44-576: The thin blue line is a colloquial term for police forces. The Thin Blue Line or Thin Blue Line may also refer to: Thin blue line The " thin blue line " is a term that typically refers to the concept of the police as the line between law-and-order and chaos in society. The "blue" in "thin blue line" refers to the blue color of the uniforms of many police departments. The phrase originated as an allusion to The Thin Red Line incident during
88-460: A Imperial Russian Army cavalry charge. This action was widely publicized by the British press and depicted in several artworks, becoming one of the most famous episodes of the entire conflict. The name is now used for firefighters today. In the book Lawtalk , James Clapp and Elizabeth Thornburg say the term spread to other professions, e.g., a "thin white line of bishops ". An early known use of
132-447: A 1998, report to U.S. Congressman Charles B. Rangel , the federal General Accounting Office found evidence of growing police involvement in drug sales, theft of drugs and money from drug dealers, and perjured testimony about illegal searches. The code and police corruption stems from the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was known for using police officers to violently end strikes. Many members of
176-661: A basic training curriculum that instructs on ethical behavior; this instruction is reinforced in seminars and classes annually in some cases. Several campaigns against the blue code of silence or for making it more visible in the public eye have taken place in the United States. One of the first of these campaigns was the Knapp Commission in New York (officially known as the Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption ) which
220-693: A cop decided to tell on me, his career's ruined... He's going to be labeled as a rat." The following year saw the founding of the Civilian Complaint Review Board , an all-civilian board tasked with investigating civil complaints about alleged misconduct on the part of the New York City Police Department . After that, the International Association of Chiefs of Police made a code of police conduct publication and rigorously trained police officers. In 1991, Rodney King
264-796: A fellow officer as betrayal. In 1991, the Christopher Commission was formed in Los Angeles in response to the beating of Rodney King in March of that year by four members of the Los Angeles Police Department . In 1992, the Mollen Commission , commissioned to investigate reports of police corruption in New York City, noted that "The pervasiveness of the code of silence is itself alarming." One New York City police officer said, "If
308-515: A jury. The commission found that the officers were not lying for greed but because they believed that they were imprisoning people who deserved it. Many prosecutors allowed police perjury to occur, as well. Many police departments have their own official code of conduct . They train new recruits and investigate police officers if they have a complaint from a civilian or an alleged criminal . There are also some state laws put in place to help protect civilians and criminals from corrupt officers. If
352-579: A large role as well. These consequences can include being shunned, losing friends, and losing back-up, as well as receiving physical threats or having one's own misconduct exposed. There are also forces that work against the code and promote whistleblowing. Many police officers do join the police force because they want to uphold the law; the blue code goes against this ideal. Some officers inform on fellow officers' misconduct for less noble motives, such as to retaliate for mistreatment by fellow officers, to seek administrative recognition, or to prove loyalty to
396-717: A rebuttal to the Black Lives Matter movement, and gained traction following the high-profile homicides of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York . The "thin blue line" has also been associated with white nationalists in the United States, particularly after the Unite the Right rally in 2017, who fly Thin Blue Line flags at their rallies. The thin blue line US flag has appeared regularly at Trump rallies . The flag, which ostensibly stands for solidarity with
440-475: A story to the media. Police officers are more likely to cover up certain kinds of crimes by their colleagues. One study showed that excessive use of force was the crime most commonly shielded by the code. Two studies suggest that some police feel that the code is applicable in cases of "illegal brutality or bending of the rules in order to protect colleagues from criminal proceedings," but not those of illegal actions with an "acquisitive motive". Cases such as
484-564: Is all black, bearing a single horizontal blue stripe across its center. Variations of the flag, often using various national flags rendered in black and white with a blue line through the center, are seen below. The " Blue Lives Matter " movement was created in December 2014, after the homicides of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York in the wake of the homicides of Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr. earlier that year and in
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#1732858645783528-501: Is also documented in a 1965 pamphlet by the Massachusetts government, referring to its state police force , and in even earlier police reports of the NYPD. By the early 1970s, the term had spread to police departments across the United States. Author and police officer Joseph Wambaugh helped to further popularize the phrase with his police novels throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The term
572-423: Is not common. The low number of officers coming forward may have to do with the understanding that things happen in the heat of the moment that some officers would rather keep personal. Another reason officers may hesitate to go against the blue code may be that challenging the blue code would mean challenging long-standing traditions and feelings of brotherhood within the institution. The fear of consequences may play
616-425: Is sometimes called by police officers, has resulted in a barrier against stopping corrupt officers. Police culture involves a set of values and rules that have evolved through the experiences of officers and which are affected by the environment in which they work. From the beginning of their career at their academies, police are brought into this "cop culture". While learning jobs and duties, recruits will also learn
660-610: Is sometimes used as a symbol of opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network has stated that it often encounters Thin Blue Line and 'back the blue' symbols on social media pages used by hate groups. In the USA, white supremacists were documented carrying Thin Blue Line flags alongside the Confederate battle flag and Nazi flags at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia . Supporters of
704-544: The Crimean War in 1854, wherein a Scottish regiment —wearing red uniforms —famously held off a Imperial Russian Army cavalry charge. Its use referring specifically to the police was popularized by Los Angeles Police Department Chief William H. Parker during the 1950s; author and police officer Joseph Wambaugh in the 1970s, by which time "thin blue line" was used across the United States; and Errol Morris 's documentary The Thin Blue Line (1988). In recent years,
748-552: The Knapp Commission to hold hearings on the extent of corruption in the city's police department . Police officer Frank Serpico 's startling testimony against fellow officers not only revealed systemic corruption but highlighted a longstanding obstacle to investigating these abuses: the fraternal understanding among police officers known variously as "the Code of Silence" and "the Blue Curtain" under which officers regard testimony against
792-495: The Rampart scandal and many other police corruption cases demonstrate that blue code culture can extend to cover-ups of other levels of crime, acquisitive or not. The code has been called "America's Most Successful Stop Snitchin' Campaign", referring to cases where police covered up the misdeeds of fellow officers and where whistleblowers were harassed, professionally sanctioned, or forced into retirement. One method of minimizing
836-456: The "thin red line" flag, representing firefighters , and the "thin green line" representing veterans and active service members of all branches of the US military. Critics argue that the "thin blue line" represents an "us versus them" mindset that heightens tensions between officers and citizens and negatively influences police-community interactions by setting police apart from society at large. It
880-552: The Ku Klux Klan were police officers who protected each other when conducting racist acts. This later gave rise to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which gave new protections to the victims who had long suffered discriminatory policing. "Additionally, a string of landmark Supreme Court decisions during the era gave new force both to individual privacy rights as well as to curbs upon Police Power: highly influential cases resulted in
924-458: The United States . If questioned about an incident of alleged misconduct involving another officer (e.g., during the course of an official inquiry), while following the code, the officer being questioned would perjure themselves by feigning ignorance of another officer's wrongdoing. The code is one example of police corruption and misconduct. Officers who engaged in discriminatory arrests, physical or verbal harassment, and selective enforcement of
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#1732858645783968-499: The code or other forms of corruption because officers are protected by defense of immunity , which is an exemption from penalties and burdens that the law generally places on private citizens. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that officers be given the benefit of the doubt that they acted lawfully in fulfilling their duties, a position reaffirmed in Saucier v. Katz , 533 U.S. 194 (2001). In 1970, New York City organized
1012-571: The context of the greater Black Lives Matter movement. The skull emblem of the Punisher comics character has become popular within the Blue Lives Matter movement, with many companies producing decals, stickers, and T-shirts featuring the Punisher emblem colored with or alongside the thin blue line. The creator of the Punisher, Gerry Conway , has criticized this usage, saying that police who use
1056-400: The department. Additionally, some officers are recruited by their administration to inform. If it is in an officer's job description to find misconduct by other officers, they are more likely to go against the blue code. Officers who go against the blue code may have a deal to avoid being fired or to receive immunity from prosecution . Some officers have also been known to break the code to sell
1100-470: The development of feelings of loyalty . These values are claimed to lead to the code; isolation and solidarity leading to police officers sticking to their own kind, producing an us-against-them mentality. The us-against-them mentality that can result leads to officers backing each other up and staying loyal to one another; in some situations it leads to not "ratting" on fellow officers. Whistleblowing (police officers reporting other officers' misconduct)
1144-501: The effects of the blue wall of silence is exposing those who follow it. Many states have taken measures in police academies to promote the exposure of the blue code. In most cities, before being admitted into the academy one must pass a criminal background check . Through additional background checks, polygraph testing, and psychological evaluations, certain departments are better able to select individuals who are less likely to condone wrongdoing. In these departments, police are exposed to
1188-407: The law are considered to be corrupt, while officers who follow the code may participate in some of these acts during their careers for personal matters or in order to protect or support fellow officers. All of these are considered illegal offenses and are grounds for suspension or immediate dismissal. Officers who follow the code are unable to report fellow officers who participate in corruption due to
1232-471: The necessary paperwork to conduct a search or (2) were involved in falsifying documents or committing perjury. A double standard exists of perceived rewards or a dismissal of charges for an officer with overwhelming evidence of guilt for unlawful criminal offenses. This double standard is further supported by police commands providing the “slap on the wrist” after strategizing a delay to reduce public media attention. Police culture, or "cop culture", as it
1276-404: The officer is found guilty, officers can be sued by the victim for damage caused by police brutality , false arrest and imprisonment , malicious prosecution , and wrongful death . Federal laws strongly prohibit officer misconduct, including officers who follow the code by " testilying " or failing to report any officer who is participating in corruption. If an officer is in violation of any of
1320-439: The officer misconduct federal laws, only the federal government can issue a suit. The police department is only responsible for preventing corruption among officers. If an officer is convicted, they may be forced to pay high fines or be imprisoned. To be convicted, the plaintiffs must prove that the officer was following the "code" or participating in negligence and unlawful conduct. It is often hard to convict an officer of following
1364-559: The phrase "thin blue line" is from a 1911 poem by Nels Dickmann Anderson, titled "The Thin Blue Line". In the poem, the phrase is used to refer to the United States Army , alluding both to the Thin Red Line and to the fact that US Army soldiers wore blue uniforms from the eighteenth century through the nineteenth century. It is unknown when the term was first used to refer to police. New York police commissioner Richard Enright used
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1408-619: The phrase in 1922. In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Parker often used the term in speeches, and he also lent the phrase to the department-produced television show The Thin Blue Line . Parker used the term "thin blue line" to further reinforce the role of the LAPD. As Parker explained, the thin blue line, representing the LAPD, was the barrier between law and order and social and civil anarchy. The Oxford English Dictionary records its use in 1962 by The Sunday Times referring to police presence at an anti-nuclear demonstration. The phrase
1452-639: The police, appeared as well as at the January 6 United States Capitol attack , during which police officers were beaten and attacked by the mob of Trump supporters and far right extremists. Police departments in Madison, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California have banned the thin blue line US flag because of its associations with views and ideologies described as "undemocratic, racist, and bigoted." Merriam, Kansas council voted to ban thin blue line flags from its Independence Day celebrations. The "Thin Blue Line" flag
1496-414: The prosecutor's words, though the trial resulted in a wrongful conviction and death sentence. According to a 2018 law review article, "thin blue line" also refers to an unwritten code of silence used to cover up police misconduct, also known as the blue wall of silence , a term dating back to 1978. The "thin blue line" symbol has been used by the " Blue Lives Matter " movement, which emerged in 2014 as
1540-399: The strengthening of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable Search and Seizure, evidentiary rules forbidding the use at trial of evidence tainted by unconstitutional police actions, and the establishment of the so-called Miranda Warning requiring officers to advise detained suspects of their constitutional rights." This would result in the criminalization of officers who (1) did not have
1584-598: The symbol "are embracing an outlaw mentality" and "it's as offensive as putting a Confederate flag on a government building". Conway has also responded by trying to "reclaim the logo" by selling t-shirts adorned with the Punisher logo and Black Lives Matter, with sales going directly to Black Lives Matter-related charities. The flag was banned by the LAPD from being displayed in public settings in January 2023. Variations representing professions other than law enforcement exist, such as
1628-500: The symbol has also been used by the Blue Lives Matter movement in the United States, which aims to show solidarity with the police, and a number of far-right movements in the U.S., particularly after the Unite the Right rally in 2017. The term is adapted from The Thin Red Line , an incident of the 1854 Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War where troops the 93rd Regiment of Foot successfully stood their ground against
1672-462: The symbol say that it is about paying their respects to law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty, and of officers showing mutual solidarity against attacks by critics , criminals and the general public . In recent years the use and display of the Thin Blue Line symbol has attracted controversy in several communities. Since 2015, several jurisdictions have issued injunctions against
1716-717: The unwritten laws of their "police family". Police perjury or "testilying" (in United States police slang) is when an officer gives false testimony in court. Officers who do not lie in court may sometimes be threatened and ostracized by fellow police officers. In 1992, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption (also known as the Mollen Commission ) undertook a two-year investigation on perjury in law enforcement. They discovered that some officers falsified documents such as arrest reports, warrants and evidence to provide "cover" for an illegal arrest or search. Some police officers also fabricated stories when testifying before
1760-416: The use of Thin Blue Line imagery on police uniforms or in other official capacities by emergency services. Blue wall of silence The blue wall of silence , also blue code and blue shield , are terms used to denote an informal code of silence among police officers in the United States not to report on a colleague 's errors, misconduct, or crimes, especially as related to police brutality in
1804-411: The values needed to make it to a high rank in their organization. Some words used to describe these values are as follows: a sense of mission, action, cynicism , pessimism, machismo , suspicion, conservatism , isolation and solidarity . The unique demands that are placed on police officers, such as the threat of danger, as well as scrutiny by the public, generate a tightly woven environment conducive to
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1848-542: Was brutally beaten by multiple police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department . The officers involved were expected to have been following the "blue code". They claimed that the beating was lawful, but it was not until a videotape of the incident was released when it was confirmed that the officers had collectively fabricated their stories. In the later 1990s, the FBI arrested 42 officers from five law enforcement agencies in 1998 on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In
1892-543: Was headed by Mayor John V. Lindsay in 1970. Over 20 years after the Knapp Commission the Mollen Commission was established in 1992 by New York City Mayor David Dinkins to investigate the nature and extent of corruption in the New York City Police Department NYPD , and to recommend changes to improve these procedures. These and other investigations have revealed details of the inner workings of
1936-495: Was used for the title of Errol Morris 's 1988 documentary film The Thin Blue Line about the murder of the Dallas Police officer Robert W. Wood. Judge Don Metcalfe, who presided over the trial of Randall Adams , states in the film that prosecutor "Doug Mulder's final argument was one I'd never heard before: about the 'thin blue line' of police that separate the public from anarchy." The judge admitted to being deeply moved by
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