ABSTRACT
The sense of “us vs. them” that develops between cops and the outside world forges a bond between cops whose strength is fabled. It is called the brotherhood in blue, and it inspires a fierce and unquestioning loyalty to all cops, everywhere. It is widened by the dependence cops have on each other for safety and backup. The response to a summons to help is a cop’s life-line. An “assist police officer” is every cop’s first priority. The ultimate betrayal is for one cop to fail to back up another (Bouza, 1990:74).
