<P> The Thin Blue Line is a symbol used by law enforcement, originating in the United Kingdom but now prevalent in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Poland to commemorate fallen and to show support for the living law enforcement officers and to symbolize the relationship of law enforcement in the community as the protectors of the community from criminals and victimization . It is an analogy to the term Thin Red Line . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, the primary use of the badge is a mark of respect for fallen police officers or staff . However, it also represents the thin line between order and chaos . A variation of the emblem places a horizontal thin blue line across a Union Jack rendered in black and white . The sale of badges with this emblem is used to raise money for families of police officers that have died in the line of duty . </P> <P> In the United States of America, each stripe on the emblem represents certain respective figures: the blue center line represents law enforcement, the top black stripe represents the public and the bottom represents the criminals . Proponents say that the idea behind the graphic is that law enforcement (the blue line) is what stands between the violence and victimization by criminals and the potential victims of crime . Opponents note that the representations of the public and the criminals are identical, and suggest that the symbology ironically represents a police vs. everyone else mindset . </P>

Black and white us flag with a blue stripe