Police Subculture Essay

As the media has shown the public in the last few years, the subculture within some police departments across the nation is strong and deeply rooted in an “us vs. them” mentality. Therefore, anyone within the ranks considered a whistleblower, “rat” or “snitch” is rejected and marginalized because they cannot conform. “Whilst the detectives are making moral judgements about the conduct and lifestyles of victims and suspects, they are also enacting their own morals in action” (Westmarland, 2013, p. 311). The leadership within police departments are creating and promoting this subculture in order to make a distinction between police and their communities. Long gone are the days of police officers walking the beat and being known by name, as …show more content…
Society has been conditioned to see whistleblowers as traitors without hearing what they have to say or the proof that they provide. “The continued pattern of police abuse, misconduct and corruption, coupled with the failure of government to address these problems in a transparent way, led to a movement of citizen involvement in the police accountability process” (Ferdik, Rojek & Alpert, 2013, p. 105). Corruption within police departments is assumed or known but swept under the rug by the blue wall of silence. Citizen involvement is seen as intrusive rather than providing transparency. Officers considered “rats” and “snitches” could easily find themselves without backup or assistance in crisis situations such as Detective Serpico experienced. Therefore, the subculture of “us vs. them” can constrain an individual’s values. Leaders and police officers can quickly turn on their own and lose themselves in unethical behavior in order to protect the image of the group forgetting that, above all, they must maintain law and