A code of silence is a condition in effect when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be vital or important information voluntarily or involuntarily.
The code of silence is usually followed because of threat of force or danger to oneself, or being branded as a traitor or an outcast within the unit or organization, as the experience of police whistleblower Frank Serpico illustrates. Police are known to have a well-developed blue wall of silence.[1][2][3]
A more well-known example of the code of silence is the omertà, the Sicilian Mafia code of silence.
See also
- Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- Stop Snitchin’
- Spotlight, a 2015 film that explores a communal code of silence that reigned during the Boston sex abuse scandal
- Prisoner’s dilemma (Logic for using a code of silence)
References
- Maxwell, Bill (25 July 2010). “Code of silence corrodes morality, puts blacks at risk”. Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- “Judgment day for Chicago’s police code of silence”. Chicago Tribune. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Chin, Gabriel; Wells, Jack (14 January 1998). “The ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ as Evidence of Bias and Motive to Lie: A New Approach to Police Perjury”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 59 (3): 233–299. SSRN 1810012 – via Elsevier.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Mullen, Ann (8 November 2000). “Breaking the blue code”. Detroit Metro Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ Thurman, Quint; Giacomazzi, Andrew (2010). Controversies in Policing. Elsevier. p. 62. ISBN 9781437755183.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)