Date of Award

1-26-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Second Advisor

Dr. Kristina Morehouse

Abstract

The use of a code of silence continues to serve as a major communication barrier, specifically in African American communities. This well-known no-snitching rule, blocks law enforcement officers from getting the information they need to solve cases in African American communities. This thesis looks into the effects of the silent dialogue through the Communication Privacy Management Theory and the Social Identity Theory in an effort to better understand and identify factors that lead to police distrust, communication gaps, and uneasiness among people in high-crime African American communities. The increasing media reports of African American young men (who are seemingly innocent) killed by people in “authority” is creating an even larger gap between police and the African American community. Ethnographic research through interviews with former gang members, a Dressor, police officer, and people found similar themes that enhance the already-existing code of silence. Results find that the code of silence continues to live in these high-crime African-American communities due to cultural factors, socioeconomic status, dis-trust of law enforcement agencies, and lack of racial diversity among these law enforcement agencies. The people interviewed also posed realistic solutions to combating this problem such as restructuring the racial makeup of police departments, improving policing tactics in African American communities, and police taking an active approach to improve relations with people in these communities.

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