What is "blue wall of silence"

n. (context idiomatic English) strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.

n. the secrecy of police officers who lie or look the other way to protect other police officers; "the blue wall cracked when some officers refused to take part in the cover-up" [syn: blue wall, wall of silence]

The blue wall of silence, also blue code and blue shield, are terms used in the United States to denote the unwritten rule that exists among police officers not to report on a colleague's errors, misconducts, or crimes. If questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another officer (e.g. during the course of an official inquiry), while following the code, the officer being questioned would claim ignorance of another officer's wrongdoing.