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originated as a warning of the corrupting influence of one corrupt or sinful person on a group: that "one bad apple can spoil the barrel". Over time the concept has been used to describe the opposite situation, where "a few bad apples" should not be seen as representative of the rest of their group.
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Critics of policing have often rejected use of the metaphor, arguing that policing is a fundamentally broken and racist system. They claim that policing is flawed beyond repair, citing black people being disproportionately more targeted by police than white people and referencing that the police
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have pointed out that the proverb began to be used in the opposite sense in the 20th century, instead stating that "a few bad apples" are not representative of a group. According to Zimmer, this usage may have corresponded to the change in the grocery trade, where modern shops sold apples
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individually and would rarely put rotten ones on display, and people stopped thinking of apples as being stored in barrels. Zimmer said that "once the phrase is out there again and people are saying 'one bad apple,' you think, 'What could that mean?' Then you can assign it new meaning."
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in 1736, stating "the rotten apple spoils his companion." The phrase was popularized by sermons during the 19th century, claiming "As one bad apple spoils the others, so you must show no quarter to sin or sinners." A popular form of the saying became "One bad apple spoils the barrel."
524:"I was interviewed by @ABC News about the expression "a few bad apples," which has been used as defensive and minimizing rhetoric in discourse around police brutality. The meaning of the idiom now has shifted dramatically from its historical roots"
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used the bad apples metaphor to defend policing when asked about racial inequality in terms of the justice system, claiming that the vast majority of police officers are "good, decent, honorable men and women".
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Critics of the police also accuse officers in general of being aware of who "bad apple" officers are and being complicit with them, giving as examples the three other officers present not stopping
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when police officers are criticized for alleged misconduct. The metaphor communicates that the few criticized officers do not reflect the performance and behavior of the rest.
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The bad apples metaphor originates from the proverb "A rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor", first recorded as used in
English in 1340. The proverb was rephrased by
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when thousands of
Americans were losing their health insurance. He claimed that it was the fault of "bad apple" insurance companies rather than his Healthcare law.
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240:, that the bad apples argument is a way for police departments to displace blame onto a few officers to avoid criticism and actually changing as a whole.
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found that, while over 80% of officers they surveyed do not believe in keeping silent when aware of misconduct by other officers, 24.9% of them agreed
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speech in June 2020, claiming that there are bad apples in every organization and there remains a need for police to protect citizens. In his first
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Department of
Defense Appropriations: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate
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694:"At Dallas talk on police and race, Trump shrugs off 'bad apples' and again vows to 'dominate the streets'"
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Defense, United States
Congress Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of (2004).
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is that the metaphorical apple tree that officers come from is rotten to its roots and must be replaced.
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administration was characterised by the press as blaming "a few bad apples" for abuse of prisoners.
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metaphor has been used by pro-police politicians, municipalities, and police themselves to defend
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since attempts at reform are ineffective. A common counter metaphor used by critics such as
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gas, which triggers aging and increases ethylene production in other, nearby apples.
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was not worth it, 67.4% of officers believe they are more likely to be given a "
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726:"Column: Bad apples, yes, but it's the system that keeps them on police forces"
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being able to spread from one rotten fruit to others, ripening apples produce
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Pro-police officials were first recorded as using the metaphor following the
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supermarket, encouraging people to report dishonest "bad apple" staff members
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663:"De Sousa: Baltimore police corruption limited to a 'very few bad apples'"
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555:"TWTS: Does one bad apple spoil the others? Not according to the Osmonds"
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472:"TWTS: Does one bad apple spoil the others? Not according to the Osmonds"
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This article is about the
English-language metaphor. For other uses, see
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Beck, Raphe; Wicks La Puma, Deborah; La Puma, Christopher P. (2006).
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Zimmer suggests the change in usage may have been solidified by
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used the bad apple metaphor in a 2013 speech to defend his
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632:"Obama blames 'bad apple' insurers for canceled coverage"
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officers resigned after two officers were suspended for
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One Bad Apple: A New
Musical about a Really Old Story
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This latter version is often used in the context of
197:used the bad apples metaphor to defend police in a
1208:Race in the United States criminal justice system
1146:List of wrongful convictions in the United States
1335:
800:Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America
383:"Bad Apple Proverbs: There's One In Every Bunch"
238:Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America
774:"Bad apples come from rotten trees in policing"
620:. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 659.
218:. They say that existing police forces must be
1307:List of death row inmates in the United States
553:Kruth, Rebecca; Curzan, Anne (June 21, 2020).
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68:The saying has scientific basis: as well as
1161:Overturned convictions in the United States
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170:and it was used following the shootings of
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205:with Donald Trump on September 29, 2020,
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133:surfaced, the condemnation given by the
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1359:Metaphors referring to war and violence
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858:(Paperback). Dramatic Pub. p. 5.
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446:"One 'Bad Apple' Can Spoil a Metaphor"
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1354:Metaphors referring to food and drink
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798:Williams, Kristian (August 3, 2015).
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416:Cunningham, Malorie (June 14, 2020).
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1156:List of miscarriage of justice cases
1151:List of exonerated death row inmates
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1233:Ineffective assistance of counsel
1187:National Registry of Exonerations
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661:Dance, Scott (February 2, 2018).
470:Kruth, Rebecca (April 15, 2021).
329:The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
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724:Litman, Harry (June 10, 2020).
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498:Pearson, John F. (April 1975).
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508:. Hearst Magazines. p. 8.
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381:Nunbert, Geoff (May 5, 2011).
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884:The dictionary definition of
772:Ray, Rashawn (May 30, 2020).
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265:National Institute of Justice
828:"Enhancing Police Integrity"
580:"Abu Ghraib, 10 Years Later"
7:
1213:Innocent prisoner's dilemma
426:. Video by Jessie DiMartino
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30:A watercolor of a bad apple
21:Bad apples (disambiguation)
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1106:Eyewitness identification
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500:"Gas ends bloom of youth"
257:shoving a 75-year-old man
16:English-language metaphor
1279:Innocence Protection Act
939:Prosecutorial misconduct
131:war crimes at Abu Ghraib
1344:14th-century neologisms
1274:Equal Protection Clause
1192:Investigating Innocence
1123:Tampering with evidence
450:www.merriam-webster.com
361:Poor Richard's Almanack
333:Oxford University Press
61:Poor Richard's Almanack
1039:Spoliation of evidence
925:Miscarriage of justice
188:murder of George Floyd
168:beating of Rodney King
117:
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1264:Right to a fair trial
1118:Misinformation effect
964:Selective enforcement
959:Malicious prosecution
954:Selective prosecution
835:Research for Practice
778:Brookings Institution
761:. September 29, 2020.
559:www.michiganradio.org
502:. Science Worldwide.
236:claimed in his book,
111:
29:
1259:Exculpatory evidence
1238:Prosecutor's fallacy
1218:Blue wall of silence
1201:Contributing factors
1138:Wrongful convictions
300:Blue wall of silence
161:police organizations
984:Abuse of discretion
974:Attorney misconduct
932:Types of misconduct
203:presidential debate
1301:Batson v. Kentucky
1247:Norms and remedies
1166:Wrongful execution
1084:Child sexual abuse
806:. pp. 43–47.
671:. baltimoresun.com
642:. October 31, 2013
588:. April 22, 2014.
585:The New York Times
357:Franklin, Benjamin
118:
84:Linguists such as
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1182:Innocence Project
1111:Cross-race effect
1101:Eyewitness memory
1096:Mistaken identity
1067:Forced confession
1029:Witness tampering
1004:Legal malpractice
999:Gaming the system
949:Police corruption
944:Police misconduct
813:978-1-84935-215-4
731:Los Angeles Times
522:(June 14, 2020).
505:Popular Mechanics
342:978-0-19-179944-0
295:Blue Lives Matter
234:Kristian Williams
80:Change in meaning
56:Benjamin Franklin
44:police misconduct
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1288:Related concepts
1269:Actual innocence
1223:Racial profiling
1074:False accusation
1062:False confession
1034:Brady disclosure
969:Abuse of process
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121:By US presidents
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538:– via
532:. Retrieved
520:Zimmer, Ben
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481:. Retrieved
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428:. Retrieved
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261:Harry Litman
251:and that 57
249:George Floyd
242:
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195:Donald Trump
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141:Barack Obama
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112:Poster in a
104:Modern usage
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1044:Civil wrong
699:Dallas News
477:MentalFloss
224:Rashawn Ray
151:Of policing
96:1971 song "
94:the Osmonds
1338:Categories
1014:Show trial
989:Entrapment
979:Bad apples
865:1583423079
311:References
186:, and the
157:bad apples
114:Save-A-Lot
86:Ben Zimmer
36:bad apples
1349:Metaphors
887:bad apple
594:0362-4331
483:April 22,
455:April 22,
305:NotAllMen
230:Anarchist
220:abolished
207:Joe Biden
125:When the
1228:Loophole
1175:Advocacy
804:AK Press
758:ABC News
423:ABC News
359:(1736).
285:A.C.A.B.
279:See also
74:ethylene
39:metaphor
1128:Frameup
783:July 5,
737:July 5,
706:July 5,
675:July 5,
646:July 8,
640:Reuters
636:Reuters
599:July 5,
564:July 8,
540:Twitter
534:July 8,
430:July 5,
392:July 5,
387:NPR.org
253:Buffalo
232:author
127:US Army
50:Origins
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199:Dallas
831:(PDF)
528:Tweet
1079:Rape
860:ISBN
808:ISBN
785:2020
739:2020
708:2020
677:2020
648:2020
601:2020
590:ISSN
566:2020
536:2020
485:2021
457:2021
432:2020
394:2020
337:ISBN
155:The
70:mold
34:The
129:'s
58:in
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833:.
802:.
776:.
755:.
728:.
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