From time to time, people find themselves in dilemmas, especially in their professional lives. One has their personal ethical values which they would want to uphold, and on the other side, there are some aspects of the organizational cultures that conflict their most treasured values. The U.S police force and criminal investigative agencies are some of the bodies that have come under fire for retrogressive organization cultures (Human Rights Watch, n.d.) . This culture prevents officers who would want to expose different evils in the police force from speaking out. Testifying before the Knapp Commission, Frank Serpico exposed the systematic corruption that had plagued the police force (Chin & Wells, 1998) . He was later shot in the face in what he believed was in retaliation for the whistleblowing. It is now almost 50 years since the incident, and there is no reason to think that much has changed.
The Blue wall of silence
The blue wall of silence, also called the blue code, is a culture that purportedly exists in the police force, where officers avoid reporting or testifying against fellow officers who are involved in crimes and misconducts (Chin & Wells, 1998) . While the word “purportedly” has been used, different incidents and studies that have confirmed that the blue code is real. In 1992, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption conducted a study on perjury in the police force. The study revealed that some officers had given false testimonies in court and falsified arrest reports to protect their colleagues (Chin & Wells, 1998) . Besides the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption study, the 1990s saw other investigations that proved the existence of the blue code.
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Breaking through the blue wall of silence
For those that choose to break the blue code, there are serious repercussions. One of the main consequences is being isolated by other officers and being branded a snitch (Hayden, 2019) . Testifying before the 1992 Mollen Commission, one officer revealed that if a police officer decided to tell on another, the whistleblower's career would effectively be ruined (Human Rights Watch, n.d.) . Philip Hayden, who testified against a fellow officer who was charged with unlawfully shooting a black teenager, says breaking through the blue wall of silence is not easy (Hayden, 2019) . I t is seen as disloyalty to fellow officers. Seeing as whistleblowing has unpleasant consequences, having strong individual values can make a police officer break the blue code. It goes down to what the officer values: would they rather see victims get justice or preserve their loyalty to their colleagues? Nevertheless, there should be programs to support, reward, and protect whistleblowers in the police force; they should not suffer for their good deeds.
Ensuring faithful followership
Whether in the church or civic leadership, the role of a leader should be empowering their followers and influencing them to achieve the group’s mission (Lee, 2015) . To maintain faithful followership, the leadership should be consistent with God’s wishes. Jesus urged his disciples to follow him, and he was always an embodiment of what he wanted of his followers (Lee, 2015) . That is the first secret to ensuring faithful followership; the leader should first do what they expect of their followers. It is easier for the followers to learn by example than by word of mouth. Further, leaders should involve the group when setting the goals and planning on how to achieve them. They should also be ready to adjust their goals in response to their followers’ needs. Finally, from time to time, leaders should evaluate their leadership to see if it is serving God or themselves.
References
Chin, G. J., & Wells, S. (1998). The ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ as Evidence of Bias and Motive to Lie: A New Approach to Police Perjury. University of Pittsburg Law Review , 233-248.
Hayden, P. (2019, January 31). Why an ex-FBI agent decided to break through the blue wall of silence. Retrieved September 13, 2019, from USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2019/01/31/blue-wall-of-silence-policing-the-usa-cops-community/2604929002/
Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). Code of Silence. Retrieved September 12, 2019, from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/reports98/police/uspo27.htm#P676_188702.
Lee, C. (2015). Becoming an Effective Christian Leader. Retrieved September 12, 2019, from LeadershipatLarge: http://wmu.com/sites/default/files/documents/LeadershipAtLarge.pd f
