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Thin blue line
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This article is about the law enforcement symbol. For other uses, see The Thin Blue Line (disambiguation).
The "Thin Blue Line" symbol
The Thin Blue Line is a phrase and symbol used by law enforcement. The phrase refers figuratively to the position of law enforcement in society as a bulwark between order and anarchy. The symbol depicts a thin blue line, representing law enforcement, against a black background, and is commonly used to express solidarity with police, to commemorate policemen who have perished in the line of duty, and to symbolize the relationship of law enforcement with the community as the protectors of the community from criminals and victimization.[1]
The term began as an allusion to the famous Thin Red Line. The symbol's origins are not certain, but it is now prevalent in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium,[2] Switzerland[3], and Poland.[4]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Symbolism
3 Variations
4 Controversy
5 References
History[edit]
The Thin Red Line
The term is derived from the Thin Red Line, a formation of the 93rd Highland Regiment of Foot of the British Army at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, in which the Highlanders stood their ground against a Russian cavalry charge. This action was widely publicized by the press and became one of the most famous of the Crimean War.
The first known use of the phrase "thin blue line" is from a 1911 poem by Nels Dickmann Anderson, titled "The Thin Blue Line." In the poem, the phrase is used to refer to the United States Army, alluding to the Thin Red Line, and to the fact that US Army soldiers wore blue uniforms from the eighteenth century through the nineteenth century.[5] [6]
It is unknown when the term was first used to refer to police. In the 1950's, LAPD Chief Bill Parker used the phrase in the department-produced television show of the same name.[7] Parker coined the term thin blue line to further reinforce the role of the LAPD. As Parker explained, the thin blue line, representing the LAPD, was the barrier between law and order and social and civil anarchy.[8] The phrase is also documented in a 1965 pamphlet by the Massachusetts government, referring to its state police force, and in even earlier police reports of the NYPD. By the early 1970's, the term had spread to police departments across the United States.[6]
Use of the term became especially widespread following the release of Errol Morris' 1988 documentary film The Thin Blue Line, about the murder of a Dallas Police officer Robert W Wood.[6] Judge Don Metcalfe, who presided over the trial of Randall Adams, states in the film that prosecutor "Doug Mulder's final argument was one I'd never heard before: about the 'thin blue line' of police that separate the public from anarchy." The judge admitted to being deeply moved by the prosecutor's words, though the trial resulted in a wrongful conviction and death sentence.[9]
Symbolism[edit]
Union Jack variation of Thin Blue Line emblem
Black and white American flag with Thin Blue Line.
The symbol is simply a thin blue line upon a black background. The blue line is intended to represent law enforcement. The entire emblem is intended to represent the police as a thin blue line that stands between anarchy and law and order, and is primarily used as a mark of respect for fallen policemen.
Proponents say that the idea behind the graphic is that law enforcement is a Thin Blue Line that stands between chaos and order or between criminals and the potential victims of crime, and it is primarily used to show solidarity with police.[10] Opponents note that the representations of the public and the criminals as black bars on either side of the blue line are identical, and suggest that the symbology ironically represents a police vs. everyone else mindset.[11]

Variations[edit]
Variations on the emblem have been made, including a horizontal thin blue line across a Union Jack rendered in black and white in the United Kingdom, or on a black and white American flag in the United States. The sale of badges with these emblems has been used to raise money for families of police officers that have died in the line of duty.
After the popularity of The Thin Blue Line emblem for law enforcement came a number of other "thin lines".
United Kingdom:
The Thin Green Line - Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
The Thin Red Line - Fire services in the United Kingdom
The Thin Purple Line - Immigration Enforcement and Border Force
The Thin Orange Line - Her Majesty's Coastguard
The Thin Yellow Line - Highways England Traffic Officer Service
United States of America:
The Thin Orange Line – Search and Rescue Personnel, sometimes used by civilians possessing a concealed carry weapon permit
The Thin Red Line - firefighters[12]
The Thin Grey Line Fugitive Recovery Agents, Bail Bonds Officers, Bounty Hunters
The Thin Silver Line – Corrections officers
The Thin Yellow Line – Tow Truck Drivers, The Old Line for Loss Prevention Officers, Security Officers
The Thin Green Line - Military, Park Rangers, US Border Patrol, and Environment Services Personnel
The Thin Gold Line – Dispatcher
The Thin White Line – Emergency medical services. The thin white line differs from other thin lines in that the background is blue instead of black, with a white line crossing horizontally through the middle. EMS also still uses the "Thin Orange Line" which is primarily used by Search and Rescue.
The Thin Black Line – Nurses. The thin black line differs from other thin lines because it is a white background with a horizontal black line through the middle.
Controversy[edit]
A blue laser beam was projected during the 24th annual National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on 13 May 2012 in Washington, D.C.
The Thin Blue Line emblem has been controversial in both the US and the UK.
In 2015, police officers in Sussex, England were told by their superiors to remove the badge from their uniforms since it was not part of their official uniform. There was a concern that it could be seen as a political statement related to cutbacks in police forces.[13][14]
In Chicago, in November 2016, counterprotesters carried the black and white US flag variant of the symbol to show support for police after a police shooting of a black man. The counterprotesters carried the symbol in confrontations with another group of protesters who felt the shooting was unjust and racially motivated.[15]
The black and white US version of the flag with the Thin Blue Line has been seen by some as a desecration of the official US flag.[1]
In Warwick, New York, the painting of a blue line down a roadway was protested by some citizens as being in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. The town has since painted the line red white and blue, the colors of the US flag.[16]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Jack Phillips, "'Thin Blue Line' Flags Appear Across the US", Epoch Times, 12 July 2016
Jump up ^ "Belgium Blue Line".
Jump up ^ "Thin Blue Line Switzerland".
Jump up ^ "Cienka Niebieska Linia".
Jump up ^ "The Voice of the Infinite". Retrieved October 1, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c Meagan Day, "The problem with the ‘thin blue line?’ Cops aren’t the army", Timeline, 14 July 2016
Jump up ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1992-05-25/news/mn-236_1_police-brutality
Jump up ^ Lasley, J. (2012). Los Angeles Police Department Meltdown: The fall of the professional reform model of policing. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Jump up ^ "Thin Blue Line: Interview Gallery". Errol Morris. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
Jump up ^ Brenda Waters, "Thousands Line Canonsburg Streets To Pay Final Respects To Fallen Officer", CBS local, 16 November 2016
Jump up ^ "The 'Thin Blue Line' Serves No Purpose | Zero Hedge". www.zerohedge.com. 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
Jump up ^ http://www.ncfff.org/memorial/red-line-of-courage/
Jump up ^ James Murray, "Fury as police told not to wear UK flag badge in memory of colleagues killed" Express, 12 October 2015
Jump up ^ "Sussex PC told to remove union jack police charity badge", BBC 17 February 2015
Jump up ^ Howard Ludwig, "Three Groups of Protesters Come Face To Face in Mount Greenwood", DNAinfo, 20 November 2016
Jump up ^ Richard J. Bayne, "Blue line causes friction in Warwick", Times Herald-Record, 6 December 2016
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thin_blue_line&oldid=807070558"
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