Testing the Theoretical Relationship Between the Role of the Society at Large and the Willingness to Adhere to the Police Code of Silence

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the role of the society at large and the code of silence in China and South Korea. Although both countries embrace Confucianism and have similar geographic, political, and cultural traditions, they have developed quite distinctly in recent years. The data for this study were collected from police officers attending in-service training at national training academies in both countries using the police integrity methodology. The respondents evaluated four scenarios describing examples of police corruption. Our multivariate models demonstrate that, once the police integrity measures and demographic characteristics are controlled for, the country has an independent effect on the respondents’ adherence to the code of silence in all four scenarios. These results suggest that, despite many commonalities in their cultural and political traditions, two countries create different integrity environments.