other service. In some details it is tougher than the army service. The army personnel are generally busy and work under perilous circumstances in times of war. War ends, and their harsh responsibility is over to a great extent. For the policemen, the call of duty is 24x7 hours and they have to deal with different types of personalities, of varying temperaments. They face pressure constantly to solve cases with breakneck speed, and receive rebuke from higher authorities who sometimes want them to perform the impossible. In the discharge of their duties, some mistakes are committed and they are naturally inclined to go to the rescue of their colleagues, who stray from the path of law, rules and regulations applicable to the police force, resort to illegal brutality especially when dealing with the hardened criminals and repeat offenders. They have no misgivings about their stance and quote offences committed by people like taking bribes, stealing goods and money. Police officers have their own convention of defending their colleagues and taking them to task when necessary. Taking money or property in the form of bribes and kickbacks is viewed seriously, as they affect the morale of the department, and such offences are reported to the appropriate authorities for action. Policemen have also been awarded strict punishment on use of excessive force and also against practice of racism. In November, 2012, a federal jury in Chicago gave a judg ment in favor of a complainant and against the city on a claim that the city had a persistently prevalent custom or practice of shielding officers from citizen complaints. The suit had been brought by a female bartender who had been beaten by an off-duty officer. Such a practice was concealment and suppression of investigations into police misconduct and it was an unwritten â€Å"