The Thin Blue Line

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.

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,Switzerland, and Poland.

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.

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