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Ethical Climate Theory, Whistle-blowing, and the Code of Silence in Police Agencies in the State of Georgia

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Abstract

This article reports the findings from a study that investigates the relationship between ethical climates and police whistle-blowing on five forms of misconduct in the State of Georgia. The results indicate that a friendship or team climate generally explains willingness to blow the whistle, but not the actual frequency of blowing the whistle. Instead, supervisory status, a control variable investigated in previous studies, is the most consistent predictor of both willingness to blow the whistle and frequency of blowing the whistle. Contrary to popular belief, the results also generally indicate that police are more inclined than civilian employees to blow the whistle in Georgia – in other words, they are less inclined to maintain a code of silence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 108 Woodlawn Dr., Perry, GA, 31069, U.S.A.

    Gary R. Rothwell

  2. The University of Alabama, 870213, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0213, U.S.A.

    J. Norman Baldwin

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  1. Gary R. Rothwell
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  2. J. Norman Baldwin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Norman Baldwin.

Additional information

Gary R. Rothwell is the Special Agent in Charge of Region 13 of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, an office serving ten counties in middle Georgia. He holds a Doctorate of Public Administration from The University of Alabama, and his research interests include organization climates, code of silence, and whistle-blowing behavior.

J. Norman Baldwin is an associate professor and the director of the Master of Public Administration program at The University of Alabama. His research interests include differences between public and private organizations, whistle-blowing behavior, and equal promotion opportunity in race- and gender-dominant organizations.

Appendix A: Survey items

Appendix A: Survey items

I. Examples of items measuring the dependent variables

  1. 1.

    A co-worker has a second job and often conducts business related to this additional employment on agency time without seriously interfering with regular job performance.

  2. 2.

    A co-worker routinely accepts free meals, cigarettes, and other items of small value from merchants that may use the services of your agency.

  3. 3.

    A co-worker accepts a small gift from a citizen in return for not enforcing a minor agency regulation.

  4. 4.

    You are certain a co-worker committed a minor violation of agency policy.

  5. 5.

    How many time have you witnessed a co-worker violate a minor agency policy?

  6. 6.

    How many times have you reported a co-worker for minor violations of agency policy?

Measures of the control variables

  1. 1.

    Are you employed now as a sworn law enforcement officer?

  2. 2.

    Are you a supervisor?

  3. 3.

    How many years have you worked as a sworn officer?

  4. 4.

    How many years have you worked for your current agency?

  5. 5.

    How many sworn police officers are employed by your current agency?

  6. 4.

    How many persons are employed by your current agency?

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Rothwell, G.R., Baldwin, J.N. Ethical Climate Theory, Whistle-blowing, and the Code of Silence in Police Agencies in the State of Georgia. J Bus Ethics 70, 341–361 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9114-5

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