Professional Courtesy 1

Professional Courtesy:
Implications on Public Safety
Rachel Fuller

Criminal Justice
Professor John Hill
Salt Lake Community College

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Professional Courtesy:
Implications on Public Safety
Professional courtesy is something we all hear about, and most of us envy. Who wouldnt
jump at the chance to get out of a speeding ticket, a parking violation, or to just not be pulled
over at all? Professional courtesy goes from police officers to other government employees,
people they know, or family. However, this courtesy is extended most often between police
officers themselves. There are many names for this behavior in the force: Blue Code of
Silence, The Code, or The Blue Curtain. This behavior sometimes seems inconsequential
and often seems like a little thing. Nevertheless, this behavior is dangerous and can lead to more
corruption with serious implications. It does this by implying to other officers that they are above
the law, which should not be the case. Police officers should be seen as exampled to others, and
should in fact, be held to a higher standard than the rest of us.
This professional courtesy often goes above and beyond the behavior we come to know it
with, such as parking violations or speeding tickets. But it is these small courtesys that spiral
into the bigger problems. In a study done by the executive director of the National Institute of
Ethics, Neal Trautman, it was found that excessive use of force was the most common form of
misconduct protected by this code of silence (Mullens, 2000). Officers understand what it is like
to lose your temper in an attempt to arrest a criminal. Disrespect and resisting arrest can be
frustrating and angering things to deal with. Yet, police officers are expected to protect the law,
and the rights of every individual. Knowing their behavior wont be reported, angry officers are
much more likely to abuse their power, and take their frustrations out with physical force and
abuse. The silence goes beyond this problem, however. The Sun-Sentinel has led many
investigations about speeding or reckless driving incidences with cops. A 13-month investigation

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found 5,100 high-speed incidents, of which 96% were cops driving over 90 mph (Balko,
2014). They found 21 incidents of citizens being left dead or severely disabled after bringing hit
by speeding officers, some exceeding 120 mph (Balko, 2014). These studies also found that in
88% of cases, officers werent issued a citation (Balko, 2014). These cases increase in severity,
even going into cases of drunk driving. This unwillingness to report your fellow officers shows
in these numbers, and continues to pile up until, eventually, someone is killed through a police
officers disregard for others safety. As said by Lord Acton in the 1800s, power tends to
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Research).
Looking at all of these cases of the Blue Code, we see a pattern of corruption and lawbreaking. Still, there are more implications than the obvious wrong-doings that can be seen
through that actions, or in-actions of officers. These implications have to do with the mindset and
attitudes of the officers and their leaders. Radley Balko of The Washington Post in his article, A
plague of professional courtesy, says it may seem like a little thing, letting another cop off on
a speeding charge. But it can reinforce the notion in some officers that theyre above the law
(Balko, 2014). There are officers out there who believe professional courtesy is a right that they
should have, and they get angry when it is not given. In October of 2011, a Highway Patrol
officer Jane Watts, pulled over a fellow officer, Fausto Lopez for speeding. He had a history of
speeding and reckless driving, and Watts cited him. He was later fired. Watts was investigated for
her handling of the incident, and her Highway Patrol department began to see attacks and
aggression from other departments. Watts received many threatening phone calls, was followed,
and her career was effectively over (Balko, 2014). This behavior is also seen on websites, like
the reported Cops Writing Cops website, where officers were provided a forumto publicly
shame fellow cops who had the audacity to ticket them (Balko, 2014). You can clearly see the

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mindset that officers are above the law. This though process leads to increasingly corrupt
behaviors, as seen in these examples, and needs to come to an end.
Instead of corruption, law breaking, and secrecy, officers of the law should be held to a
higher standard than the rest of us. They have the power to arrest, detain, and kill without
consequence. In league with this kind of power, there should be a sense a responsibility and
protection. Instead of feeling less accountable to the law, officers should know that they will be
held accountable, even more so than others around them. Many are investigating ways to stop
this Code of Silence, and end professional courtesy. As Trautman says, The key is to
encourage officers to have loyalty to principles, not to each other (Mullens, 2000).

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Bibliography
Balko, R. (2014, February 18). A plague of professional courtesy. Retrieved April 26, 2016,
from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/02/18/a-plague-ofprofessional-courtesy/
Mullens, A. (2000, November 28). Breaking the blue code. Retrieved April 26, 2016, from
http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/breaking-the-blue-code/Content?oid=2169881
Research. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.acton.org/research/lord-acton-quotearchive