blue code of silence

An unspoken policy of concealment by police regarding the wrongdoing or illicit activity of other officers. Primarily heard in US. I respect the need for the police, but it's hard to trust them completely when so many stories of the blue code of silence come to light. The proliferation of smartphones, and their ability to record video, has made the blue code of silence much harder to maintain. Of course the police chief is trying to keep all of this out of the media—he abides by the blue code of silence.