Ethical Climate Theory, Whistle-blowing, and the Code of Silence in Police Agencies in the State of Georgia
Gary R. Rothwell, J. Norman Baldwin
Journal of Business Ethics · 2007 · Volume 70 · Issue 4
DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9114-5
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 arelessinclined to maintain a code of silence.
Keywords
Ethical Climate Theory, whistle-blowing, code of silence, Georgia, United States
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