Contempt of Code: Police Agency and Peer Responses to Whistleblower Reports of Internal Misconduct

• In Event: Responses to Police Misconduct: Promises and Pitfalls

Abstract

Police agency and peer responses to whistleblower reports of internal misconduct were analyzed drawing on data from interviews with 23 self-described police whistleblowers. Participants said their agencies regarded the whistleblowing – not the misconduct – as undesirable and deviant behavior and took actions to bury their reports. Further, participants faced three forms of retaliation for blowing the whistle: social shunning, career sabotage, and physical and interpersonal aggression. Finally, the harmful effects of the retaliation were significant and long lasting for many. This research unpacks the repercussions faced by officers who violate the code of silence and sheds light on cultural barriers to accountability in policing.

Author

• Natalie Todak, University of Alabama at Birmingham