Robert Daley’s Target blue: An insider’s view of the NYPD is a nonfiction exposé of the New York Police Department (NYPD) events during his one-year tenure as a Deputy Commissioner. The positive aspects in this text persuade readers to appreciate police work, but it is impossible to overlook the traumatic crisis that almost destroyed this institution. Being a police officer in New York City is an honorable occupation whereby employees within the force formed a meaningful bond because they understood the threats of dealing with the overwhelming crime wave. However, the 1970s was also a period characterized by police brutality on ethnic minorities and cases of corruption. Because of these themes, this memoir explores the struggles of maintaining law and order within big cities. Target blue discusses the significance of police culture within NYPD as a means of understanding the world while questioning the use of force and corruption that put New York on the path of destruction, themes exposing the challenges of police work in big cities within the U.S.
The Police Culture
The culture within the NYPD was characterized by police morality, solidarity within the ranks, understanding of lingering danger, and continuous suspicion, factors that helped law enforcement officers make sense of the world and its role in it. Like all workplaces, this institution relied on norms, beliefs, and values. However, being a police officer in a large city was a challenge, although many wanted to be considered crucial members of society (Daley, 1973). As a result of being sidelined due to the threats they faced, NYPD formed a way of life that they unanimously familiarize with when executing duties. This institution’s culture influenced the decisions, behavior, and discretion of police officers.
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Police Morality
As New York City crumbled in moral crises, the NYPD established values and ethics that defined their duties. Target blue investigates the importance of police work in respecting police moral codes without bending the culture of an institution. Daley (1973, p. 42) states that "moral muscle, once weakened, too often couldn't stand up to any pressure at all." Noteworthy, police officers make decisions that reflect on their beliefs regarding the use of firearms in the line of executing their duties. During training, police academies teach law enforcement trainees ways of using guns when necessary. Reliance on moralistic understandings for police tasks offers a salve for their difficulties when encountering organized crimes in big cities.
Solidarity
Solidarity in the NYPD during the 1970s was a common feature of police culture that displayed a form of brotherhood. Broadly defined, this is a sense of belonging and cohesion developed as part of a team of workmates who share the same problems, concerns, lifestyles, and even social roles. For instance, police officers who were facing disciplinary actions for petty offenses in Target blue received Christmas amnesty as a sign of solidarity (Daley, 1973). This notion is a concept that every employee goes through difficulties, and it is a norm to forgive minor mistakes. Considering the traumatic circumstances they face in the field, police officers share a mutual understanding of the need to stay loyal to each other due to the bond that ties them. As such, this loyalty is an unwritten law among law enforcement institutions.
Lurking Danger
Another fundamental feature that the author articulates involves the preoccupation feeling of danger lurking within the streets of New York City. Police officers understood the presence of dangerous criminals, individuals who threatened the lives of the former. During policing, they established a tendency of making decisions based on the situations in the field. For example, during face-to-face shoot-outs, police officers would depend on the bravery of their guns to outwit criminals, which the author suggests is a symbol of responsibility (Daley, 1973). Big cities are breeding grounds for criminals, a situation that places the lives of law enforcement agents in a life or death situation. Therefore, preparing for danger is a long-held conviction among police officers in big cities.
Suspicions
The book also discusses the unifying aspect of reasonable suspicion among law enforcement officers, a common belief that influences their behaviors. In Target blue, detectives depended on memory and intuition to construct rare ideas in police work (Daley, 1973). An interesting fact to note in this context suggests that police work during this era, such as questioning suspects, inspecting outstanding warrants, and arresting culprits, were activities that came as a result of intuition. Considering the magnitude of big cities and the prevalence of crime waves, being suspicious is a fundamental feature of police culture.
Use of Force
Target blue also exposes the prevalence of police misconduct and excessive use of force, suggesting that the city was heading towards a path of self-destruction. The regularity of police brutality displayed a negative reputation on NYPD. For several years, New York City had the “tightest procedure in the country concerning the use of force by its police officers” (Daley, 1973, p. 104). The penal laws controlled the high rates of criminal offenses. However, excessive use of force can cause injury or death, leading to unprecedented consequences on the institution and the society. In the end, police brutality when making arrests or during confrontations tarnishes community relations and also indicated a meaningful relationship with racism.
Community Relationships
Police brutality hinders progress in establishing an effective relationship with the community. The affiliation between residents and law enforcement is imperative to the safety of the society, proving that these two parties are dependent on each other. Noteworthy, police officials rely on citizens to relay information about crimes in the neighborhoods. In return, these officials enforce the law, investigate criminal activities, and maintain public order and safety. Failure to trust police procedures or step forward with information makes police work less effective (Daley, 1973). While this is true, the general public mistrusts the institution because of this excessive use of force when fulfilling duties. Understandably, crime waves in the 1970s encouraged the criminal justice system to retaliate, but Target blue highlights these procedures in executing responsibilities to destroy the public image. Mistrust turns into fear, and this creates a barrier in the communication between these two parties. According to Daley (1973), agencies can eliminate the atmosphere of terror by implementing special techniques to restore this relationship. Under such situations, the objective of public relations within various police departments involves maintaining the public image while sustaining several definition roles and functions. Regardless of these efforts, building trust with the community is an uphill task, especially if the general public comes from big cities. More often, there is a high likelihood of large cities with a diverse population facing police oppression, which means that minorities can be victims of police brutality. In some instances, alleged misconduct by one law enforcement officer damages police-community rapport locally and countrywide trust in the police work.
Racism
Target blue focuses on racism as a fundamental feature of police brutality, from which officials routinely target neighborhoods notorious for criminal offenses. Although the book refrains from linking the use of excessive force on minorities, it suggests that they are victims of racial profiling. For example, about 65% of the arrests were African-Americans, 15% were Hispanics, and 20% were Caucasians (Daley, 1973). The combined 80% represent racial disparity in law enforcement, a curiosity that suggests that minorities are victims of unfair police procedures. As the book reports, the crimes took place in African-American neighborhoods (Daley, 1973). Regardless of these outcomes, Daley explores a common problem during the infancy of the U.S. and the present society. Historically, police focused their interest on minorities within high crime locations that are alleged to be the source of high crime rates. Target blue is cautious when linking racism and police brutality but hints through the phrase "armed goons of this racist government" (Daley, 1973, p. 91). This reference is a clue to the racial tension that was destroying New York City in the 1970s. Worth considering, while police brutality yields results, they damage the reputation of the criminal justice system, questioning the legality and morality of discriminating minority social groups within the community. Worth considering, the status of a police department is crucial in big cities because it reflects the state of community relations within the society. A negative reputation due to racist and biased arrests can create a reaction from the targeted communities, symbolizing the legal system's failure in large cities.
Police Corruption and Police Integrity
Police corruption destroys the police integrity commonly witnessed in a police operation in the U.S. In Target blue , Daley argues that police corruption is a challenge facing the NYPD and implicates that it laid the path to the city's destruction. Broadly defined, police corruption refers to misconduct by law enforcement officials through abusing power bestowed upon them for personal reasons. This mischief usually involves one or a team of agents who desecrate police integrity. On numerous occasions, the book describes several cases and exposé of police misconduct. A series of scandals in the NYPD involved bribes and missing or stolen evidence such as heroin (Daley, 1973). While these forms of corruption are predictable, they damage the public image of police departments. In response, the book states that the formation of the Knapp Commission investigated these cases after Frank Serpico and David, whistleblowers, exposed the decay within the law enforcement institution (Daley, 1973). The widespread police corruption reflects how this misconduct desecrates police integrity, which was built for several years.
The main problem with police corruption in big cities involves accounting for the integrity and activities of each officer in the field. Internal affairs can help reduces such cases, but individuals involved in corruption can get away with bribery. However, police misconduct based on personal gain symbolizes social decay characterized by dishonesty between citizens and law enforcers. In other words, it destroys the honest relationship between the community and those supposed to enforce law and order. Efforts to mitigate high rates of corruption should focus on investigations in the who, when, and what model. In doing so, the criminal justice system might be in a better place to find culprits, time, and causes of police misconduct. Likewise, it will bridge the expanding gap of trust and confidence between law enforcement institutions and the community.
Causes
Police corruption, as explained in Target blue , occurs as a result of internal pressures. First, lack of accountability guarantees continued corrupt activities when policing. For example, police commissioners entertained the idea of rooting out corruption, but nobody made arrests, indicating a command structure that was lethargic in taking responsibility (Daley, 1973, p. 147). The role of leaders in every police department involves being accountable for the misbehavior of subordinates and for failing to change police culture. Second, an informal code of silence in agencies destroys the reputation of law enforcement institutions within a city. While staying silent protects the brotherhood within police officers, it affects the transparency within the institution. For example, a police commissioner stayed silent for five years despite the growing distrust and fears from the general public (Daley, 1973, p. 147). For these reasons, the causes of corruption originate from issues within the agencies.
Impact on Officers, Agency, Community
The devastating impacts of police corruption negatively affect officers, the agencies involved, and the community. First, law enforcement officers face humiliation and lose their jobs. In Target blue , after a series of Knapp Commission investigations, Commissioner Murphy fired the captain in charge of the precinct whose corrupt officers were caught stealing meat (Daley, 1973). Second, the impact on agencies and the community are interrelated. There is a loss of confidence and partnership between these two parties, as citizens will avoid reporting crime, and precincts will have little or no information on how to tackle soaring crime rates. The community becomes victims of human rights violations, and agencies become accountable for criminal offenses that may take place.
In conclusion, Target blue investigates the importance of police culture within the NYPD as a preferred tool of understanding the world, whereas the book questions the existence of police brutality and corruption as factors that nearly destroyed New York City. Together, these three themes describe the challenges of police work in big cities. Police culture, such as solidarity and a shared sense of intuition, unites law enforcement officials. However, excessive use of force not only desecrates community relations but also negatively affects racial minorities through racial profiling. Equally important, the prevalence of police corruption, caused by a lack of accountability and the existence of a code of silence, tarnishes police integrity. Target Blue also confirms that police misconduct can lead to job losses and mistrust of officials, agencies, and the community. In short, the book reveals how fundamentally broken the criminal justice system is in the history of the U.S.
Reference
Daley, R. (1973). Target blue: An insider’s view of the NYPD . Delacorte Press.
