Young on “thin blue line” patch

Justice Studies Prof. Michael Young offered his observations to CHEK News, Global BC, Times Colonist and Vancouver Province on a recent decision by Victoria Police to disallow police officers from the wearing a “thin blue line” patch on their uniforms.

Here’s an excerpt from CHEK News:  

Some reports have shown the thin blue sign symbol linked to far-right movements and experts say it goes in the face of those pushing for police reform.

“The police are often perceived to be at the front of that structural injustice and some groups might feel singled out, and the thin blue line really is a second level of the icon of enforcement that the police hold that other populations are negatively affected by,” said Michael Young, professor of justice studies at Royal Roads University.

“Public support is the ultimate cornerstone for police effectiveness so if police want to be effective and be supported then they should get the public support for actions or emblems that may provoke others within the populations that they’re serving,” he said.

Read more in the Times Colonist and on CHEK News.