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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for police accountability
158 results foundAuthor: Kagari, Michelle Title: The Police, The People, The Politics: Police Accountability in Kenya Summary: This report examines the Kenyan police, looking particularly at illegitimate political control, and impact of that control on policing, and the reform answers that will provide a more democratic and accountable police service to the Kenyan people. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Human Rights Commission, 2006. 86p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2006 Country: Kenya URL: Shelf Number: 118772 Keywords: 129781Police AccountabilityPolice ReformPolicing (Kenya) |
Author: Stone, Christopher Title: Policing Los Angeles Under a Consent Decree: The Dynamics of Change at the LAPD Summary: After a decade of policing crises that began with the beating of Rodney King in 1991 and culminated in the Rampart police corruption scandal in 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in May 2000 that it had accumulated enough evidence to sue the City of Los Angeles over a pattern-and-practice of police misconduct. Later that year, the city government entered a "consent decree" promising to adopt scores of reform measures under the supervision of the Federal Court. This study concludes that the the LAPD has significantly redeemed itself in the eyes of the public. A full 83 percent of city residents say the LAPD is doing a good or excellent job - up from 71 percent two years ago. The study found that the quality and quantity of law enforcement has improved since 2002 even as police used less serious force each year since 2004. Details: Cambridge, MA: Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School, 2009. 68p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118799 Keywords: 129782Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice EthicsPolice MisconductPolice ReformPolice Use of Force (Los Angeles) |
Author: Mehta, Swati Title: Feudal Forces: Democratic Nations. Police Accountability in Commonwealth South Asia Summary: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka make up Commonwealth South Asia. Across the region, issues around police, police reform and police accountability are key human rights concerns and governance priorities. Policing in the region contends with heterogeneous societies, violent crime, protracted conflict, poverty and political unrest. The police must be equipped to meet all these challenges, in support of democratic standards and human rights. This report looks at policing in the Commonwealth South Asia and seeks ways to strengthen democratic policing in the region. It outlines legal frameworks, instituions and processes already in place to hol the police accountable - a key element of democratic policing. Through analysis of the existing accountability systems, this report examines how entrenched democratic policing is in the region and highlights strategies to strengthen it by exploring some of the bet practices in other Commonwealth jurisdictions. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2007. 95p. Source: Intenet Resource Year: 2007 Country: Asia URL: Shelf Number: 117604 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice ReformPolicing (South Asia) |
Author: Patil, Sanjay Title: Feudal Forces: Reform Delayed. Moving from Force to Service in South Asian Policing Summary: This report provides details on the current state and pace of police reforms in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the concrete steps that can be undertaken to transition policing in the region from a force to a service. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2008. 102p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: Asia URL: Shelf Number: 117605 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice ReformPolicing (South Asia) |
Author: Kotwal, Navaz Title: GOA State Police Complaints Authority: Analysing Accountability in Action Summary: In April 2007, the government of Goa announced the setting up of a Police Complaints Authority at the state level. It has little resemblance to what the Supreme Court had directed in terms of its composition or mandate. The Court had envisioned an agency that would be independent of the police and the government with people on it selected carefully through a procedure that was open and transparent and not one that had government nominees. The present report gives a broad and holistic analysis of the functioning of the Goa Police Complaints Authority. The report ends with a set of recommendations for the government as well as the Authority that will help towards the strengthening of the Authority. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2010. 39p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: India URL: Shelf Number: 119443 Keywords: Complaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice Corruption (India)Police EthicsPolice Misconduct |
Author: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative Title: The Police, The People, The Politics: Police Accountability in Uganda Summary: This report looks at the concepts of democratic and accountable policing in the Ugandan context. It looks at the development of the Uganda Police Force, examines the issues that are facing the police, and considers the legislative and political frameworks within which the police operate. Finally, it looks at the kinds of reforms that need to take place in Uganda, and provides a road map of accountability mechanisms and suggested laws that will deliver Uganda’s people the democratic and accountable police service they need and deserve. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2006. 59p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2006 Country: Uganda URL: Shelf Number: 119530 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice ReformPolicing (Uganda) |
Author: West, Ronald A. Title: Democratic Oversight of Police Forces: Mechanisms for Accountability and Community Policing Summary: One of the most important features of the modern democratic state is the tacit agreement between the government and citizens: in exchange for surrendering some of their personal liberty to allow government to develop a binding legal framework for society, citizens are given protection by the government. This public protection is provided by police, who maintain order and enforce laws. Police in democratic countries are generally civilians, even if the organization of police institutions bears many similarities to military forces. Most developed democracies have limited the authority of their militaries to responsibility for protecting the state from foreign invasion and/or actions in a very limited range of internal crises — there is no role for the military in policing a democracy. This handbook is a guide for those concerned with what happens after democratization takes place and police realize that a new type of government is in power. To whom will police answer? What form will policing take? The handbook includes the following sections: 1) Ensuring Accountability - How Democracies Control Police; 2) Community or "Problem-Solving Policing"; and Sweden - A Case Study in Improving Performance. Details: Washington, DC: RIGHTS Consortium; National Democratic Institute, 2005. 54p. Source: Internet Resource; Rule of Law Series Paper Year: 2005 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119564 Keywords: Community PolicingDemocratizationPolice AccountabilityProblem-Oriented Policing |
Author: Vollaard, Ben Title: Performance Contracts for Police Forces Summary: In 2003, the government will enter into performance contracts with each of the 25 regional police forces. The performance contracts establish a direct link between meeting a number of quantitative performance targets and financial incentives. A major improvement in police performance is necessary to meet the objective of 20 to 25 percent less criminal and disorderly behavior by 2006. A closer look at the performance contracts learns that they may not be the most appropriate policy instrument to achieve this objective. The nature of police work does not allow for advance planning of outputs. The police consist of professionals who need a high degree of discretion to do their work. The targets invite adverse behavioral effects. Management could become focused on 'meeting the numbers' rather than on delivering results. Because of the wide variety in police tasks and the low measurability of quality, there is a wide gap between performance measures and results. The financial incentives make it worse, by forcing a yes/no decision based on weighing multiple, non discrete performance measures. Moreover, the targets are likely to be off since the government does not have the information to set them at the right level. Less financial resources for poorly performing forces also adversely affect citizens. They cannot choose between providers of police services as in the case of hospitals or schools. Experiences in Australia and the United Kingdom suggest an alternative approach. They focus on benchmarking of police forces without direct financial incentives. Both countries have invested many years in improving the quality and comparability of police data as well as methods for fair comparisons between forces. Based on these comparisons, police forces are hold accountable. Consequently, the police are being forced to develop a clear picture of the effects of their approach in terms of the region's specific problems. The Dutch government could follow a similar approach. A system of peer review and customer satisfaction surveys can be instrumental in assessing a force's performance and in providing ideas for improvement. Critical assessment of performance data by knowledgeable people is a necessary ingredient to a policy of holding the police accountable to results. It stimulates a culture of experimenting, data collection and analysis, and singling out and sharing best practices. Such a change is necessary to bring about the desired improvement in police performance. Details: The Hague: CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, 2003. 119p. Source: Internet Resource: CPB Document No. 31: Accessed February 9, 2011 at: http://www.cpb.nl/sites/default/files/publicaties/download/performance-contrasts-police-forces.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Netherlands URL: http://www.cpb.nl/sites/default/files/publicaties/download/performance-contrasts-police-forces.pdf Shelf Number: 120728 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice PerformancePolicing (Netherlands) |
Author: De Angelis, Joseph Title: Assessing the Impact of the Office of the Independent Monitor on Complainant and Officer Satisfaction Summary: This report presents the final results of a multi-year research project that uses anonymous mailed surveys to examine how the implementation of Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM) affects satisfaction among complainants and police officers. The first stage, called the baseline survey, was an anonymous mailed survey sent in fall 2005 to all Denver police officers and to community members who filed police complaints PRIOR to the implementation of the OIM. In order to gauge how the implementation of the OIM has affected levels of satisfaction, post-implementation survey were administered to Denver police officers in September 2006 and again in November 2007. Community members who filed complaints after the implementation of the OIM have received surveys on a quarterly basis, as their complaints have been resolved. In this report, we compare the levels of satisfaction between the baseline and post-implementation periods for both officers and citizen complainants. Specifically, we compare levels of officer and complainant satisfaction with the previous complaint process to officer and complainant satisfaction with the new complaint process. The report is divided into four main sections: • Executive Summary: In this section we highlight the central findings of the baseline and post-implementation surveys; • Methodology: This section outlines survey methodology used in the research; • Research Findings: In this section we report the findings of the research; and • Appendix: This appendix contains copies of the survey instruments and respondent demographics. Details: Denver, CO: Office of the Independent Monitor, 2008. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2011 at: https://www.denvergov.org/Portals/374/documents/2008OfficerandComplainantSatisfactionSurveyFinal.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: https://www.denvergov.org/Portals/374/documents/2008OfficerandComplainantSatisfactionSurveyFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 120894 Keywords: Citizen ComplaintsPolice AccountabilityPolice Misconduct (Denver) |
Author: Macaulay, Fiona Title: Problems of Police Oversight in Brazil Summary: This paper analyses the problem of subjecting the Brazilian police to truly effective control and oversight. It highlights three key dimensions of police accountability within the Brazilian context -- transparência, fiscalização and responsabilidade -- through which to measure the effectiveness of oversight mechanisms. The paper then analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the current institutional mechanisms of police control, focusing on the military police courts, the internal affairs departments of the police, and the police ombudsmen’s offices and the prosecution service. Finally the problem of accountability is set within a wider historical, social and cultural context. Details: Oxford, UK: University of Oxford, Centre for Brazilian Studies, 2002. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper CBS-33-02: http://www.brazil.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/9398/Macaulay33.pdf Year: 2002 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.brazil.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/9398/Macaulay33.pdf Shelf Number: 121005 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolicing (Brazil) |
Author: Tait, Sean Title: Cooperation and Accountability in the Cross-border Policing of Southern Africa Summary: This publication presents seven articles concerning aspects of cross-border police cooperation in the Southern African region, with an emphasis (in part) on the issue of police accountability. As the papers make clear, the policing of crimes and the attempt to further peace in the region by joint action of two or more national police forces has grown apace in recent years. There are now regular joint police operations in a number of the states comprising the South African Development Community (SADC). An institutional structure has likewise been formed that brings together heads of police forces in the region. Numerous international treaties and agreements help regulate this police cooperation, which takes place both on a formal and on an ad hoc informal basis. While the emerging system has many flaws, there have also been notable successes, as the contributions demonstrate. Establishing effective cross-border police cooperation has been a tricky business, complicated by the diversity among the police agencies in the region and their largely under-resourced nature. It is perhaps surprising that in a relatively short space of time it has proceeded so far. This publication examines some of the current events and the extent to which the issue of accountability of police personnel in cross-border activities has been embodied in policing policy and practice. Details: Cape Town, South Africa: African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, 2010. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 18, 2011 at: http://apcof.org.za/File_uploads/File/9781920355944-content.pdf Year: 2010 Country: South Africa URL: http://apcof.org.za/File_uploads/File/9781920355944-content.pdf Shelf Number: 121068 Keywords: Border PatrolBorder SecurityPolice AccountabilityPolicing (South Africa) |
Author: African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum Title: An Audit of Police Oversight in Africa Summary: This audit is provided to give insight into the diversity of police oversight on the African continent and the challenges it faces. Through this publication APCOF also seeks to raise awareness on the importance of policing oversight in the ongoing efforts to promote reform or transform police agencies into organisations that are effective and efficient but also respectful of peoples’ and human rights. The field is dynamic and this audit should be seen as a work in progress. The audit was undertaken over a period of two years as four separate studies into police oversight in the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern African regions. The report is structured to provide a brief background to the country and its political and legal system, an overview of the police and the oversight mechanisms over the police. Details: Cape Town, South Africa: African Minds, 2008. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2011 at: http://www.africanminds.co.za/books/An%20Audit%20of%20Police%20Oversight%20in%20Africa.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Africa URL: http://www.africanminds.co.za/books/An%20Audit%20of%20Police%20Oversight%20in%20Africa.pdf Shelf Number: 121227 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice MisconductPolice ReformPolicing (Africa) |
Author: Queensland. Crime and Misconduct Commission Title: Setting the Standard: A Review of Current Processes for the Management of Police Discipline and Misconduct Matters Summary: In August 2009, the Queensland Government published a discussion paper, Integrity and Accountability in Queensland, inviting public comment on the state’s accountability framework. The management of police discipline and misconduct matters was a significant focus of the discussion paper, which posed two key questions relating to the conduct of public officers: Are the mechanisms to find unacceptable behaviour [by public officers] sufficient? • Are the sanctions for unacceptable behaviour [by public officers] sufficient? In response to these questions, the Queensland Government received over 100 written submissions, including a significant number expressing concerns about the current discipline processes applying to members of the Queensland Police Service (QPS). In November 2009, the Attorney-General therefore requested the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) ‘to conduct an independent review of current processes for the management of Police discipline and misconduct matters’, and deliver a report on the review to him by 30 June 2010. In conducting the review, the CMC consulted about police discipline processes with QPS officers at various ranks statewide, the Queensland Police Union of Employees (QPUE), interstate police and police oversight agencies. We examined a range of documents and data relating to the QPS since the Fitzgerald Inquiry, police discipline systems more generally, and complaints against police. The review focuses on the processes applying to sworn police officers, not police recruits or civilian staff members of the QPS, in recognition of the fact that the conduct of police officers is the most critical and visible reflection of the professional standards and reputation of the QPS. The primary object of this report is to make and justify recommendations which, if implemented appropriately, will ensure that Queensland has an effective and fair system for ensuring police accountability and integrity. Part 1 provides the background to the review and describes its scope and methodology. Part 2 of the report focuses on the discipline system in principle. It discusses the characteristics of a police discipline system, proposes a model system drawn from an examination of literature detailing the findings of past reviews, and looks at the organisational context, legislative framework and structure of the system currently in place in the QPS. Part 3 discusses the QPS discipline system as it currently operates, illustrated by case studies to highlight particular issues. It examines the gap between the system in theory and its evidence in practice, and makes recommendations for improving the system and closing this gap. Details: Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission, 2010. 192p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2011 at: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/tableOffice/documents/TabledPapers/2010/5310T3791.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/tableOffice/documents/TabledPapers/2010/5310T3791.pdf Shelf Number: 121247 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice Misconduct (Australia) |
Author: Webbe, Simone Title: Simple, Effective, Transparent, Strong: An Independent Review of the Queensland Police Complaints, Discipline and Misconduct System Summary: The Queensland police complaints, discipline and misconduct system is dysfunctional and unsustainable. Complainants and police are subjected to a complex, administratively burdensome, overly legalistic and adversarial process that is dishonoured by chronic delays, inconsistent and disproportionate outcomes. This is not news. Many reviews over decades before this one have found police discipline entrapped by a system malaise that produces the perfect paradox, which is that despite the priority concern of individual ethical police officers for a quick and fair response to complaints made against them personally, the organisation formed by majority of those same officers tends to overcook investigations, oblige protracted delays and unnecessary complexity, and operationalise injustice as it surrenders to the rules and expectations of a system that serves no one well. Genuine organisational attempts and commitment to address the problems such as the recent hopeful trials for Project Verity have only served to increase frustration by their failure to progress a solution. There is an intimidating gap between the current police complaints, discipline and misconduct system and the ideal model that is 'simple, effective, transparent and strong' that was recommended recently by the Crime and Misconduct Commission in its report, Setting the Standard. Subsequently, the Premier called for this Independent Review to consider the big picture for a better system anchored by a requirement to also deliver the operational detail - and promote public confidence. The objective of the devolution policy implemented under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 was to effect quicker remedial responses to complaints through police management taking responsibility. In the decade since, neither remedial nor timely objective has been achieved. Implementation was flawed in essential respects because although the legal responsibilities and rationale moved to a capacity building intent for police to manage police conduct, the legislative and procedural complaints system itself remained an outdated and ineffectual dominant orthodoxy of discipline and punishment. Public confidence was compromised by more 'police investigating police'. Public trust was undermined by long legalistic processes for possible retribution that excluded admissions, apologies, individual and organisational learnings. This Review concludes that the police complaints, discipline and misconduct system in Queensland needs to correct its fundamental structural inconsistency with the policy objective of remedial intent; manage risk according to circumstances; and incorporate solutions beyond discipline and punishment such as a more responsive consideration of the needs of the complainant and restorative justice principles. Details: Brisbane: Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet, 2011. 160p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 28, 2011 at: http://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/reviews/assets/independent-review-of-qld-police-discipline-system.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/reviews/assets/independent-review-of-qld-police-discipline-system.pdf Shelf Number: 122190 Keywords: Complaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice DisciplinePolice EthicsPolice Misconduct (Australia) |
Author: Reid, Rachel Title: “Just Don’t Call It a Militia” Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police” Summary: With US plans to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghan government by 2014, the US and Afghan governments have embraced a high-risk strategy of arming tens of thousands of men in a new village-level defense force. Called the Afghan Local Police (ALP), it is the latest in a long line of new security forces and militias the US and other international forces have worked with in recent years to pave the way for the exit of international troops. The Afghan government has also recently reactivated various irregular armed groups, particularly in the north. “Just Don’t Call it a Militia” — based primarily on interviews in Kabul, Wardak, Herat, and Baghlan, with additional interviews in Kandahar, Kunduz, and Uruzgan—first surveys attempts over the past decade to create civilian defense forces in Afghanistan. While some efforts have been more successful than others, all have at times been hijacked by local strongmen or by ethnic or political factions, spreading fear, exacerbating local political tensions, fueling vendettas and ethnic conflict, and in some areas even playing into the hands of Taliban insurgents, thus subverting the very purpose for which the militias were created. Against this backdrop, we then provide an account of the ALP one year after it was created, detailing instances in which local groups are again being armed without adequate oversight or accountability. We conclude that unless urgent steps are taken to prevent ALP units from engaging in abusive and predatory behavior, the ALP could exacerbate the same perverse dynamics that subverted previous efforts to use civilian defense forces to advance security and public order. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2011. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2011 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/afghanistan0911webwcover.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/afghanistan0911webwcover.pdf Shelf Number: 122735 Keywords: MilitiasPolice AccountabilityPolicing (Afghanistan) |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: Investigation of the Puerto Rico Police Department Summary: The Puerto Rico Police Department is Puerto Rico’s primary law enforcement agency. Its mission is critical: To protect and serve the residents of Puerto Rico by designing and implementing policies and practices that control crime, ensure respect for the Constitution and the rule of law, and enable the Department to enjoy the respect and confidence of the public. Many hard working and dedicated PRPD officers serve the public with distinction under often challenging conditions. Unfortunately, PRPD is broken in a number of critical and fundamental respects that are clearly actionable under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141 (“Section 14141”). Based on our extensive investigation, we find reasonable cause to believe that PRPD officers engage in a pattern and practice of: • excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment; • unreasonable force and other misconduct designed to suppress the exercise of protected First Amendment rights; and • unlawful searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In addition to these findings, our investigation uncovered other deficiencies of serious concern. In particular, there is troubling evidence that PRPD frequently fails to police sex crimes and incidents of domestic violence, and engages in discriminatory policing practices that target individuals of Dominican descent in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Safe Streets Act, and Title VI. At this time, we do not make a formal finding of a pattern and practice violation in these areas, in part because PRPD does not adequately collect data to evaluate these issues. However, we are quite concerned that PRPD lacks basic systems of accountability to ensure that all individuals are treated equally by PRPD officers, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, or sex as required by federal law. Furthermore, our investigation raises serious concerns that PRPD policies and practices are woefully inadequate to prevent and address domestic violence committed by PRPD officers. We find that these deficiencies will lead to constitutional violations unless they are addressed. PRPD’s continued failure to keep necessary data in light of our findings and despite knowledge of these indicators of a very serious problem, may constitute a pattern and practice that violates federal law. We recognize that PRPD faces significant challenges as Puerto Rico’s primary law enforcement agency. The unconstitutional acts that we have identified arise at a time of crisis in public safety. Contrary to national trends, violent crime increased overall in Puerto Rico by 17% from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, Puerto Rico saw the second highest number of murders in its history, a trend that is escalating in 2011. The clearance rate for murders remains below the national average. Some Puerto Rico officials maintain that drug trafficking and social deterioration are fueling the wave of violent crime. However, increasing crime cannot be used to justify continued civil rights violations or the failure to implement meaningful reforms. Constitutional policing and effective law enforcement are inextricably bound. Public safety depends on the trust and cooperation of the community, which in turn depends on constitutional police practices that respect civil rights. Our previous efforts in working with large police departments strongly suggest that by addressing the civil rights concerns we raise in this report, the Commonwealth will not only meet its constitutional duty, but also reduce crime, improve public safety, and increase community confidence. i For many years, victims’ families, civic leaders, legislators, and civil rights advocates have voiced concerns over chronic mistreatment by police. For example, over the past decade, various legislative measures have called for comprehensive investigations of police misconduct, greater education and training, and an accounting of public funds spent on civil rights lawsuits against the Commonwealth. Other grass-roots and advocacy organizations have sent letters to Puerto Rico officials denouncing allegations of discrimination against people of Dominican descent, and civic and professional organizations have issued investigative reports detailing numerous civil rights violations at the hands of police. PRPD officers have also called for agency reforms. One police affinity group representing thousands of officers attributed widespread low morale among officers to verbal abuse from supervisors, indifference to officers’ personal problems, lack of support and training, absence of motivational and educational activities, deficient equipment and materials, and late payment. The public’s demands for remedial action are fueled in part by the appalling number of officer arrests and convictions for serious misconduct and criminal activity. Among these are: the killing of family members by two police officers in the “Massacre of Las Piedras” in 2007; the videotaped shooting of a civilian by a Tactical Operations Unit (“TOU”) officer during a birthday celebration in Humacao in 2007; the shooting death of a PRPD lieutenant by a sergeant at a police station in Yabucoa in 2007; the conviction of multiple officers assigned to the Mayagüez Drug Unit for planting drugs in 2008; the conviction of the director of the Special Arrests and Extraditions Unit and several of his officers on drug-related charges in 2009; the conviction of a lieutenant directing the weapons registry at PRPD headquarters as part of an illegal gun licensing scheme in 2009; the indiscriminate use of batons and chemical irritants against protesters at the Capitol in June 2010; the shooting death of an unarmed young man who was reportedly aiding police following a robbery in September 2010; and the arrest of 61 PRPD officers as part of the largest police corruption operation in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) history in October 2010. In the report that follows, we discuss the wide range of issues that were the focus of our investigation and the findings that result from our review. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 116 p., app.; Executive Summary Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/prpd_exec_summ.pdf (executive summary) Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/prpd_exec_summ.pdf (executive summary) Shelf Number: 122984 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice MisconductPolice Use of ForcePolicing (Puerto Rico)ViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: International Advisory Commission of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative Title: Police Accountability: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay Summary: Some of the best policing in the world is found in the Commonwealth, and also some of the worst. But by and large, its 1.8 billion people do not have the policing they deserve. Police reform is too important to neglect and too urgent to delay. In too many countries, governments are failing in their primary duty to provide the public with an honest, efficient, effective police service that ensures the rule of law and an environment of safety and security. Today, membership to the Commonwealth is premised on countries practising democracy - and democratic governance requires democratic policing. The only legitimate policing is policing that helps create an environment free from fear and conducive to the realisation of people's human rights, particularly those that promote unfettered political activity, which is the hallmark of a democracy. Nevertheless, barring a few honourable exceptions, there is too much wrong with policing in the Commonwealth for the association and its member states to persist in closing their eyes to the fact that the continued presence of unreformed policing - powerful, unaccountable, coercive, biased, and corrupt - remains a badge of a long gone colonial subservience rather than a mark of confident sovereignty. Common colonial antecedents provide Commonwealth police structures a core resemblance but post-colonial histories have shaped present day policing in each country. The strengths and capabilities of police in the Commonwealth are now as diverse as the association itself. Sizes vary from less than 500 in tiny Dominica to more than a million in India. More importantly, population to police ratios vary: in South Africa for instance, there is one police officer per 404 people1; whereas in Bangladesh, it's one officer for every 1,200 people2. Some have huge financial and human resources to back them, while others must struggle to afford even basic stationery. Some - for example, Nigeria, Kenya and Canada - usually carry no lethal arms while others like South Africa, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland routinely go armed. Some, like Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Fiji are strongly centralised while others are decentralised to state, provincial or local levels, such as Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK). Some countries have a combination of national, state and local police forces. Canada and Australia, for instance, both have a federal police organisation, as well as state-level police organisations and Canada also has municipal police organisations. South Africa has one national police service and five separate municipal police services. India has 35 police forces and a proliferating number of paramilitaries and specialist forces, some directly under the control of the states while the ones at the centre fall under central government control. The evolution of policing values has also been influenced by individual national histories. In a few countries policing has benefited from relative affluence and long unbroken periods of peace and stability. Elsewhere policing has been negatively influenced by long periods of dictatorship, apartheid, one party rule, coups, internal conflicts, overweening executives, militarisation and politicisation and everywhere policing is now being shaped by the recent preoccupation with terrorism. But perhaps above all, poor policing in unreformed jurisdictions has been perpetuated and even fostered by the temptation of ruling regimes - elected or self-perpetuating - to retain a force wholly in its control and designed to suppress opponents and dissent with a heavy hand. Such police have proved especially valuable apparatus in retaining power at election time when rivalries and threat perceptions are heightened. The regime bias in policing has helped ruling elites topple governments as has happened in the Solomon Islands, retain them in the Maldives and assist in keeping them safe from challenge in many more. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2005. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2012 at: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/chogm/chogm_2005/chogm_2005_full_report.pdf Year: 2005 Country: International URL: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/chogm/chogm_2005/chogm_2005_full_report.pdf Shelf Number: 114626 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice MisconductPolice ReformPolicing (Commonwealth Nations) |
Author: Stewart, James K. Title: Collaborative Reform Process: A Review of Officer-Involved Shootings in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Summary: The use of deadly force against a citizen is the most serious act a police officer can take. It demands careful, impartial review and the highest professional standards of accountability. In November 2011, the Las Vegas Review Journal (LVRJ) published a five-part investigative series titled "Deadly Force: When Las Vegas Police Shoot, and Kill." The LVRJ series, using data provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), reviewed officer-involved shootings (OIS) over the past 20 years. The LVRJ reported that although a number of these shootings were highly controversial and could have been avoided, LVMPD's internal accountability systems and the Clark County Coroner's Inquests had ruled that they were justified and held officers minimally accountable. As expected, the LVRJ investigative series raised concern about LVMPD's lack of police accountability both to the department's review bodies and to community stakeholders. In January 2012, in response to the LVRJ's investigative series, the director of the Office of Community Oriented Police Services (COPS Office), of the U.S. Department of Justice called LVMPD's Sheriff Gillespie. The director offered the assistance of the COPS Office through its Critical Response Technical Assistance grant to reduce OISs. Within a week of this phone call, Sheriff Gillespie sent members of his executive command to Washington, D.C., to meet with the COPS Office. They discussed the reforms that LVMPD was already undertaking to address the issue and the areas in which technical assistance would be beneficial. Simultaneously, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLUNV) filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on behalf of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The petition requested that the Civil Rights Division commence an investigation and pursue civil remedies to reform the LVMPD, claiming that the LVMPD "engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers . . . that deprives persons of rights, privileges or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States." Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2012. 158p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: https://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Collaborative%20Reform%20Process_FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Collaborative%20Reform%20Process_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 127612 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice Use of Force |
Author: Great Britain. National Audit Office Title: Police Accountability: Landscape Review Summary: This report from the National Audit Office has identified a number of gaps in the Home Office's policing oversight framework, which could limit the public's ability to hold elected police and crime commissioners to account. However, even though it has been in place for only a year, the new framework has the potential to be an improvement on the system it has replaced. The Home Office introduced police and crime commissioners in November 2012 as a major reform to how police forces are governed. The Home Office set out an accountability framework for policing with the aim of balancing an increase in local autonomy with the Home Office's own need to obtain assurance that police forces are securing value for money from the funding it gives them. The NAO finds that gaps in this framework - such as the limited effectiveness of police and crime panels, and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's lack of authority to carry out routine inspections of commissioners or their offices - could limit the degree of assurance the Home Office can take from the new accountability structure. Because police and crime panels, who scrutinize commissioners, lack powers to act on the information they receive, there are few checks and balances on commissioners between elections. The NAO report finds that the introduction of both commissioners, who hold chief constables to account, and police and crime panels, who do the same for commissioners, has increased the potential for local tensions. Nationally, six commissioners share a chief financial officer with their force, raising a potential conflict of interest. Shared chief financial officers might struggle to provide unfettered advice to both the chief constable and commissioner when they disagree. Those in the sector to whom the NAO spoke to believe that elected commissioners are potentially better able to hold police forces to account and drive value for money than the unelected police authorities they replaced. According to elected commissioners, so far there has been a significant increase in engagement with the public compared to the previous situation under police authorities. The NAO also reports that commissioners are not publishing all the data that the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 requires, limiting the public's ability to hold commissioners to account. Furthermore, being able to take performance data at only face value limits the public's ability to hold commissioners to account. The Home Office and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary are now working together to agree how to provide better information to the public. Details: London: The Stationery Office, 2014. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: HC 963, Session 2013-14: Accessed January 24, 2014 at: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Police-accountability-Landscape-review.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Police-accountability-Landscape-review.pdf Shelf Number: 131796 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice PerformancePolice ReformPolice-Community RelationsPolicing |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "No Money, No Justice": Police Corruption and Abuse in Liberia Summary: Police corruption in Liberia undermines access to justice, results in human rights violations, and compromises the establishment of the rule of law in this post-conflict country. Liberian victims of crimes must pay authorities at every stage of a case investigation. Because of the prevalence of police corruption, "justice is not for the poor" is a catchphrase of many Liberians who say wealth, not guilt, often determines the outcome of criminal cases. "No Money, No Justice": Police Corruption and Abuse in Liberia documents the impact of police corruption on the administration of justice. Motorcycle taxi drivers, street sellers, and taxi drivers - whose work keeps them on the streets - are particularly vulnerable to bribery demands from the police. Police officers often arbitrarily arrest and detain and rob these workers, who typically live in poverty. Liberian police officers themselves face numerous challenges in performing their jobs. They lack essential resources, such as fuel for vehicles, and work long hours for low salaries. Commanders pressure their subordinates to make payments up the chain of command, particularly in exchange for promotion. The post-war United Nations presence in Liberia has helped reduce the incidence of torture in detention, but has not made inroads on corruption and abuses connected with extortion. To strengthen respect for basic rights and the rule of law in Liberia, Human Rights Watch calls on the Liberian government to bolster police accountability mechanisms and fulfill its promise of establishing an independent oversight board for the police. In addition, the government and foreign donors should investigate persistent logistics shortfalls that contribute to police officers preying upon the public for material support. Finally, government officials in Liberia should emphasize accountability and good governance in the security sector as essential to the country's promised post-conflict development. Details: New York: HRW, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/liberia0813_forUpload_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Liberia URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/liberia0813_forUpload_0.pdf Shelf Number: 129901 Keywords: Human Rights AbusesPolice AccountabilityPolice Corruption (Liberia)Police MisconductPolicing |
Author: Police Foundation Title: Self-awareness to being watched and socially-desirable behavior: A field experiment on the effect of body-worn cameras on police use-of-force Summary: The Rodney King story is a potent reminder about the enormous power that police officers have and how it can sometimes be abused. That was the case of an African-American who was repeatedly beaten by Los Angeles police officers, and was arguably the impetus for the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The King incident signifies just how disproportionate use-of-force could shutter the reputation of the police and lead into social cataclysm. Importantly, there are still somewhat similar cases taking place1, despite efforts to stop such behavior through better training and prosecution of rogue officers. Are these incidents unavoidable? A voluminous body of research across various disciplines has shown that when humans become self-conscious about being watched, they often alter their conduct. Accumulated evidence further suggests that individuals who are aware that they being-observed often embrace submissive or commonly-accepted behavior, particularly when the observer is a rule-enforcing entity. What is less known, however, is what happens when the observer is not a "real person", and whether being videotaped can have an effect on aggression and violence. For instance, would the Rodney King incident be avoided had the officers known that they are being videotaped? Would frequency of police use of force be reduced if all interactions between officers and members of the public were under known electronic surveillance? We have tested whether police body-worn cameras would lead to socially-desirable behavior of the officers who wear them. Individualized HD cameras were "installed" on the officers' uniforms, and systematically-recorded every police-public interaction. We randomly-assigned a year's worth of police shifts into experimental and control shifts within a large randomized-controlled-field-experiment conducted with the Rialto-Police-Department (California). We investigated the extent to which cameras effect human behavior and, specifically, reduce the use of police force. Broadly, we have put to test the implication of self-awareness to being observed on compliance and deterrence theory in real-life settings, and explored the results in the wider context of theory and practice. Details: Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2013. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2014 at: http://www.policefoundation.org/sites/g/files/g798246/f/201303/The%20Effect%20of%20Body-Worn%20Cameras%20on%20Police%20Use-of-Force.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.policefoundation.org/sites/g/files/g798246/f/201303/The%20Effect%20of%20Body-Worn%20Cameras%20on%20Police%20Use-of-Force.pdf Shelf Number: 133308 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Camera Technology Law Enforcement Technology Police AccountabilityPolice Technology Police Use of Force |
Author: Vila, Bryan Title: Developing A Common Metric For Evaluating Police Performance In Deadly Force Situations Summary: There is a critical lack of scientific evidence about whether deadly force management, accountability and training practices actually have an impact on police officer performance in deadly force encounters, the strength of such impact, or whether alternative approaches to managing deadly force could be more effective. The primary cause of this lack is that current tools for evaluating officer-involved shootings are too coarse or ambiguous to adequately measure such highly variable and complex events. There also are substantial differences in how key issues associated with police deadly encounters are conceptualized, even by subject matter experts, how agencies can or should train for them, and what officers should - or reasonably can - be held accountable for. As a consequence, trainers and policy makers have generally been limited by subjective or rough assessments of deadly force performance or how challenging a deadly force situation was. Our research addressed this problem by using a novel pairing of two well-established research methods, Thurstone scaling and concept mapping. With them, we developed measurement scales that dramatically improve our ability to measure police officer performance in deadly force encounters. We expect that these metrics will make it possible to better evaluate the impact of management and training practices, refine them, and make assessment of accountability more just and reasonable. Details: Final Report to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2014. 178p. Source: Accessed September 29, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/247985.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/247985.pdf Shelf Number: 133476 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice DiscretionPolice EducationPolice MisconductPolice PerformancePolice Use of Force (U.S.) |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Flawed Accountability: Shortcomings of Tunisia's Trials for Killings during the Uprising Summary: During Tunisia's "jasmine uprising" from December 2010 to January 2011 that led to the toppling of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali after more than 23 years in power, Tunisian security forces killed 132 protesters and injured hundreds. Subsequently, more than 50 former government officials, police officers and members of other security forces were charged in connection with the killings and put on trial. The trials, conducted before military courts, represented a historical opportunity to achieve accountability. Based on an analysis of the written verdict and other court documents, and interviews with lawyers, victims and prosecutors, Flawed Accountability; Shortcomings of Tunisia's Trials for killings during the Uprising, assesses the trials and identifies key shortcomings that hampered the accountability process, and undermined its capacity to deliver justice for the victims. These included: the use of military courts; weak evidence gathering; flawed legal reasoning; lenient sentences; inadequate criminal law on command responsibility; and the failure to secure the extradition of Ben Ali from Saudi Arabia. The report calls on the Tunisian authorities to ensure full accountability for past human rights abuses by officials and members of the security forces and outlines measures to address obstacles to achieving national transitional justice. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2015 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/tunisia0115_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Tunisia URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/tunisia0115_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 134408 Keywords: Human Rights AbusesPolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice Use of Force (Tunisia) |
Author: Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Inspection Title: Policing and Community Safety Partnerships: A review of governance, delivery and outcomes Summary: Although PCSPs have delivered successful projects and events at a local level, the absence of reliable performance indicators limited the assessment of their overall impact. Working relationships with community partners were more successful than those with statutory agencies and police accountability meetings were most successful when operating in an open and transparent manner. At the end of the current four-year cycle, the efficiency and viability of PCSPs should be reviewed against baseline performance measures. The contribution made by Police and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) in Northern Ireland to improving community safety in local areas and addressing concerns around policing issues, has been examined in an independent inspection report published today (4 December 2014). The report by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) which looked at governance, performance and accountability, found a lack of reliable performance information meant it was difficult to establish the overall impact of PCSPs. It also identified that current governance arrangements were too bureaucratic and that on average 43% of the $5.5m funding provided annually to PCSPs, was being spent on administration costs. Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2015 at: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/aa/aacda6ac-11fa-4d0a-944a-4ba2cd4eed28.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/aa/aacda6ac-11fa-4d0a-944a-4ba2cd4eed28.pdf Shelf Number: 134410 Keywords: PartnershipsPolice AccountabilityPolice PerformancePolice-Community Relations (Northern Ireland) |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Summary: "No answers, no apology" was how a mother described the response of the police in Malaysia to her inquiries about her son who was shot to death by police officers. Her experience is echoed by many other families whose relatives have been killed or injured by the Malaysian police. Based on in-depth interviews in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and in Selangor, Johor, Kelantan, and Perak, this report documents failures by Malaysian authorities to adequately investigate allegations of deaths and mistreatment of persons in police custody, unjustified shootings, and excessive use of force in dispersing peaceful public demonstrations. There is typically no meaningful accountability for the police officers and officials implicated in such abuses. The police do not effectively investigate allegations of misconduct and the government has shown no inclination to ensure they do so. This impunity is facilitated by the lack of a robust, independent oversight body focused specifically on police accountability, and the police force's poor record of cooperation with existing oversight bodies, including the national human rights commission, SUHAKAM. Police secrecy about internal policies, such as standing orders on the use of force and firearms, further frustrates external investigations. Police need to be accountable to the public and should demonstrate that their policies and practices conform to international human rights standards. External pressure and oversight are important in improving accountability, and police leadership and effective supervision are critical to preventing abuse and misconduct. Human Rights Watch recommends that the Malaysian government create an independent, external commission tasked solely to receive and investigate complaints about police misconduct and abuse. Police authorities should establish an ombudsman's office empowered to receive and follow up on complaints of police abuse and take disciplinary action against officers. Those authorities should also share internal police standing orders with external oversight bodies and reform those orders to bring them into compliance with international human rights standards. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 22, 2015 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/malaysia0414_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Malaysia URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/malaysia0414_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 134443 Keywords: Human Rights Abuses (Malaysia)Police AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice InvestigationsPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Miller, Lindsay Title: Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program: Recommendations and Lessons Learned Summary: Over the past decade, advances in the technologies used by law enforcement agencies have been accelerating at an extremely rapid pace. Many police executives are making decisions about whether to acquire technologies that did not exist when they began their careers - technologies like automated license plate readers, gunshot detection systems, facial recognition software, predictive analytics systems, communications systems that bring data to officers' laptops or handheld devices, GPS applications, and social media to investigate crimes and communicate with the public. For many police executives, the biggest challenge is not deciding whether to adopt one particular technology but rather finding the right mix of technologies for a given jurisdiction based on its crime problems, funding levels, and other factors. Finding the best mix of technologies, however, must begin with a thorough understanding of each type of technology. Police leaders who have deployed body-worn cameras1 say there are many benefits associated with the devices. They note that body-worn cameras are useful for documenting evidence; officer training; preventing and resolving complaints brought by members of the public; and strengthening police transparency, performance, and accountability. In addition, given that police now operate in a world in which anyone with a cell phone camera can record video footage of a police encounter, body-worn cameras help police departments ensure events are also captured from an officer's perspective. Scott Greenwood of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said at the September 2013 conference: The average interaction between an officer and a citizen in an urban area is already recorded in multiple ways. The citizen may record it on his phone. If there is some conflict happening, one or more witnesses may record it. Often there are fixed security cameras nearby that capture the interaction. So the thing that makes the most sense-if you really want accountability both for your officers and for the people they interact with - is to also have video from the officer's perspective. The use of body-worn cameras also raises important questions about privacy and trust. What are the privacy issues associated with recording victims of crime? How can officers maintain positive community relationships if they are ordered to record almost every type of interaction with the public? Will members of the public find it off-putting to be told by an officer, "I am recording this encounter," particularly if the encounter is a casual one? Do body-worn cameras also undermine the trust between officers and their superiors within the police department? In addition to these overarching issues, police leaders must also consider many practical policy issues, including the significant financial costs of deploying cameras and storing recorded data, training requirements, and rules and systems that must be adopted to ensure that body-worn camera video cannot be accessed for improper reasons. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2014. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2015 at: http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/472014912134715246869.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/472014912134715246869.pdf Shelf Number: 134908 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasLaw Enforcement Technology (U.S.)Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice TechnologyPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsVideo Technology |
Author: Mateescu, Alexandra Title: Police Body-Worn Cameras Summary: Police Body-Worn Cameras breaks down what's known - and not known - about the promises, perils, and potential best practices around police body-worn cameras. Both law enforcement and civil rights advocates are excited by the potential of body-worn cameras to improve community policing and safety, but there is no empirical research to conclusively suggest that these will reduce the deaths of black male civilians in encounters with police. There are some documented milder benefits evident from small pilot studies, such as more polite interactions between police and civilians when both parties are aware they are being recorded, and decreased fraudulent complaints made against officers. Many uncertainties about best practices of body-worn camera adoption and use remain, including when the cameras should record, what should be stored and retained, who should have access to the footage, and what policies should determine the release of footage to the public. As pilot and permanent body-worn camera programs are implemented, it is important to ask questions about how they can be best used to achieve their touted goals. How will the implementation of these programs be assessed for their efficacy in achieving accountability goals? What are the best policies to have in place to support those goals? Details: New York: Data & Society Research Institute, 2015. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed March 12, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2569481 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2569481 Shelf Number: 134919 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasLaw Enforcement Technology (U.S.) Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations SurveillanceVideo Technology |
Author: Adamson, Sue Title: Evaluation of the West Yorkshire Police Community Scrutiny Panels (Stop and Search): Final report Summary: - West Yorkshire Police introduced divisionally based Scrutiny Panels for Hate Incidents and Stop and Search early in 2005 with the aim of increasing transparency and accountability of police procedures and thereby promoting public confidence. This evaluation was tasked to specifically consider the Stop and Search element of the scrutiny panels. - West Yorkshire Police produced force guidelines for the Scrutiny Panels providing common minimum standards but divisions were expected to tailor implementation to local circumstances. There is therefore considerable variation in the structure and operating procedures of the panels. However few panels had formally defined their local arrangements. This omission may contribute to lack of clarity in the understanding of panel members about their role and police expectations of their commitment. - The size and composition of the panels varies considerably. Some panels are probably too small either in the listed pool of members or in attendance to be an effective public scrutiny. Although all panels include representatives from partner agencies and community members, the balance varies considerably and some panels are light on the latter. - All panel members include representatives of minority ethnic groups. Half of the survey respondents, excluding police officers, were white, one quarter Pakistani and smaller numbers from other ethnic groups. More men than women are involved with the panels and there have been particular difficulties in reaching women of Asian background. Few panels had succeeded in including young people. It is important that the panels are representative not only of the communities they serve but of those who are most likely to be the subjects of stop and search. - Few of the panels have provided formal training to panel members although some have introduced information packs which panel members can use for reference purposes. Ensuring that panel members can work from a knowledgebase is essential to the effectiveness of the panels. - All except one panel conform to the force guidelines for monthly meetings. Panels vary in the timing and location of meetings. Some always meet in the same place (frequently the police station), some alternate between different geographic locations within their divisions and others make efforts to meet on non-police premises. Some panels meet in the afternoon, some in the evening and others alternate. These variations have been introduced to maximise attendance at meetings. - Most panels comply with the force guidance that police representation should include an inspector although there are some where the rank is lower always or sometimes. On the other hand chief inspectors attend some panels. Senior police officer input is welcomed by panel members in signalling to members and police officers the value of the panel. - Most panels are chaired by police officers although for one there is a regular lay chair and for others a revolving chair. Panel members generally though the quality of the chairmanship was more important than whether or not the chair was a police officer. - Almost all the respondents to the survey thought that the meetings were open and transparent and all that members had the opportunity to have their say. - There was some variation in the way that stop and search forms were presented, notably in whether the panel members selected the forms for scrutiny and whether they were able to examine the forms themselves. It is important for transparency that this takes place. Some panels presented stop and search statistics while others did not. - Panels vary in their recording of their proceedings. All the panels submit a monitoring form to police headquarters after each meeting but in some panels this is not available to panel members. Some panels however produce formal minutes. Some panels formally feedback on unresolved issues raised at previous meetings but in others this is more adhoc. Feedback is essential for accountability. The monitoring form/minutes can provide a useful aide memoire in providing feedback. - Few panel members thought that the panel proceedings had shown irregularities in police conduct of stop and search. Those that were expressed included insufficient grounds for stop and search and the large numbers of cases where those stopped had refused their copy of the form. - Half the respondents to the survey and most of those interviewed identified issues in the recording of stop and search. These included incomplete recording, illegibility and counter signature of faulty forms by supervising officers. - The scrutiny panels have the potential to impact on community knowledge about stop and search, improve the transparency and accountability of the stop and search process, and raise public confidence in the police, particularly among ethnic minority communities. However these impacts are restricted by issues of representativeness of the community, superficiality of scrutiny because of an insufficient knowledgebase or time constraints and feedback to the community. - The scrutiny panels can have an effect on police performance of stop and search although again this is limited because the panel sees only a record. There is however evidence that the panels are improving recording of stop and search and can identify issues of supervision and training. The panels cannot address disproportionality in stop and search but can address the perception of that disproportionality among community members. - A number of good practice suggestions and performance indicators have been identified, Details: University of Hull, Department of Criminology and Sociological Studies, 2007. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/14346/1/Cole_WYP_Stop_and_Search_Scrutiny_Panels_-_Full_Report.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/14346/1/Cole_WYP_Stop_and_Search_Scrutiny_Panels_-_Full_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 134924 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Discretion Police PerformancePolice-Citizen Interactions Stop and Search (U.K.) |
Author: Alpert, Geoffrey P. Title: Measuring the impact of organisational culture and climate on police officers' decisions and behaviour Summary: The behaviour of police officers, particularly those at the operational frontline, attracts a high level of public scrutiny with frequent calls for increased accountability. The results of negative behaviour, or perceived faulty or biased decision-making, can affect the reputation of the whole organization and leave an enduring impression upon the public. Understanding the influences on police officer decision-making and behaviour, particularly those that an organization can change or control, can lead to optimal behaviour, improved police effectiveness and enhanced public confidence. This Working Paper looks at the police as an organization, and the influences on positive and negative officer decision making and behaviour, specifically detailing concepts of organizational culture and climate. Approaches to the measurement of these are outlined and the discussion concludes by proposing a mixed-method approach to understanding police culture to improve police behaviour. The behaviours of police vehicle accidents and the use of force are presented as examples to illustrate the approach Details: Mt Gravatt, QLD. : ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, 2012. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper, Issue 1: Accessed March 19, 2015 at: http://www.ceps.edu.au/CMS/Uploads/file/GAlpert_JRojek_LPorter_issue1.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.ceps.edu.au/CMS/Uploads/file/GAlpert_JRojek_LPorter_issue1.pdf Shelf Number: 134974 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice CulturePolice Decision-MakingPolice Effectiveness |
Author: Owens, Catherine Title: The Essex Body Worn Video Trial: The impact of Body Worn Video on criminal justice outcomes of domestic abuse incidents Summary: Some early evaluation work undertaken in England and Wales has shown promising evidence that body worn video (BWV) can increase the proportion of criminal justice (CJ) outcomes in domestic abuse (DA) incidents, but the findings were limited. The randomised controlled trial (RCT) reported in this paper tested the impact of BWV on the CJ outcomes for domestic abuse incidents in Essex. The intervention was the issuing of BWV to officers who provided first response to incidents of DA. In total, 80 officers were randomly assigned to the treatment group (to wear body worn video cameras) - 70 eventually wore the cameras - and 238 were randomly assigned to the control group (to not receive the cameras). Randomly assigning officers to the intervention group provides a strong basis on which to draw inferences regarding the effects of BWV. Over the four month period of the trial, 308 Essex response officers attended 30,480 incidents, of which 7,609 where domestic abuse incidents; 25% of all incidents attended. Of these, at least one officer wearing a body worn camera attended 2,761 incidents (36% of all domestic abuse incidents attended). The CJ outcomes of the DA incidents attended by treatment and control group officers were analysed - both at the incident and officer level, to see if there were any difference from the presence of a camera in the outcome of the incidents. In addition, an officer survey and officer interviews were conducted to understand why any changes in outcome may have occurred and context. It was not possible to obtain victims' views, or data about the involvement of the victims or witnesses at any stage in the investigation or prosecution. The trial did not look at potential impact of BWV on victim's feelings of fairness and confidence in the way the police handled the incident, or their views on progression of the incident through the Criminal Justice System using BWV footage. Results -- There was no significant difference between whether a camera was present or not in the rate at which incidents resulted in a sanction detection (SD). However, there was evidence to suggest that use of the camera affected the type of SD. A significantly higher proportion of incidents attended by at least one officer wearing a camera resulted in one or more criminal charges rather than another SD outcome (81% of the sanction detections were charges in the treatment group compared to 72% in the control group). This finding was supported by a 5% difference in the mean for individual officer charging rates in the two groups (75% vs 80%), which although not statistically significant2 matches the pattern of findings from incidents. There was no evidence to suggest the cameras work differently for different types of officer, victim or area. However, the presence of the camera increases the probability of an individual being charged (as opposed to other forms of detection), at all risk levels graded by the control room, but the effect was most noticeable for the lower risk cases. There were no differences in incidents being recorded as crimes, or rates of arrest, and too few cases to identify impact on guilty pleas and sentencing at this time. The intention of the trial was to test the impact of BWV on CJ outcomes for DA incidents, but low usage of the cameras by officers may have had a large effect on the CJ outcomes explored in this trial. During the trial, only one in six officers surveyed reported using the camera for all DA incidents, as required by policy, and there were significant practical limitations with the equipment. This trial shows an impact of BWV in its complex 'real world' setting that enables an understanding of when and for whom it is effective. This study was, therefore, an effectiveness study, not a study of how BWV could work in ideal settings - which would need translating to the context to which it is applied. This distinction is important because interventions that lead to significant improvements in 'ideal' settings do not necessarily deliver the same results in the 'real world'. This trial found that BWV was not used as it was intended, but a difference was still seen. One explanation for the charging results could be the effect of expectations of being part of a trial, but the officer interviews and survey gave an insight into the reported difference the cameras made to their response to DA incidents. Officer Experience -- Half of those officers interviewed stated an increased confidence in getting convictions with the cameras, as they felt the cameras gave more detail than a statement could capture. The evidence, interviewed officers reported, was especially useful if it was a recording of the initial account, as it would often capture emotion and any injuries - more accurately reflecting the impact of the incident. An added benefit of the cameras was that often victims reportedly gave a great deal of information about the incident, or appeared when the officers arrived at the scene with visible injuries or clearly emotional, that they felt provided useful evidence at a later stage, particularly for evidence led prosecutions. The interviewed officers' comments all support the increased proportion of charges found. Officers interviewed felt the cameras increased accountability and made them more mindful of their behaviour. While some comments suggested officers' would be more likely to arrest than to take any other action with BWV, this was not found in the results, perhaps because of the force's prior focus on positive action, which officers usually took to mean arrest. They explained a risk aversion to inaction, and how this was amplified by the cameras. There was a feeling they would have to justify action or rather inaction to anyone looking at the footage. However, the strongest message from the survey and interviews was that the cameras had practical limitations, including failure to record, recording at the wrong angle, difficulties switching it on/off and not working in poor lighting, as well as being bulky so difficult to wear were often given as a reason officers stopped using the equipment. Details: Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK: College of Policing, 2014. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://college.pressofficeadmin.com/repository/files/BWV_Report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://college.pressofficeadmin.com/repository/files/BWV_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 135131 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasDomestic ViolenceLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice PerformanceVideo Technology |
Author: McDowall, Almuth Title: Promoting ethical behaviour and preventing wrongdoing in organisations: A rapid evidence assessment Summary: This report summarises the findings of an REA, the aim of which was to identify interventions, mechanisms and levers that might help to encourage ethical behaviour and prevent wrongdoing in organisations (i.e. comply with common professional standards or ethical principles). This review builds on the separate REA carried out by the College on the impact of codes of ethics on professional behaviour (see Brown 2014). The REA is based on a total of 57 studies carried out in policing and other professions. The review used a clear protocol to search for, sift and bring together the most relevant research papers. It reports 39 studies identified by this method, plus an additional 18 studies identified by the College of Policing or at peer review. While it was difficult to draw out overall conclusions from the literature, because the studies included in the review used a wide range of research methods to answer different questions in a variety of settings, the key findings are highlighted below. Evidence from existing systematic reviews is presented separately to that from single studies and case studies. What works and what's promising While the number of evaluated interventions and practices found during our literature search was fairly small, and sometimes not of the type required to make statements about "what works", the evidence we did find suggested that organisations can take positive steps to encourage ethical behaviour and address wrongdoing. Evidence from a systematic review - Procedural justice policing - The strongest intervention evidence we identified - based on a systematic review - explored the impact of a range of interventions on public perceptions of the police, a "positive" measure of ethical behaviour, rather than a "negative" measure of wrongdoing: - Overall, interventions that embraced the principles of procedural justice (i.e. fair decision-making and respectful treatment) - such as community policing, informal contact and restorative justice - improved public trust and confidence, and changed people's perception of the police for the better. - The review concluded there was "overwhelming support" for the police to introduce innovations that seek to advance citizen perceptions of legitimacy. Evidence from individual intervention studies or case study reviews - Body worn video cameras - One US randomised controlled trial (identified by the College outside the search protocol) showed that body worn video cameras can lead to a significant reduction in the police use of force. The effect on public complaints also appeared to be positive, but was less conclusive. - Being held to account - One quasi-experiment involving Dutch riot police suggested that reminding officers they would be accountable for their actions had a positive impact on reported attitudes (e.g. more moderate views about the police use of force). - Training - Five studies were identified exploring the effect of training in both military and policing contexts. Though the content and delivery of the training differed, the nature of decision-making and interaction skills were common elements. Each study suggested training could have a positive effect: - Training in moral decision-making (military) - A quasi-experiment, involving the Swiss military, showed that a one-week training programme on resolving moral dilemmas was effective in improving the decision-making competence of officers. - Training in procedural justice (police) - A randomised controlled trial carried out in Greater Manchester Police showed that training in practical communication skills resulted in victims perceiving the police to be fairer and more respectful. - Training in personal responsibility and control (police) - Two related studies carried out in the Nigerian Police suggested that training aimed at raising awareness of officers' personal responsibilities could change attitudes towards corruption. - Conflict resolution training (police) - One US quasi-experiment showed that three-day simulation-based training gave officers an alternative way of managing encounters, reducing the frequency and intensity with which force was used. - Ethics programmes - One before/after study carried out in an Israeli regional council suggested that the introduction of an ethics programme - in support of a code of ethics - resulted in changes to some, but not all, employee perceptions (e.g. improved perceptions of there being an ethical work climate). - Targeted problem-solving and early interventions - can potentially lead to substantial reductions on the police use of force and complaints. - One international review of before/after case studies suggested there was plausible evidence that the adoption of a problem-oriented approach by the police could reduce excessive or unnecessary uses of force. - Several individual case studies were identified that suggested the scanning and analysis of police data as ways of identifying particular officers or hotspots for target prevention activity was potentially promising. When interventions are most likely to be effective - Limited evidence was uncovered about the specific contexts in which interventions were most likely to be effective. However, studies pointed towards a need for both: - scanning and analysis of available police data, to ensure the intervention is well targeted and deals with the underlying causes of a problem; and -{ organisational commitment and leadership. Evidence from individual intervention studies or case study reviews - Body worn video cameras - One US randomised controlled trial (identified by the College outside the search protocol) showed that body worn video cameras can lead to a significant reduction in the police use of force. The effect on public complaints also appeared to be positive, but was less conclusive. - Being held to account - One quasi-experiment involving Dutch riot police suggested that reminding officers they would be accountable for their actions had a positive impact on reported attitudes (e.g. more moderate views about the police use of force). - Training - Five studies were identified exploring the effect of training in both military and policing contexts. Though the content and delivery of the training differed, the nature of decision-making and interaction skills were common elements. Each study suggested training could have a positive effect: - Training in moral decision-making (military) - A quasi-experiment, involving the Swiss military, showed that a one-week training programme on resolving moral dilemmas was effective in improving the decision-making competence of officers. - Training in procedural justice (police) - A randomised controlled trial carried out in Greater Manchester Police showed that training in practical communication skills resulted in victims perceiving the police to be fairer and more respectful. - Training in personal responsibility and control (police) - Two related studies carried out in the Nigerian Police suggested that training aimed at raising awareness of officers' personal responsibilities could change attitudes towards corruption. - Conflict resolution training (police) - One US quasi-experiment showed that three-day simulation-based training gave officers an alternative way of managing encounters, reducing the frequency and intensity with which force was used. - Ethics programmes - One before/after study carried out in an Israeli regional council suggested that the introduction of an ethics programme - in support of a code of ethics - resulted in changes to some, but not all, employee perceptions (e.g. improved perceptions of there being an ethical work climate). - Targeted problem-solving and early interventions - can potentially lead to substantial reductions on the police use of force and complaints. - One international review of before/after case studies suggested there was plausible evidence that the adoption of a problem-oriented approach by the police could reduce excessive or unnecessary uses of force. - Several individual case studies were identified that suggested the scanning and analysis of police data as ways of identifying particular officers or hotspots for target prevention activity was potentially promising. When interventions are most likely to be effective - Limited evidence was uncovered about the specific contexts in which interventions were most likely to be effective. However, studies pointed towards a need for both: - scanning and analysis of available police data, to ensure the intervention is well targeted and deals with the underlying causes of a problem; and organisational commitment and leadership. What doesn't work and evaluation gaps - No ineffective or counter-productive interventions were identified. However, there is a clear need for any intervention to be implemented thoughtfully and with care to help ensure it does not have any unintended negative consequences, and to put appropriate evaluation in place. - Limited empirical evidence was found on a number of approaches used by the police or proposed in the literature for promoting ethical behaviour and preventing wrongdoing (such as proactive investigative techniques, recruitment screening). This finding points to the need for further testing to identify "what works". The factors influencing ethical behaviour and wrongdoing We identified evidence from a number of empirical studies and literature reviews about factors associated with ethical behaviour and wrongdoing in organisations. By understanding these factors, practitioners may be better placed to design and implement more effective interventions or target them appropriately. Evidence from a systematic review - Systematic review evidence - based on 136 studies from a wide range of professional and occupational settings - suggested that ethical choices in the workplace were influenced by a range of factors at the individual, situational and organisational level. - An ethical working environment and a belief among workers that a code of conduct was well-enforced both had a positive effect on ethical decision-making. - Overall, the context of the situation in which a decision is made, particularly in terms of its perceived immediacy and magnitude of its consequences for others, was associated with workers avoiding unethical behaviour. - The influence of individual characteristics on ethical decision-making was relatively small overall: - Workers who were concerned about others, less "flexible" in their morality, less manipulative, and who took greater personal responsibility, tended to be more ethical at work. - Men and younger workers were more likely to make unethical choices overall than women and older workers. - Educational attainment was found to have no overall effect. - The range of factors associated with ethical choices suggests action at individual, situational and organisational level may be required to deal with wrongdoing and that it would be insufficient to target "bad apples", "bad cases" or "bad barrels" on their own. - Interventions focused solely on officer attitudes and intentions may not lead to improved behaviour, as the systematic review evidence suggested unethical decisions were not always based on unethical intentions. The choices made by a worker were more accurately predicted by their past behaviour than by their reported intentions. Evidence from individual studies - Organisational factors - The working environment, organisational justice and ethical leadership were all found to be "protective factors" against wrongdoing. Ethical leadership appeared to have a range of direct and indirect influences. While there was some consistency between studies on the value of role-modelling, other leadership behaviours and styles were also found to have an effect, such as openness or strictness (i.e. setting and enforcing standards). Thus, while it is clear that supervisors and leaders should - as a default - seek to be good role models through exemplary behaviour, and to encourage open discussion, there may be situations where it is important for them to set appropriate standards of behaviour and to sanction behaviour that falls short. - Situational factors - Some evidence was found on the situational factors that increased the chances of officers using improper force (e.g. the suspect being agitated or antagonistic, and having been involved in a serious offence). There was some indication that officers could sometimes be unsure whether particular activities were unethical. Several studies were also found that pointed to the existence of a "blue code of silence" - the informal pressure on officers not to report their colleagues - although its effect appeared to vary within and between organisations. - Individual characteristics - A range of individual characteristics - such as being male, younger, less experienced - were found in the literature to be associated with some types of wrongdoing. Early career misconduct and a range of social and psychological risk factors were also found to be potentially important influences, although their impact was found to be difficult to measure. The implications for practice of these individual characteristics are perhaps less clear as they are potentially related to other confounding factors and arguably harder for practitioners to influence. Conclusions and implications Taken together, the evidence in this REA raises a range of possibilities to take forward into practice. While the number of evaluated practices was fairly small, the evidence we found suggested that organisations can take steps to encourage ethical behaviour and reduce wrongdoing. Although there were no ready-made single solutions, a multi-pronged approach is likely to be needed. Notably, all the promising interventions that were identified were broadly preventive or remedial in their approach; none were purely focused on apprehending and disciplining those responsible for wrongdoing. The evidence also underlined how important leadership was within organisations. The need for strong and effective leadership - such as leaders being open, acting as role models, and also being "firm" in terms of setting and enforcing standards - was highlighted as encouraging ethical behaviour and as an essential ingredient for the successful implementation of interventions. This finding contains learning for individual leaders about how they should perform their role, but also has wider implications for the way leadership in the service is selected, promoted, developed and held to account. Moreover, leadership - and the organisational environment it helped create - were strong influences on the attitudes and (reported) behaviours of those working for them. Key here were the ideas of organisational justice (fair decision-making and respectful treatment internally) and ethical leadership. However, despite its importance, leadership was only one of several influences on ethical behaviour. A range of factors at the organisational, situational and individual level were all found to affect wrongdoing in different professional settings. While it is not clear what initiatives will "work", this finding highlights the need for action to be taken in combination at all three levels. Details: Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK: College of Policing, 2015. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Integrity_REA_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Integrity_REA_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Shelf Number: 135133 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice EthicsPolice IntegrityPolice LegitimacyPolice Misconduct (U.K.)Police TrainingPolice-Citizen InteractionsProcedural Justice |
Author: Quinton, Paul Title: Fair cop 2: Organisational justice, behaviour and ethical policing - An interpretative evidence commentary Summary: Fair decision-making and respectful treatment of the public by the police has previously been shown to foster police legitimacy, which, in turn, encourages people to cooperate with the police and not break the law. This paper provides a commentary around new survey research (Bradford et al 2013 and Bradford and Quinton 2014) that shows fairness and respect, internally within police organisations, can have a similar effect on the attitudes and behaviour of the workforce. Fairness at a supervisory and senior leadership level was associated with officers 'going the extra mile' without personal gain, following work rules, valuing the public, feeling empowered, and supporting ethical policing. These effects were largely brought about by fair treatment encouraging officers to identify with the organisation and its values, rather than a police subculture. The positive impact of fairness on attitudes and behaviour was found to exceed that of the traditional 'carrot and stick' approach, which ran the risk of fostering unthinking compliance with the rules even when officers thought it might be the 'wrong thing' to do. By linking the 'internal' organisational justice and 'external' procedural justice models together, it is possible to see how fairness and respect inside the police could, in the longer term, improve the public's perceptions of, and their voluntary cooperation with, the police. It also highlights the risk to policing of perceived unfairness within police organisations, because of its detrimental effect on staff attitudes and behaviours. Details: Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK: College of Policing, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Fair_cop%202_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Fair_cop%202_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Shelf Number: 135135 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Behavior (U.K.)Police DiscretionPolice EthicsPolice-Citizen InteractionsProcedural Justice |
Author: Police Reform Taskforce Title: Policing for the People: Interim report of the Police Reform Taskforce Summary: The central premise of this report is that, in spite of record spending on law and order, crime remains far too high. A more effective criminal justice system and social action will be important components of a new approach to fighting crime. But the police are a vital link in the chain of justice, consuming two-thirds of law and order spending. Their performance over the next decade will be essential in improving the quality of life of millions of citizens. The Government's approach to the police has been a familiar one: higher public spending combined with an ever tighter central grip. Like other public services, the police are bedeviled with national targets, interference and the bureaucracy created by central intervention. The result has been that even as resources for the police have reached record levels, officers feel unable to deliver the service they and the public want - and the gulf between the police and public is growing. The hundreds of meetings we have had with police officers over the past months have reinforced our belief that the service is full of officers with a real commitment to delivering effective policing for the public. Nevertheless, neither politicians nor the police can afford to ignore an undercurrent of public dissatisfaction about the level of policing which they are receiving. Focus groups which we conducted for the Taskforce indicated sympathy for the difficulty of the task which the police face. A general feeling, expressed by one participant, was that "their hands are totally tied - by red tape and political correctness". But there were also harsh words, reflecting an alienation from the service: "Your local bobby used to be known by everyone. He was an authority on the area and a friend. They are now obsolete". A familiar grievance was that the police appeared to pursue motorists with particular zeal: "You get pulled over for a driving offence and get treated like a complete criminal". This qualitative research is supported by quantitative evidence that trust in the police has declined and attitudes towards them are negatively related to personal experiences of the service. The most recent survey, conducted by ICM for the TaxPayers' Alliance, found that while the overwhelming majority of the public respects the police, less than a quarter think that policing in their area has improved, and less than half think that increases in council tax to pay for improvements to local policing in the last ten years have been good value for money. Large majorities of the public agree that the police spend too much time in police stations and not enough time on the beat; their hands are tied by red tape and political correctness, and they prefer to focus on easy targets like speeding motorists rather than deal with antisocial behaviour and local crime. The closure of police stations is emblematic of the withdrawal of the police from the public. On paper, police officer numbers have increased - the police workforce has grown by almost 25 per cent in the last five years. In practice, the public simply do not see it. ICM's survey found that most people think that there are fewer police on the beat than there used to be, and that nearly three quarters of the public know none of the police officers in their neighbourhood. As we demonstrate, vast amounts of police time are spent tied up in stations; the police spend more time on paperwork than on patrol, and less than a tenth of England and Wales' police officers are dedicated to neighbourhood policing. If the amount of time a police officer spends on the beat could be increased from one fifth to two fifths, this would effectively double the police presence on the streets of England and Wales without recruiting a single additional officer. For decades, an expert wisdom prevailed that high crime was inevitable and that policing could do little to prevent it. There was no point in putting police officers on the streets, the argument ran, because it would do little to reduce crime. Today such fatalism, which was never accepted by the public, has been debunked. When more police were put on the streets of central London after 7/7, crime fell. The success of New York City's reductions in crime in the 1990s - recently described by one leading academic as "by far the biggest crime prevention achievement in the recorded history of metropolitan policing" - demonstrates that good policing, which accounted for half of the 75 per cent reduction in crime in a decade, can make our streets safer. The lessons of New York are important ones. Better police performance was achieved by a combination of factors: a significant increase in police numbers on the streets, robust community policing, and powerful reforms which enhanced the accountability of managers. The changes were driven by an elected Mayor who was accountable to the people, and an inspirational police chief who innovated and led his force. Today the British police face the twin challenges of rebuilding community policing to tackle low level crime and antisocial behaviour, while at the same time strengthening the fight against serious crime and terrorism. To meet these challenges it will be vital to ensure that the police are properly resourced in the future. But they have never had so much money, so many officers or such access to technology. Furthermore, the growth of spending on public services is now slowing; indeed the Home Office budget is to be frozen from next year. The police face a new imperative to deliver value for money. Details: London: Policy Review, 2007. 241p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/files/policing_for_the_people.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/files/policing_for_the_people.pdf Shelf Number: 135321 Keywords: Community PolicingCosts of Criminal JusticePolice AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice EffectivenessPolice LegitimacyPolice ReformPolicing (U.K.) |
Author: Jones, Nicholas A. Title: The Duty to Disclose. The Challenges, Costs and Possible Solutions: Final Report Summary: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in holding public safety services such as the police more accountable for their performance as publically funded agencies (Ruddell and Jones, 2014). As a result, there has been a determined and focused search for cost efficiencies within the criminal justice system. One area where there has been an increase in workload and costs is due to legal requirements associated with pre-trial disclosure. While Cowper (2012) noted that the disclosure ruling in the Supreme Court's R. v. Stinchcombe (1991) decision was predicted to result in an increased number of pre-court resolutions, which has not always been the case. Malm, Pollard, Brantingham, Tinsley, Plecas, Brantingham, Cohen and Kinney (2005, p. 13) reported that disclosure requirements have, in some cases, had a "debilitating, effect on police resources." Given the inter-related nature of the justice system, it is not difficult to see how this costly requirement also impacts upon the operations and budgets of Public Prosecutor Units as well. The Stinchcombe decision has resulted in justice agencies having to balance the requirements of the court ruling to ensure just and fair outcomes for the accused, while seeking strategies to ameliorate the increased workload they have experienced. The purpose of this report was to shed light on the practice of disclosure in Saskatchewan using information collected from justice-system practitioners and stakeholders, as well as practitioners from other provinces. Based on an analysis of their observations, four broad recommendations were generated that incorporated suggestions from the Saskatchewan participants, while also giving consideration to best practices reported by officials from other provinces who are grappling with similar issues. These recommendations fall under the broad themes of: 1) legal issues and requirements, 2) standardization of disclosure packages, 3) electronic forms of disclosure, and 4) transcription. Details: Regina, SK: Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety, 2014. 329p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2015 at: http://www.justiceandsafety.ca/rsu_docs/duty-to-disclose-final-with-cover-to-ps.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.justiceandsafety.ca/rsu_docs/duty-to-disclose-final-with-cover-to-ps.pdf Shelf Number: 135698 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice EffectivenessPolice PerformancePolicing |
Author: Bruce, David Title: A 'Third Umpire' for Policing in South Africa: Applying Body Cameras in the Western Cape Summary: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are rapidly changing the way governments, public agencies and people interact. With the advent and spread of technologies - especially wireless connectivity and wearables - new forms of communication and information exchange are possible. In best case scenarios, these can expand the range of options and opportunities for civic engagement across political, economic and social dimensions. Not surprisingly, technological innovations are having a profound effect on the form and content of policing. But what are the possibilities for the use of these new technologies for improving law enforcement in the global South? A new initiative led by the Brazil-based Igarape Institute is testing this question. It involves police and civil society groups in Brazil and South Africa and is exploring how new technologies can improve the oversight and accountability of police. The initiative is called "smart policing". Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute, 2015. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Paper 14: Accessed May 20, 2015 at: http://www.apcof.org/files/694_smart_policing%20_in%20_south%20africa.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.apcof.org/files/694_smart_policing%20_in%20_south%20africa.pdf Shelf Number: 135718 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolicePolice AccountabilityPolice CommunicationPolice Policies and PracticesPolice Technology |
Author: Witherspoon, Pernell Title: Police Body Cameras in Missouri: Good or Bad Policy? An Academic Viewpoint Seen Through the Lens of a Former Law Enforcement Official Summary: After the fatal shooting of an African American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, various police departments are exploring the use of body cameras. With tensions high, it is hopeful that body worn camera policies will be based on sound research and that appropriate measures are made to achieve optimum effectiveness. The author of this writing, a former law enforcement official and current academic, presents some challenges that police administrators will need to address toward body camera implementation. Because racism is difficult to accurately measure and police are historically reluctant to provide genuine feedback for researchers, the author introduces hypothetical, but realistic, phenomena for Missouri law enforcement leaders to assess. This writing raises questions to who is attracted to or being chosen for the police profession. While difficult and perhaps impossible to prove because of hidden factors, conservatism and lack of college education might be correlated to an officer's judgment toward delivering equitable treatment to all citizens. Thus, some officers might be motivated to undermine any new policies that hinder their autonomy in policing? The author's personal experiences are laid out to acknowledge the complexities behind introducing new policies based on knee jerk reactions if self-assessments within departments are not first drawn out. Details: St. Charles, MO: Lindenwood University, 2014. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Number 2 (Summer/Fall 2014) Missouri Policy Journal : Accessed May 29, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2538932 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2538932 Shelf Number: 135803 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice-Citizen Interactions |
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) Title: Caught red-handed: Why we can't count on Police Recorded Crime statistics. Thirteenth Report of Session 2013-14 Summary: Crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are central to our understanding of the nature and prevalence of crime in England and Wales. They provide crucial information for the police which helps them to decide how to deploy their manpower resources. Lax supervision of recorded crime data risks reducing the police's effectiveness in their core role of protecting the public and preventing crime. Measurement of crime is based on two main statistical sources: (i) the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW, formerly the British Crime Survey) and (ii) Police Recorded Crime (PRC). The CSEW and PRC provide strong evidence that the overall volume of crime has been falling. However, there is an accumulation of substantial and credible evidence indicating that the PRC data do not represent a full and accurate account of crime in England and Wales. Of most importance, we have strong evidence that PRC under-records crime, and therefore the rate of decrease in crime may be exaggerated, and this is due to lax police compliance with the agreed national standard of victim-focussed crime recording. As a result of PASC's inquiry and the evidence we have exposed, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) decided in January 2014 to strip PRC data of its designation as National Statistics. We conclude that the Home Office, ONS and UKSA have been far too passive in the face of concerns raised about PRC; they have repeatedly missed opportunities to ensure the integrity and quality of PRC data. The cessation of regular external audit of police force crime recording in 2007 was a mistake. We recommend the re-instatement of annual audits of crime recording practices. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's inspection in 2013 into the Kent Police found clear evidence that targets are detrimental to the integrity of crime data. Numerical targets for individual police officers and police forces as a whole, based on PRC data, and set by senior police officers or Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), drive perverse incentives to misrecord crime, tend to affect attitudes and erode data quality. Some PCCs consider the perverse incentives created by targets to be so serious that they have dropped all targets. We applaud them. The attitudes and behaviour which lead to the misrecording of crime have become ingrained, including within senior leadership. This leads to the subordination of data integrity to target-chasing. This can present officers with a conflict between achievement of targets and core policing values. We deprecate the use of targets in the strongest possible terms. The Home Office, which claims credit for abolishing national numerical targets, should also be discouraging the use of such targets. The Home Office must also take responsibility and accept accountability for the quality of PRC statistics. Senior police leaders must ensure that emphasis is placed on data integrity and accuracy, not on the achievement of targets. We regard such practice as a flawed leadership model, contrary to the policing Code of Ethics. The quality of leadership within the police, and its compliance with the core values of policing, including accountability, honesty and integrity, will determine whether the proper quality of PRC data can be restored. We are convinced that this requires leadership in many police forces to place new emphasis on values and ethics, especially in the Metropolitan Police Service. We recommend that the Committee on Standards in Public Life conducts a wide-ranging inquiry into the police's compliance with the new Code of Ethics; in particular the role of leadership in promoting and sustaining these values in the face of all the other pressures on the force. Details: London: The Stationery Office Limited, 2014. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 1, 2015 at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/760/760.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/760/760.pdf Shelf Number: 135840 Keywords: Crime MeasurementCrime StatisticsPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice EthicsPolice IntegrityPolice Performance |
Author: Faull, Andrew Title: City Blues: Corruption and Corruption Management in South Africa's Metropolitan Police Departments Summary: Police in South Africa are increasingly perceived as being corrupt. Research indicates that corruption is especially prevalent in the area of traffic regulation enforcement which, in the major urban centres, is primarily the responsibility of Metropolitan Police Departments (MPDs). As organs of local municipal councils, MPDs are also responsible for general crime prevention and crowd management, as well as other joint duties with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Metro Police Departments are set up and structured in partnership with local councils under relevant national legislation. From one local council to the next there is scope for considerable variation in approach to matters, including the control of corruption. This paper sheds light on how corruption (or 'integrity management' as it is sometimes called) is approached within each of the six major metro police departments. Section 1 gives background on corruption among metropolitan police generally and reviews relevant survey data. Section 2 gives a detailed profile of each of the departments and their approaches to corruption management. The last section sums up and compares the various approaches to controlling corruption and offers suggestions on how this could be improved. Details: Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2008. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: ISS Paper 170: Accessed June 3, 2015 at: http://dspace.africaportal.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/31193/1/PAPER170.pdf?1 Year: 2008 Country: South Africa URL: http://dspace.africaportal.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/31193/1/PAPER170.pdf?1 Shelf Number: 135877 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice IntegrityPolice Misconduct |
Author: Great Britain. Committee on Standards in Public Life Title: Tone from the Top: Leadership, ethics and accountability in policing Summary: 1. The public expects high ethical standards from the police that serve them. Trust in the police is vital - from the Chief Constable to the most junior police officer. Police ethics - their honesty, their integrity, their impartiality, their openness - should be beyond reproach. Above all, this requires effective accountability and leadership to create a culture where high standards of behaviour are the norm. High standards - of both conduct and accountability - also need to be demonstrated by those charged with holding the police to account. 2. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the Act) created elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to "ensure the police respond to local priorities and are directly accountable to the public."1 PCCs set the strategic direction and aims of the police force and have responsibility for delivering community safety and reducing crime and delivering value for money. PCCs control over 12bn of police force funding.2 They have the statutory responsibility to appoint a Chief Constable as well as for their removal. In addition to the PCCs' local role, they have a regional and national role to ensure cross border resilience and capability and to meet national threats such as terrorism or organised crime. PCCs can and have entered into collaboration agreements with other PCCs and organisations to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of policing, for example by sharing back office functions. The Act also provided for the establishment of local Police and Crime Panels who have a dual scrutiny and support role in respect of the PCC and have some powers of veto on budgets and on the appointment of a Chief Constable. 3. PCCs represent a deliberate and substantial strengthening of the locally elected element of the tripartite arrangements for policing accountability. The model is one of democratic accountability "replacing bureaucratic accountability with democratic accountability" where "the public will have elected Police and Crime Commissioners and will be holding them to account for how policing is delivered through their force." The model is primarily reliant on the cycle of elections as the main means of holding PCCs to account. The average turnout for the PCC election in 2012 was 15.1%. The Committee's public research has found that knowledge of the policing accountability arrangements is not very high4 and there is a very low level of public interest in policing - 60% of respondents said they were not interested in finding out about policing issues in their local area5. Rather, for the public, the key accountability mechanism is the ability to question or challenge "their" local beat team or commander on specific areas of concern. 4. The statutory Policing Protocol, which sets out to all PCCs, Chief Constables and Police and Crime Panels how their functions will be exercised in relation to each other, makes clear that all parties will abide by the Seven Principles of Public Life - Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership. 5. The Committee believes that any accountability and governance framework for policing should similarly reflect the Seven Principles of Public Life, and operate in a way which is capable of ensuring ethical behaviour, reducing ethical risks and providing effective accountability in order to command public confidence. 6. This matters because our policing system relies on policing by consent in a way that meets the differing needs and priorities of communities. It also relies on the operational independence of the police. But operational independence does not mean that there can be exceptionalism for the police - the public is clear on what the ethical standards should be and is consistent in its expectation that those in public life should abide by them. Year on year the public has affirmed that the definition of standards set out in the Seven Principles is still relevant and should continue to apply to public office holders and all those delivering public services. 7. The Committee recognises that the role of police officer is a unique and valuable one. It does not underestimate the challenging and often unexpected situations the police face every day. "Police officers are expected to make quick but finely-calibrated judgements about when, how and how much of their power it is justified to use" and the vast majority of police officers do so with integrity. They are operating in a fast moving landscape with changing demands of crime where increased accountability, professionalisation and ethical behaviour will be key to ensuring public confidence. 8. The Committee's surveys tell us that public experience of core policing values is generally positive. They show that the majority of respondents thought senior police officers could be trusted to tell the truth and the large majority of respondents thought they would be treated fairly as a victim of crime reporting it to the police. This view is reinforced by other surveys which showed that 65% of respondents thought police officers could be trusted to tell the truth, and 63% of adults gave positive ratings of local police. Research carried out specifically for this inquiry showed that the majority of respondents believed that the police are held to account for their actions and that police deal with crime and anti-social behaviour issues that matter in their local area. 9. The democratic accountability of the PCC must not negate oversight of those who hold public office. As the government acknowledged: "the public need to have the right information to judge the Commissioner's performance and they need to know the Commissioner can be called to account with effective scrutiny and appropriate checks and balances, in particular at a local level." 10. Accountability should be tested between elections by demonstrable compliance with standards of conduct, propriety and performance. It should be tested and verified by independent scrutiny, with failure addressed with appropriate and timely sanctions. 11. The Committee is conscious that all those involved in the new local accountability arrangements have had to adapt to new relationships and ways of working, with relatively little guidance and support from central Government. PCCs in particular faced a huge task to develop their Police and Crime Plans setting out their priorities and establish their offices in a short space of time after delayed elections. The Committee has borne this in mind throughout the course of the inquiry. The Committee has found evidence of: a. recognition of the importance of the College of Policing's Code of Ethics and core policing values and diverse good practice in implementing and embedding the Code within police forces; b. increased professionalism that is ethically based and an acknowledgement of the importance of leadership in policing to support high ethical standards; c. increased visibility, greater focus on victim support and local public engagement by PCCs in comparison to the Police Authorities they replaced, but questions around the wider impact of that engagement; d. the existence of various mechanisms, of varying effectiveness, to support high standards of behaviour and propriety such as information transparency, audit committees, ethical frameworks, scrutiny plans, controls to manage conflicts of interests and arrangements to engage, promote and monitor best practice - these arrangements will need to be consistently and actively implemented with regular monitoring of compliance and impact. 13. The Committee has also identified significant standards risks including: a. confusion amongst the public and the participants about roles and responsibilities, especially in relation to where operational independence and governance oversight begin and end; b. a significant absence of a clear process to take action against a PCC whose conduct falls below the standards expected of public office holders, resulting in that behaviour going unchallenged and uncensured; c. concerns about the robustness of current selection processes for chief officers; d. PCCs not encountering sufficient constructive challenge or active support in exercising decision making powers; e. barriers to the effective operation of Police and Crime Panels as scrutinisers including support, resources and the consistency and credibility of representative membership; f. a lack of timely and accessible information being provided to Police and Crime Panels by PCCs affecting Police and Crime Panels' ability to scrutinise and support the PCC; g. potential for high risk conflict of interests in roles jointly appointed by PCCs and Chief Constables (which although relatively rare, may increase in number) and risks inherent in the combined role of Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer to the PCC; h. confusion between, and inherent tensions in the current police complaints system and the complaints system attaching to PCCs, and a gap in the expectations of the public in how complaints against PCCs would be resolved, especially when this involved unethical but not criminal behaviour. 14. Combined, these factors impact on the ability of Police and Crime Panels to ensure, "that decisions of PCCs are tested on behalf of the public on a regular basis." There are benefits for PCCs in active engagement with Police and Crime Panels as a source of local knowledge, political support and leverage. PCCs need to play their part in sustaining open and trusting relationships. There is also scope for Police and Crime Panels to develop a more strategic future focus with better forward planning. 15. The operational and strategic roles of the Chief Constable and PCC respectively are not clearly defined and this has created confusion in the minds of the public which has fed into the complaints system. The evidence has also shown that success or failure in the current framework depends not only on the skills and experience but also on the personalities of and the relationship between the Chief Constable and the PCC. Whilst this is not a substantially new issue - constructive relationships were an important factor when Chief Constables were accountable to Police Authorities - it becomes critical when it is a one-on-one relationship. 16. The risk that the balance of power will become asymmetric or dysfunctional argues for transparency in working relationships and appropriate checks and balances. The Committee is not convinced that the existing safeguards in the framework are sufficient, given that the PCC as a single individual directly controls local policing, crime strategy and a significant budget. This matters because policing in times of austerity may mean that Chief Constables will increasingly be making difficult operational decisions which may not be supported by the public or the PCC. 17. The Committee considers a minimum code of conduct for PCCs an essential component in ensuring there is clarity as to the standards of conduct and behaviour expected from the individuals concerned and in providing the public with certainty as to what is and is not acceptable conduct. This will in turn increase transparency in the complaints system and produce a common standard of conduct which could be relied upon in any future power of recall. 18. The Committee noted the establishment of Ethics Committees in some areas, but considers they are an adjunct to, not an answer to, embedding a standards culture. Nor are they part of the formal accountability for holding Chief Constables to account. The Committee believes the remit of Ethics Committees needs to be sharply focused and clearly differentiated from other groups such as Independent Advisory Groups. As new bodies in an already crowded landscape, their effectiveness should be regularly reviewed. 19. The Committee has concluded that to provide assurance that high ethical standards of behaviour are capable of being upheld and to sustain core policing values14 there needs to be a strong and continuing focus on: - clarity of responsibility and accountability; - developing a sustainable culture of embedding high ethical standards; and - robust effective ethical leadership. Details: London: The Committee, 2015. 141p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439208/Tone_from_the_top_-_CSPL.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439208/Tone_from_the_top_-_CSPL.pdf Shelf Number: 136254 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice EffectivenessPolice EthicsPolice LegitimacyPolice Performance |
Author: Gormally, Brian Title: The Policing You Don't See: Covert Policing and the Accountability Gap: Five years on from the transfer of 'national security' primacy to MI5 Summary: Covert policing - the practices of communication interception, surveillance, the use of informants and undercover operations - was used extensively during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Covert policing is argued to have prolonged the conflict and did lasting and immense damage to the rule of law. After the signing of the peace agreement, the Northern Ireland police service undertook large-scale reforms which were designed to prevent the recurrence of such abuses. Yet the secret Security Service - implicated in past abuses - has not yet undertaken such reformation but has been put in charge of a highly important area of mainstream policing. MI5 maintains primacy in covert 'national security' policing and gives 'strategic direction' to the PSNI in this area. Despite its large role in policing and its lack of reform, governmental oversight of MI5 is limited and ineffective. Limited additional accountably measures were promised in the St. Andrews Agreement but some of the most significant commitments, such as those to publish policy frameworks, have not been honoured. Instead, MI5 has been given control of one of the most sensitive areas of policing in Northern Ireland, operating undercover, without having been reformed, and without an accountability structure. This report develops a human rights based framework from international standards and the Patten Report and uses it to analyse past and present covert policing practice. This report reflects on evidence of the involvement of police informants in serious criminality, which led to recommendations to improve legality and accountability of covert policing. However, since primacy in 'national security' policing was given to MI5 five years ago (2007), the research finds that there is a growing "accountability gap" over a large part of policing. This report explains that the UK level oversight of MI5 is plainly inadequate and that the local mechanisms that hold the PSNI to account are evaded by the Security Service. It argues that this situation falls woefully short of international standards and has the capacity to undermine confidence in policing as a whole. Details: Belfast: University of Ulster, Transnational Justice Institute, 2013. 115p. Source: Internet Resource: Transitional Justice Institute Research Paper No. 13-07: Accessed July 29, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2362759 Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2362759 Shelf Number: 136257 Keywords: Covert PolicingPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice Surveillance |
Author: Ratcliffe, Jerry H. Title: Harm-Focused Policing Summary: Many of modern policing's accountability mechanisms and performance criteria remain rooted in a narrow mandate of combating violence and property crime. Police chiefs across the country are discovering however that a focus on crime and disorder is too limiting for policing in the 21st century. While crime has decreased significantly over the last 20 years, the workload of police departments continues unabated, with growing areas of concern such as behavioral health and harmful community conditions dominating the work of departments. There is also an increasing recognition that some traditional police tactics, such as stop-and-frisk and other approaches to enforcement, come with a price in terms of community support and police legitimacy. This Ideas in American Policing paper examines how a refocus towards community harm can help police departments integrate more of their actual workload into measures of harmful places and harmful offenders. For example, drug overdoses and traffic accidents are community problems that can be tackled within a cohesive harm framework rather than addressed independent of the crime and disorder problem. This can improve targeting of police resources and choices about places and suspects who should be the object of crime reduction services. The approach can also be integrated with metrics that help police departments weigh the impact of proactive enforcement strategies against any crime control benefits. Details: Washington, DC: The Police Foundation, 2015. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Ideas in American Policing no. 19: Accessed August 17, 2015 at: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PF_IIAP_Ratcliffe_8.01.15_RGB.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PF_IIAP_Ratcliffe_8.01.15_RGB.pdf Shelf Number: 136436 Keywords: Place-Based PolicingPolice AccountabilityPolice EffectivenessPolice PerformancePolice Reform |
Author: Roth, Olivier Title: A Fair Cop? Elected Police Commissioners, Democracy and Local Accountability Summary: The Coalition's White Paper entitled "21st Century Policing" argues for structural changes within the police service, in order to improve local accountability and to foster citizen engagement. The current tripartite arrangement would be replaced by directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, who would be supported in their duties by newly created Police and Crime Panels. This research paper will analyse some of the issues and tensions that this proposal creates, and will attempt to issue a set of recommendations and principles designed to maximise the benefits that can be derived from its implementation. As a complex and multi-layered issue, policing requires cross-sectoral cooperation and collaboration. Police and Crime Commissioners will therefore have to work in partnership with local authorities and other public bodies, with citizens and communities, and with the newly created National Crime Agency in order to deliver positive policing outcomes. Police and Crime Commissioners should not be able to circumvent these partnership workings, and should therefore be required to consult and work with these entities on a regular basis. This engagement should provide further opportunities for neighbourhoods and citizens to participate in the improvement of crime outcomes. While directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners should improve police visibility and give citizens a channel through which they can address their concerns, there is a risk that electoral considerations could influence the actions and focus of Police and Crime Commissioners, and that these will become too politicised. As a repository of local democracy, Police and Crime Panels should play an important part in this process, and have their functions commensurately increased. A two-thirds majority in Police and Crime Panels should allow them to veto specific key decisions from Police and Crime Commissioners. Reducing bureaucracy is a key part of the Coalition's White Paper, which NLGN fully supports. The use of technology, and a standardisation in processes, could go a long way towards both reducing bureaucracy and collecting comparable data relating to policing outcomes. These should form the basis on which citizens would judge the work that has been done by their Police and Crime Commissioners, and allow them to focus their crime-reducing initiatives on specific problems in delimited areas. Finally, special attention will have to be paid to the costs involved in these reforms. Studies have shown that elections and new structures can be expensive to finance, and mechanisms designed to keep the costs as low as possible will be needed, for example by holding Police and Crime Commissioners elections at the same time as local ones. Details: London; New Local Government Network (NLGN), 2010. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 19, 2015 at: http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/nlgn_a_fair_cop.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/nlgn_a_fair_cop.pdf Shelf Number: 136487 Keywords: CollaborationPartnershipsPolice AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice LegitimacyPolice PerformancePolice Reform |
Author: Marin, Andre Title: Oversight Unseen: Investigation into the Special Investigations Unit's operational effectiveness and credibility Summary: Canada received considerable unfavourable international attention last fall when millions witnessed the graphic video images of the last terrifying moments in the life of Robert Dziekanski. After a long and delayed international flight from his native Poland, Mr. Dziekanski arrived at Vancouver Airport, only to spend hours wandering hopelessly, unable to communicate or to obtain the assistance he needed to exit and meet up with his mother. As Mr. Dziekanski became increasingly confused and agitated, RCMP officers arrived and, within minutes, stunned him with a Taser. He was then restrained, and died shortly thereafter. In the aftermath of this tragedy, public accusations were made of cover-up and police using excessive force. People demanded assurance that the truth surrounding his ill-fated encounter with police would be revealed, and many voiced distrust of any investigation that would involve police investigating police. To Ontario's great credit, incidents in this province involving serious injury and death of civilians resulting from police contact are not investigated by police officials, but by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), a civilian criminal investigative agency. Created in 1990, the SIU's existence is a testament to the strength of democratic principles in this province, and the value our government has placed on reinforcing public confidence in policing. Unfortunately, over the past two years, several serious concerns have been raised by individuals, families, lawyers and community advocates who complained to my Office about the credibility and effectiveness of the SIU. As previous independent reviews have documented, the SIU's early history was marked by successive governments failing to provide it with adequate resources, and by police officials aggressively resisting its oversight. While its resources have increased over time, and regulatory requirements now more clearly define police obligations, my investigation found that the Special Investigations Unit continues to struggle to assert its authority, maintain its balance against powerful police interests, and carry out its mandate effectively. The SIU is still very much a fledgling organization. It does not have its own constituting legislation, its mandate lacks clarity, it is administratively and technically challenged and it is dependent on the Ministry of the Attorney General. In turn, the Ministry of the Attorney General has relied on the SIU to soothe police and community sensibilities and to ward off controversy. But in doing so, it performance is subjectively evaluated and rewarded, compromising the SIU's structural integrity and independence. Its credibility as an independent investigative agency is further undermined by the predominant presence and continuing police links of former police officials within the SIU. It is so steeped in police culture that it has, at times, even tolerated the blatant display of police insignia and police affiliation. In addition to lacking the necessary statutory authority to act decisively when police officials fail to comply with regulatory requirements, the SIU often ignores the tools it does have, such as public censure, and adopts an impotent stance in the face of police challenge. Delays in police providing notice of incidents, in disclosing notes, and in submitting to interviews are endemic. Rather than vigorously inquiring into and documenting delays and other evidence of police resistance, the SIU deals with issues of police non-co-operation as isolated incidents. It ignores systemic implications and attempts to solve individual problems through a conciliatory approach. The SIU has not only become complacent about ensuring that police officials follow the rules, it has bought into the fallacious argument that SIU investigations aren't like other criminal cases, and that it is acceptable to treat police witnesses differently from civilians. Police interviews are rarely held within the regulatory time frames, and are all too often postponed - for weeks, sometimes even months. The SIU will not inconvenience officers or police forces by interviewing officers off duty. When it encounters overt resistance from police officials, the SIU pursues a low-key diplomatic approach that flies under the public radar. If disagreement cannot be resolved, the SIU more often than not simply accepts defeat. The SIU also fails to respond to incidents with rigour and urgency - at times inexplicably overlooking the closest investigators, and following routines that result in precious investigative minutes, sometimes hours, being lost. It has become mired in its own internal events, and introspective focus. The SIU's system of oversight is out of balance. It must not only ensure accountability of police conduct, but be perceived by the public as doing so. At present, the public is expected to trust that the SIU conducts thorough and objective investigations and accept that its decisions are well founded when it decides, for example, not to charge officers. But much remains hidden from public view, including Director's reports and significant policy issues. In order to properly serve the function it was created to fulfill, greater transparency is required with respect to the SIU's investigative outcomes, as well as those of the police disciplinary system triggered by SIU investigations. In theory, the SIU is a fundamental pillar of accountability in Ontario. However, the reality is that the SIU is capable of much more than it is achieving at present. It is incumbent on government to provide the agencies it creates with the means to fully accomplish their mandates. The citizens of Ontario are entitled to a Special Investigations Unit with the necessary resources and tools to be the best that it can be. With that in mind, I have made 46 recommendations in this report, addressed at improving the system. The first 25 recommendations focus on the SIU itself. I believe that there is much that the SIU can do on its own to enhance and inject more rigour into its investigative practices, and its response to challenges to its authority. I have also made recommendations to address the issues created by a lingering police culture within the SIU, and to achieve greater transparency. Details: Ottawa: Ombudsman Ontario, 2008. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2015 at: http://www.siu.on.ca/pdfs/marin_report_2008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Canada URL: http://www.siu.on.ca/pdfs/marin_report_2008.pdf Shelf Number: 136686 Keywords: Complaints Against the PoliceInvestigationsOmbudsmanPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice MisconductPolice OversightPolice Use of Force |
Author: Great Britain. Comptroller and Auditor General Title: Financial sustainability of police forces in England and Wales Summary: 1 There are 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Since 2010, the previous government reduced funding for forces as part of its plan to reduce the fiscal deficit. The government also changed how forces are governed by introducing elected police and crime commissioners ('commissioners') in 41 of the 43 forces. Our Police accountability: Landscape review examined these arrangements. 2 Commissioners, in consultation with their chief constables: - set out in an annual police and crime plan the objectives that their police force must achieve; - allocate the funds needed to achieve them; and - hold police forces to account on behalf of the local electorate. This system encourages local variation and reduces intervention from central government. 3 The Home Office (the Department) has overall responsibility in central government for police forces. Its main responsibilities are to: - allocate grants to police and crime commissioners (who decide how much goes to police forces and how much to other crime reduction initiatives); - establish an accountability framework to assure Parliament on the regularity, propriety and value for money of police spending, and that there are appropriate checks and balances; and - intervene if chief constables or commissioners fail to carry out their functions effectively. 4 Within the accountability framework, the Department relies on HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales. The Department also relies on the College of Policing (the College) to set standards and to identify and share good practice, which help to improve value for money locally. 5 Our report examines whether the Department, with other policing stakeholders, has effectively managed the risks of reduced police funding. It is not a contradiction to the government's policy of localism to assess whether a Department has enough information to make good decisions about the level of central funding provided. 6 The report has three parts: - Part One describes the reductions in police force funding. - Part Two examines the impact of funding reductions and the changing nature of policing. - Part Three assesses the current oversight and accountability regime. Details: London: National Audit Office, 2015. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2015 at: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Financial-sustainability-of-police-forces.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Financial-sustainability-of-police-forces.pdf Shelf Number: 136782 Keywords: Costs of Criminal JusticePolice AccountabilityPolice Resource Allocation |
Author: Katz, Charles M. Title: Phoenix, Arizona, Smart Policing Initiative: Evaluating the Impact of Police Officer Body-Worn Cameras Summary: A number of highly publicized deaths of citizens at the hands of the police have sparked a national debate over police accountability 0 with body-worn cameras (BWCs) at the center of the debate. BWCs enjoy support from many law enforcement agencies, citizen advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, politicians, and the federal government. Though there has been wide-ranging speculation over the potential impact and consequences of BWCs, few rigorous examinations of the technology have been conducted, and many questions remain unanswered. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), through the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI), funded the Phoenix Police Department to purchase, deploy, and evaluate police body-worn cameras. In the study, the Phoenix SPI team deployed 56 BWCs to officers in one of the two Maryvale Precinct squad areas. All officers assigned to the target area were issued BWCs, and officers in the adjacent squad area served as a comparison group. Cameras were deployed in the field in April 2013, and the study period covered approximately 30 months (15 months pre-deployment; 15 months post-deployment). The evaluation of BWCs, led by the research partners at Arizona State University, focused on six critical areas: (1) officer camera activation compliance, (2) officer perceptions of the wearability and utility of body-worn cameras, (3) impact on officers' job performance, (4) impact on public compliance and cooperation, (5) impact on officer accountability, and (6) impact on domestic violence case processing and outcomes. The study found the following: (1) Officer compliance with the activation of BWCs was generally low (under 30 percent), varying by call type (between 6 percent and 48 percent). (2) Police perceptions of BWCs changed notably over time, as officers reported increased comfort and ease as well as greater recognition of the benefits of the technology. (3) BWCs appeared to increase arrest activity. (4) BWCs did not seem to change citizen behavior, based on resisting-arrest charges. (5) BWCs appeared to significantly reduce complaints against officers (23 percent drop) when compared with officers in the other squad area (10 percent increase). (6) Finally, BWCs improved the processing of domestic violence incidents, as cases with video were more likely to be charged and successfully prosecuted, although BWCs did result in longer case processing times. The Phoenix SPI study produced a number of important lessons learned. The decision to deploy BWCs represents an enormous investment in resources and manpower. It is important for police managers to be strategic, deliberate, and collaborative in planning their BWC program. Coordination with the Prosecutor's Office is absolutely critical. Training, policy development, and transparency with line officers also are essential for a successful BWC program. The perceived benefits of BWCs hinge on their use and proper operation in accordance with departmental policy. That is, the benefits of BWCs can be realized only if officers appropriately activate the cameras during police-citizen encounters. Line officers should become educated Line officers should become educated consumers regarding BWCs, and both line officers and police managers should be realistic about the potential impact of the technology on police operations, encounters with citizens, and community perceptions of police legitimacy. Details: Arlington, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/Phoenix%20SPI%20Spotlight%20FINAL.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/Phoenix%20SPI%20Spotlight%20FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 136946 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasComplaints Against the PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice TechnologyPolice-Citizens Encounters |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "We Live in Constant Fear": Lack of Accountability for Police Abuse in Sri Lanka Summary: Back Blurb: Police in Sri Lanka regularly use torture and other ill-treatment, including severe beatings, electric shock, and painful stress positions, in violation of domestic and international law. This misuse of force has been applied not only in counter-insurgency cases, but to criminal suspects in custody and to peaceful protesters demonstrating on city streets. Police abuses during routine law enforcement point to an endemic culture of abuse - one not solely linked to the country's civil war that ended in 2009. "We Live in Constant Fear" - Lack of Accountability for Police Abuse in Sri Lanka documents efforts over many years by families to obtain justice for their loved ones who died in police custody as well as very recent cases. The report demonstrates how a pervasive lack of accountability has allowed torture to go unchecked. Procedural safeguards to protect detainees against mistreatment are simply ignored or bypassed. Even when victims later report their cases, the legal system is slow to respond, and tends to show deference to the police. A new government elected in January 2015 has promised major reforms, and there is now an opportunity to rein in police abuse. The government needs to send the message that deviation from legal safeguards will not be tolerated. Human Rights Watch calls on Sri Lankas government to create an independent oversight authority over the police and adopt other concrete steps to reduce rights violations. The government should also amend police rules and manuals to be consistent with international law. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2015 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/srilanka1015_4up_0.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Sri Lanka URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/srilanka1015_4up_0.pdf Shelf Number: 137143 Keywords: Police AbusePolice AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Lopez, James R. Title: Body Cameras and CBP: Promoting Security, Transparency and Accountability at out Nation's Borders Summary: Body Cameras and CBP: Promoting Security, Transparency and Accountability at our Nation's Borders debuts in advance of an expected CBP announcement on the feasibility and implementation of body cameras. The report examines the benefits of requiring body-worn cameras for all CBP agents and officers, as well as the privacy concerns for the public and for the agency related to implementing body cameras. After conducting a feasibility study in early 2015, CBP has been slow to move forward with implementation of body-worn cameras. For an agency in which more than 2,000 incidents of misconduct were reported over a seven-year period, implementation of body-worn cameras across CBP would be a significant step toward repairing the agency's image. Details: Washington, DC: National Immigration Forum, 2015. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2015 at: http://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Body-Cameras-and-CBP-Report-11062015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Body-Cameras-and-CBP-Report-11062015.pdf Shelf Number: 137768 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Border GuardsBorder SecurityPolice Accountability Police Policies and Practices Police Technology |
Author: Scotland. Advisory Group on Stop and Search Title: The report of the Advisory Group on Stop and Search Summary: 27. Stop and search is an area of policing that requires constant scrutiny and oversight. It involves the use of police enforcement powers or practices that can affect general public attitudes to policing. If used proportionately and in a targeted manner, with positive outcomes by way of prohibited items being found, it can assist with public confidence. If not, it can undermine attitudes to the police, especially in deprived areas where the tactic has been used a great deal on children and young men. "Policing by consent" relies on the support and confidence of the public throughout the country, and is no less important in such areas where so much crime happens. 28. Stop and search is important but represents only a small part of policing. It has received considerable attention, in particular because of the excessive use of non-statutory stop and search. Non-statutory stop and search lacks any legal framework and is of questionable lawfulness and legitimacy, with poor accountability. 29. There are a number of complicated issues regarding consent in the context of policing, and specifically in the context of police search. In non-statutory stop and search, concerns have been expressed about how genuine and informed any "consent" has been, in view of the age and vulnerabilities of some of the individuals being asked to consent, especially given the perceived imbalance in power between the police and public. 30. Our key recommendations are that there should be a statutory Code of Practice, that the Code should be consulted on before implementation, that there should be early consultation on whether the police should have a power to search children under 18 for alcohol, that there should be a detailed implementation and training plan and that stop and search should end at the point that the Code of Practice comes into effect. We also make recommendations about data gathering, a legislative change to ensure the rights of the child are fully considered and we recommend that discussions take place between the relevant organisations on the most appropriate ways to deal with vulnerable children and adults. 31. We recommend that a statutory Code of Practice should be issued dealing with all aspects of stop and search by Police Scotland. The Code should be issued by the Scottish Ministers, subject to Parliamentary oversight prior to commencement. Thereafter the Code should be kept under review at regular intervals, again subject to Parliamentary oversight on revision. 32. We recommend that use of non-statutory stop and search should end when the Code of Practice is introduced. The group are not unanimous on this point. A minority of members preferred a precautionary approach that would wait, allow recent changes by Police Scotland to bed in, gather more evidence and ensure that there would be no unintended consequences to ending consensual search. I have attempted to in part address these concerns by recommending a period of transition and consultation. 33. A substantial focus of our work was on trying to identify any gaps in police powers, should consensual stop and search end. The majority in the group are satisfied that no significant gaps would exist. We found that officers have often relied on consensual search where other statutory and more appropriate ways to intervene existed. We recommend that before consensual stop and search ends there should be a detailed implementation plan that includes training for officers to make them better aware of the statutory powers that they have. 34. The main gap highlighted to us by the Police was the ability to search children under 18 for alcohol. We have not been able to form a concluded view on whether a gap in powers exists that could not be dealt with by existing powers, and also on whether a power to search children for alcohol would be desirable. We therefore recommend that there should be a public consultation that involves children and young people. The sheer scale of the activity around alcohol underlines Police Scotland"s view that this continues to be an area of concern and the inability to use search powers to remove alcohol from young people is a potential problem. We therefore recommend that this should be considered separately, subject to wider consultation, specifically involving children and young people. 35. If non-statutory stop and search is ended, officers of Police Scotland will still be able to carry out their duties effectively. Abolition will not result in any significant gaps. Specifically, officers will still be able to respond to any welfare or protection issues they encounter. Action will still be possible even when required on an emergency basis, whether carried out by police officers, social workers, medical staff or others. Details: Edinburgh: Advisory Group on Stop and Search, 2015. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484527.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484527.pdf Shelf Number: 137328 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice DiscretionSearch and SeizureStop and Search |
Author: El-Enany, Nadine Title: Justice, Resistance and Solidarity: Race and Policing in England and Wales Summary: This edition of Perspectives focuses on racism and policing in Britain. It brings together academics, practitioners and activists to examine, and offer their outlook on, the state of policing and its effects on black and minority ethnic communities in Britain today. In recent years the US has been in the spotlight for police killings of black men and women, including the 2014 killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Tanisha Anderson in Cleveland, Ohio, and Eric Garner in New York, as well as the protest movements which have followed. Britain is no stranger to racialised police violence. Following these and other fatal police shootings, solidarity protests with the "BlackLivesMatter" movement drew attention to the long list of unaccounted-for deaths of black men and women in Britain. Systemic and institutional racism persists in policing despite its recognition in the Macpherson Report more than fifteen years ago. In Britain, black and minority ethnic people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system at every level, from arrests to stop and search, to imprisonment, to deaths in custody. Successive governments' counter-terrorism policies have resulted in racial profiling and over-policing of Muslim and Asian communities, and have fed a pervasive Islamophobia now affecting British and other European societies. Contributors to this collection have tackled these issues head on from multiple perspectives, incorporating the voices of those affected by racialised policing and those who campaign on their behalf, together with scholars in the field. Each of their short contributions seeks to provoke critical reflection and forward-thinking on key issues where race and policing intersect. The collection is organised into three parts. The first, Taking Stock - The State of Policing, sets out the key contemporary issues in race and policing within a historical context. The second part, Racism and Counter-Terrorism, examines the racial and religious profiling that is at the heart of counter-terror policing in Britain and examines the impact this is having on Asian and Muslim communities in particular. The final part, Considering a Way Forward, brings together accounts from grassroots and community organisations of their experiences and strategies when taking up the challenge of scrutinising and seeking accountability for police actions. Included in this part are comparative perspectives on practice and policy from across Europe. Details: London: Runnymede, 2015. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Runnymede Perspectives: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Race%20and%20Policing%20v4.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Race%20and%20Policing%20v4.pdf Shelf Number: 137350 Keywords: Minority CommunitiesPolice AccountabilityPolice ReformPolicingRacial ProfilingRacial Profiling in PolicingRacismTerrorism |
Author: Blitz, Marc Jonathan Title: Police Body-Worn Cameras: Evidentiary Benefits and Privacy Threats Summary: In this Issue Brief, Professor Blitz examines the costs and benefits of body-worn cameras programs. Acknowledging that cameras will not serve as a panacea, Professor Blitz outlines policies that police departments should adopt to ensure the maximum effectiveness of such programs. As Blitz observes, even though such footage is flawed, it is better than accounts given by eyewitnesses long after the event occurred. Blitz admits that such cameras can "transform ephemeral and forgettable moments into permanent and easily shared records" of the parts of our lives we may be "least comfortable sharing with others." To address these privacy concerns, Blitz examines model rules that place greater restrictions on police use of cameras in private homes and prevent the viewing or dissemination of body camera footage except in limited circumstances. Ultimately, Professor Blitz concludes that body-worn cameras can be an important tool in efforts to combat police abuse, if used in accordance with clear guidelines proposed. Details: Washington, DC: American Constitution Society, 2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Accessed December 1, 2015 at: https://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/Blitz_-_On-Body_Cameras_-_Issue_Brief.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/Blitz_-_On-Body_Cameras_-_Issue_Brief.pdf Shelf Number: 137375 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasLaw Enforcement Technology Police AccountabilityPolice Behavior Police SurveillancePolice Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Video Technology |
Author: New York City Department of Investigation Title: Body-Worn Cameras in NYC: An Assessment of NYPD's Pilot Program and Recommendations to Promote Accountability Summary: In September 2014, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner William Bratton announced the launch of a small-scale pilot program to test the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by New York City police officers (Volunteer BWC Pilot Program). In mid- December 2014, the Volunteer BWC Pilot Program began with 54 BWCs deployed to patrol officers across the City. BWCs are mobile cameras worn by police officers that can capture audio and video recordings of encounters between police and members of the public. BWC technology has drawn national attention for its potential to improve policing while promoting transparency and accountability in law enforcement. Police departments using BWCs have reported positive changes in the conduct of both citizens and officers, as well as speedier resolutions to police misconduct complaints and litigation. As a result, BWC programs continue to spread rapidly across the country, and numerous organizations and advocacy groups have published reports and issued their own model BWC policies. However, with the potential benefits of BWCs come certain costs and concerns, including risks to the privacy and safety of both officers and the public. As NYPD ventures into the new, evolving, and high-profile world of BWCs, it will need to ensure that the policies and procedures governing BWC use are fair, practical, legal, and transparent. To this end, the New York of the Inspector General for the NYPD (OIG-NYPD) has conducted a detailed review of NYPD's Volunteer BWC Pilot Program in order to assess how certain key topics are addressed and to identify areas not adequately covered by the policy. Specifically, OIG-NYPD focused on five topics at the forefront of the discussion surrounding BWCs: - Officer discretion regarding when to record - Notifications to citizens by officers when a BWC is activated - Safeguards to ensure officer compliance with BWC policy - Access to footage by officers and the public - Retention and purging of BWC footage These issues are critical components of any BWC policy and have stirred the greatest controversy among police executives, oversight agencies, officers, and the unions that represent them. In order to better understand the Volunteer BWC Pilot Program in both theory and practice, OIG-NYPD conducted several meetings with the NYPD team that created, launched, and is overseeing the Volunteer BWC Pilot Program. Separately, OIG-NYPD interviewed multiple police officers who are participating in the program and wearing BWCs on patrol. As BWCs impact various groups, OIG-NYPD also consulted with entities that deal directly with NYPD - such as the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), representatives from each of the City's five District Attorney's Offices and community advocates. Lastly, OIG-NYPD's evaluation of the Volunteer BWC Pilot Program included a comparative examination of NYPD's Operations Order 48 "Pilot Program - Use of Body-Worn Cameras" (Op Order 48) against the BWC policies of other police departments across the country and the policy recommendations of numerous independent studies. Through this work, OIG-NYPD was able to conduct a thorough and unique assessment of Op Order 48, specifically tailored to New York City's distinct policing environment. Based on the information gathered, OIG-NYPD developed 23 recommendations for improving the use of BWCs as NYPD transitions from its current pilot program to a more expansive long-term BWC program. Several of these recommendations - based on interviews with police officials and prosecutors, as well as the experiences of police departments nationwide - involve the safety of officers and witnesses as well as the integrity of the prosecution process. Details: New York: Department of Investigation, Office of the Inspector General, 2015. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2015 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/nypd-body-camera-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/nypd-body-camera-report.pdf Shelf Number: 137413 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Law Enforcement Technology Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Surveillance Police Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Video Technology |
Author: Lum, Cynthia Title: Existing and Ongoing Body Worn Camera Research: Knowledge Gaps and Opportunities Summary: Recent use-of-force events have led law enforcement agencies, citizens, civil rights groups, city councils, and even the President to push for the rapid adoption of body-worn camera (BWC) technology. In a period of less than a year, BWCs transformed from a technology that received little attention by many police leaders and scholars to one that has become rapidly prioritized, funded, and diffused into local policing. At the same time, this rapid adoption of BWCs is occurring within a low information environment; researchers are only beginning to develop knowledge about the effects, both intentional and unintentional, of this technology. Much more research is needed to understand the intended and unintended impacts and consequences of cameras. Details: Fairfax, VA: Center for Evidence-Based Crime policy, George Mason University, 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2015 at: http://cebcp.org/wp-content/technology/BodyWornCameraResearch.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://cebcp.org/wp-content/technology/BodyWornCameraResearch.pdf Shelf Number: 137414 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Camera Technology CamerasLaw Enforcement Technology Police Accountability Police SurveillancePolice Use of Force |
Author: New York (City). Department of Investigation Title: Police Use of Force in New York City: Findings and Recommendations on NYPD's Policies and Practices Summary: Use of force is a defining issue in modern policing. Police officers, by the very nature of their duties, are entrusted, empowered, and at times obligated by local governments to use force against citizens when appropriate. In exchange for this grant of power, communities and their police departments require that the use of force be governed by a set of standards. These standards stem from the premise that the force used must be reasonable, an idea rooted in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Reasonable use of force and constitutional policing require equal treatment of all individuals, proper application of force, and accountability for the conduct of police officers. Following the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island in 2014 and others across the nation, there has been a public call for greater accountability when police officers use force that appears neither reasonable nor proportional. Police departments and police accountability agencies across the country have taken up the issue of use of force in an effort to improve policing and ensure that all officers are worthy of the tremendous power and trust afforded them by their communities. In January 2015, the New York City Department of Investigation's Office of the Inspector General for the New York City Police Department (OIG-NYPD) released its first report, Observations on Accountability and Transparency in Ten NYPD Chokehold Cases (Chokehold Report). In that report, OIG-NYPD found that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) disciplinary system was complex, multi-tiered, and often delivered inconsistent results in cases involving chokeholds. OIG-NYPD promised to further investigate NYPD's use of force by reviewing a larger sample of force investigations. This Report, which is a larger and more sophisticated inquiry into use of force, fulfills that promise. Many of the issues addressed in the Chokehold Report surface again in this larger data set. This Report examines five aspects of use of force within NYPD: (1) trends; (2) reporting; (3) de-escalation; (4) training; and (5) discipline. The Report begins by highlighting data and trends from excessive or unnecessary force cases substantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). CCRB substantiated 207 allegations of force in 179 cases between 2010 and 2014, a notably modest number, given the size of NYPD, and a positive indication of the NYPD's restraint. OIG-NYPD's review involved only non-deadly force cases investigated by CCRB, as no lethal force was used in the 179 substantiated cases. As discussed below, this investigation demonstrates several issues of real concern. Because accountability begins with access to reliable data, this Report describes how NYPD does and does not track use-of-force data, and how the usefulness of that information can be improved by adopting a more precise use-of-force policy coupled with standardized force reporting. This Report next presents the findings of an independent analysis of force cases where some officers not only missed the opportunity to de-escalate the incident, but took measures which affirmatively escalated the encounter. Given these findings, the Report examines policies of other law enforcement agencies regarding de-escalation tactics and reviews what NYPD is currently doing to address excessive force and de-escalation through training. The Report then suggests ways in which training and policy can be improved with respect to de-escalation tactics and other related skills. Lastly, this Report analyzes and evaluates NYPD's disciplinary system, including a close review of cases where OIG-NYPD, through independent review, determined that the use of force was not reasonable by any standard and not justified by any exigent circumstances or the need to protect an officer's or the public's safety. Historically, NYPD has frequently failed to discipline officers who use force without justification. This Report thus offers recommendations to improve the disciplinary process so that officers who use excessive force are properly held accountable. Details: New York: NYC Department of Investigation, 2015. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2016 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/oig_nypd_use_of_force_report_-_oct_1_2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/oig_nypd_use_of_force_report_-_oct_1_2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137708 Keywords: Complaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductPolice Policies and ProceduresPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: New York City Department of Investigation Title: Observations on Accountability and Transparency in Ten NYPD Chokehold Cases Summary: Section 203-11 of the Patrol Guide, which governs "Use of Force," explicitly and unequivocally prohibits members of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD") from using "chokeholds" in their interactions with the public: Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air. Patrol Guide 203-11 (emphasis in original). The death of a Staten Island man, Eric Garner, on July 17, 2014, after he was brought to the ground by an officer's arm around his neck in the course of an arrest, cast a spotlight on the use of chokeholds by NYPD officers and the enforcement of the chokehold prohibition under Section 203-11. Mr. Garner's death generated widespread public outcry, elevated chokeholds as a major concern within the rubric of the use of force, and prompted a flurry of videos purportedly showing NYPD officers using chokeholds in a variety of encounters with members of the public. The decision by a grand jury, on December 3, 2014, not to issue an indictment in the Garner case only increases the need for independent administrative review of these issues. In response to Mr. Garner's death, the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD ("OIG-NYPD") conducted a focused review of the ten most recent cases where the Civilian Complaint Review Board ("CCRB") determined that NYPD officers used "chokeholds." What OIG-NYPD found raises questions not only about the way in which NYPD has enforced the chokehold ban in recent years, but also, far more importantly, about the disciplinary process in general and interactions between NYPD and CCRB. While no definitive conclusions regarding the use of chokeholds can or should be drawn from the finite universe of cases reviewed here, OIG-NYPD's study sheds light on areas where further careful analysis and study are warranted: how discipline is determined and imposed in use-of-force cases, gaps in inter- and intra-agency communication during the investigation of use-of-force cases, and officer training regarding communication skills, de-escalation strategies, and the use of force. This focused review, in effect, presents a road map of key policing issues with regard to the use of force that OIG-NYPD intends to explore and probe more deeply in the coming months. Details: New York NYC Department of Investigation, Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, 2015. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2016 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/chokehold_report_1-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/chokehold_report_1-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137709 Keywords: Complaints Against Police Police Accountability Police Brutality Police Discretion Police Legitimacy Police Misconduct Police Policies and Procedures Police TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: Edmonton Police Service Title: Body Worn Video: Considering the Evidence Summary: The Edmonton Police Service has completed a comprehensive three-year study to assess the effectiveness of body worn video (BWV) for use by its officers, and as a result of the research findings, will proceed with a graduated deployment of cameras to specialized police units at this time. The EPS BWV pilot project ran from October 2011 to December 2014, with operational field testing through a variety of environments from October 2012 to July 2014. This project was partially funded through the Canadian Police Research Centre and continued under the Canadian Safety and Security Program, which is a federal program led by Defence Research and Development Canada's Centre for Security Science, in partnership with Public Safety Canada. From the outset, privacy has been a major consideration of the EPS BWV project. The EPS research team consulted with the Alberta Privacy Commissioner who provided valuable insight and recommendations. Respective of this input, the EPS created policies and procedures for the BWV pilot project that aligned with the BWV guidance document issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. As part of the BWV testing, the EPS issued 56 industry-standard cameras to officers in: Downtown Division and Beats; West Edmonton Mall and Whyte Avenue Beats; the Impaired Driving Countermeasures Unit; and with the Disaster and Emergency Operations Unit for a training exercise with Fire Rescue and EMS. While the body worn video project reviewed technical performance, legal considerations, and usefulness in everyday policing and investigations, it also surveyed the public and police officers on their opinion. Based on the pilot project findings, the EPS has decided to proceed with a graduated deployment of a body worn video program over the next two to five years. Cameras will be used by officers who are involved in high-risk interactions with the public, where the officers are on the scene of a crime being committed, and the evidence captured on video is of the greatest value in providing information to the courts. Examples include: the Specialized Traffic Apprehension Team (STAT) that intercept high-risk vehicles; the Impaired Driving Countermeasures Unit for Checkstop operations; Tactical Team entries where weapons may be involved; and the Public Order Unit when responding to riots. The graduated roll-out of BWV will require training of officers, revising instructional materials, modifying police uniforms to carry cameras, as well as submitting a service package for funding, sourcing newer BWV cameras, and utilizing a new digital asset management system. Details: Edmonton, Alberta: Edmonton Police Service, 2015. 241p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2016 at: http://www.bwvsg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Edmonton-Police-BWV-Final-Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.bwvsg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Edmonton-Police-BWV-Final-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 137812 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasLaw Enforcement Technology (U.S.) Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Surveillance Video Technology |
Author: Human Impact Partners Title: Stress on the Streets (SOS): Race, Policing, Health, and Increasing Trust not Trauma Summary: Violence in the urban core is a disease - a social disease - that is a top public health crisis of the 21st century. As a trauma physician, it is a disease that I treat daily; I have seen a 300% increase over a 10-year period in children coming into our Cincinnati Children's Hospital Trauma Center with gunshot wounds. But violence is not immutable; we can prevent it. Like other initiatives public health is credited with improving or eradicating - deaths from motor vehicle crashes, polio, and smallpox - inner city violence lends itself to a cure. However, this cure must not cause additional harms. That's why policing practices used to reduce violence and mitigate trauma can and should be more community-oriented. Michael Davis, Chief of the Brooklyn Park Police Department has said, "the future of community policing is community building." The affected community has a role in this cure, as do the police charged with the safety of the community. But with current practices under question for causing more violence, not less, we need communities and police to engage collaboratively, acknowledge complex key drivers of violence, and seek systems-based approaches to better partner in resolving it. This revealing report is a first step in that journey. It documents profound impacts of policing practices on the health of individuals and the community, describing impacts to physical, mental, and emotional health. Importantly, it describes how stress has major, short- and long-term health impacts not just for the public, but for police as well. In its recommendations, this report offers important concrete measures for how policing can rebuild community trust through problem-solving and community-oriented models. It highlights promising practices in four actions - civilian review boards; body-worn cameras; ongoing training of officers about issues like implicit bias and use of force as well as better supervision and evaluation of officers; and department-wide performance measures - that when fully implemented can lay the groundwork for police to be part of the community as opposed to policing the community. Just as health professionals and police have partnered together on past issues, together we can jointly address the root causes of violence in concentrated disadvantage. Policing practices that build trust - through transparency, community dialogue, and accountability - and solve community problems are a key component for keeping more children off my surgical table. Details: Oakland, CA: Human Impact Partners, 2015. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2016 at: http://www.humanimpact.org/projects/past-projects/ Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.humanimpact.org/projects/past-projects/ Shelf Number: 137828 Keywords: Community PolicingPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice Problem-SolvingPolice StressPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Hurley, Greg Title: Body-Worn Cameras and the Courts Summary: In response to the August 9, 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a citizen petition was posted on the White House website, petitions.whitehouse.gov. It asked people to sign if they supported a law requiring all state, county, and local police to wear body-worn cameras, or BWCs. Within a few weeks, the petition collected 150,000 signatures. The response to this petition received national mainstream media attention. Roy L. Austin, Jr., deputy assistant to the president for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity in the Domestic Policy Council, responded to the petition on behalf of the administration. He noted that research suggested that BWCs can have significant benefits to the community, which can include: - evidence that both officers and civilians acted in a more positive manner when they were aware that a camera was present; - new opportunities for effective training of law enforcement officers presented by the use of cameras; and - useful evidence of interactions was often captured on video. However, he also stated that the cost of this technology cannot be ignored, and there are some significant unanswered questions that need to be addressed, such as: - What is the most effective type of camera (vehicle, body, weapon) - and if body, where is it best placed (lapel, ear, belt)? - What are the privacy implications of having officers record interactions with the public? - When should cameras be turned on? - Does every officer on a force need a camera? - How long should video data be maintained and who should have access to it? - What is the impact on community relationships? On December 2, 2014, Shaun Donovan, the director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, announced that a proposed, three-year $263 million Community Policing Initiative would include an investment package that would increase the use of BWCs. This was a significant statement from the Obama Administration and demonstrated the administration's view that BWCs could be a useful tool in providing greater officer accountability and promoting more trust in law enforcement by the general public. On September 21, 2015, the Department of Justice announced over $23 million in federal funding to support a BWC pilot program, which will support 73 local and tribal law enforcement agencies in 32 states. In their press release, they noted that this was done as a "part of President Obama's commitment to building trust and transparency between law enforcement and the communities they serve." This development is not surprising as the Obama Administration had previously indicated a willingness to deploy BWC technology. It is reasonable to assume that the cumulative effect of public support for officers using BWCs, and the federal government's willingness to provide funding for a significant pilot program, suggests that BWCs will become an increasingly common piece of law enforcement equipment. In fact, the author is of the opinion that within the next five to ten years, the vast majority of law enforcement officers nationally will be equipped with and required to wear and use BWCs. Details: Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts, 2016. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2016 at: http://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/criminal/id/268 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/criminal/id/268 Shelf Number: 137938 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Law Enforcement Technology (U.S.) Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Surveillance Video Technology |
Author: Freelon, Deen Title: Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the online struggle for offline justice Summary: IN 2014, A DEDICATED ACTIVIST MOVEMENT "Black Lives Matter (BLM)" ignited an urgent national conversation about police killings of unarmed Black citizens. Online tools have been anecdotally credited as critical in this effort, but researchers are only beginning to evaluate this claim. This research report examines the movement's uses of online media in 2014 and 2015. To do so, we analyze three types of data: 40.8 million tweets, over 100,000 web links, and 40 interviews of BLM activists and allies. Most of the report is devoted to detailing our findings, which include: - Although the #Blacklivesmatter hashtag was created in July 2013, it was rarely used through the summer of 2014 and did not come to signify a movement until the months after the Ferguson protests. -Social media posts by activists were essential in initially spreading Michael Brown's story nationally. - Protesters and their supporters were generally able to circulate their own narratives without relying on mainstream news outlets. - There are six major communities that consistently discussed police brutality on Twitter in 2014 and 2015: Black Lives Matter, Anonymous/Bipartisan Report, Black Entertainers, Conservatives, Mainstream News, and Young Black Twitter. - The vast majority of the communities we observed supported justice for the victims and decisively denounced police brutality. - Black youth discussed police brutality frequently, but in ways that differed substantially from how activists discussed it. - Evidence that activists succeeded in educating casual observers came in two main forms: expressions of awe and disbelief at the violent police reactions to the Ferguson protests, and conservative admissions of police brutality in the Eric Garner and Walter Scott cases. - The primary goals of social media use among our interviewees were education, amplification of marginalized voices, and structural police reform. In our concluding section, we reflect on the practical importance and implications of our findings. We hope this report contributes to the specific conversation about how Black Lives Matter and related movements have used online tools as well as to broader conversations about the general capacity of such tools to facilitate social and political change. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Media and Social Impact, American University, 2016. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 5, 2016 at: http://www.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf Shelf Number: 138109 Keywords: Deadly ForceMedia CampaignsPolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice MisconductPolice ReformPolice Use of ForceSocial Media |
Author: Haile-Michael, Daniel Title: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same. Report of the FKCLC Peer Advocacy Outreach Project on Racial Profiling Across Melbourne Summary: The report claims racially discrimination by Victoria Police continues throughout Metropolitan Melbourne despite recent efforts to curb racial profiling. It also highlights the profound psychological and exclusionary impacts of racialised policing. Daniel and Maki spoke with young people in Sunshine, Flemington, Noble Park and Dandenong about their experiences with police and found that negative experiences at the hands of police were common, public occurrences and caused anxiety, isolation and fear. The report also found that youth and community workers who were approached by young people with complaints against police did not have the skills or resources to help young people make formal complaints. Through the project, Daniel and Maki also shared their experiences as lead applicants in the landmark Race Discrimination Case with the young people they connected with. This report shares their findings and reflects on developments since they began their legal action to hold police to account 10 years ago. Details: Kensington, VIC, AUS: Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2016 at: http://www.policeaccountability.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/More-Things-Change_report_softcopy.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.policeaccountability.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/More-Things-Change_report_softcopy.pdf Shelf Number: 138205 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Behavior Police Misconduct Racial Bias Racial Profiling Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement |
Author: Mitchell, Nicholas E. Title: 2015 Annual Report Summary: The OIM is charged with monitoring the disciplinary systems in the Denver Police and Denver Sheriff Departments ("DPD" and "DSD," respectively), making policy recommendations to those departments, and conducting outreach to communities throughout Denver. The OIM is led by Independent Monitor Nicholas E. Mitchell, and advised by a seven member Citizen Oversight Board. The 2015 Annual Report includes information about complaints received, closed and monitored by the OIM in 2015. It also includes the OIM's assessment of several recent changes to DPD's policies, practices or training, including its policies on body worn cameras, shooting into moving vehicles, early intervention, and racial profiling. "The DPD made significant strides in 2015 by revising important policies to bring them in line with national best practices," said Independent Monitor Mitchell. The 2015 Annual Report also presents two subjects about which the OIM believes there are opportunities for improvement. Electronic databases, including the National Crime Information Center and the Colorado Crime Information Center ("NCIC/CCIC"), are important tools that DPD officers use every day solve crimes, apprehend fugitives, recover stolen property, and otherwise keep Denver's residents safe. By-and-large, DPD officers faithfully adhere to the requirement that the NCIC/CCIC databases must only be used for law enforcement purposes. Yet, when officers do misuse NCIC/CCIC for non law enforcement purposes, they are generally issued reprimands rather than stronger discipline. "These databases contain vast amounts of personal information about the American public, including community members in Denver," said Mr. Mitchell. "When they are misused, reprimands are not commensurate with the seriousness of that violation, and may not be strong enough to deter future abuse." The Annual Report recommends that the penalties for misuse of NCIC/CCIC should be strengthened within the disciplinary matrix that is maintained by the Executive Director of Safety. The Report also highlights the current gap in DPD policy and training on what kinds of force are permissible or effective to remove potential contraband from the mouth of an arrestee who is attempting to swallow it. The Report recommends that the DPD clarify its use of force policy, and specifically prohibit the use of strikes to remove potential contraband from the mouth of a person being placed under arrest. Details: Denver: Office of the Independent Monitor, 2016. 144p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2016 at: https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/374/documents/2015%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/374/documents/2015%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf Shelf Number: 138333 Keywords: Complaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice DisciplinePolice Policies and PracticesPolice TechnologyPolice Use of ForceSheriffs |
Author: Jannetta, Jesse Title: Policing 2016: To Deliver Safety, Police Need Legitimacy and Accountability Summary: Much of the national debate on policing in 2015 has rested on a false premise-that community demands for greater police accountability come at the expense of effectively addressing crime. In fact, police need accountability and legitimacy in the communities they serve if they are to deliver safety. While policing is a local governmental function, federal policymakers have an important role to play in helping policing practice reflect this truth. The next president will have a wide range of funding, agenda setting, and enforcement tools that can elevate and spread the best in policing and compel reform where necessary. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2016. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Framing Paper: Accessed March 28, 2016 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000511-Policing-2016-To-Deliver-Safety-Police-Need-Legitimacy-and-Accountability.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000511-Policing-2016-To-Deliver-Safety-Police-Need-Legitimacy-and-Accountability.pdf Shelf Number: 138450 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice PerformancePolice-Community Relations |
Author: James, Nathan Title: Public Trust and Law Enforcement -- a Brief Discussion for Policymakers Summary: Recent events involving conflict between the police and citizens have generated interest in what role Congress could play in facilitating efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the people they serve while promoting effective crime reduction. This report provides a brief overview of police-community relations and how the federal government might be able to promote more accountability and better relationships between citizens and law enforcement. Gallup poll data show that, overall, Americans are confident in the police; but, confidence in the police varies according to race, place of residence, and other factors. In 2014, less than 50% of Americans favorably rated the honesty and ethics of police, the lowest percentage since 1998. If they conclude that low public ratings of the police are at least partially attributable to police policies, Congress may decide to address state and local law enforcement policies and practices they believe erode public trust in law enforcement. Federalism limits the amount of influence Congress can have over state and local law enforcement policy. Regardless, the federal government might choose to promote better law enforcement-community relations and accountability through (1) federal efforts to collect and disseminate data on the use of force by law enforcement, (2) statutes that allow the federal government to investigate instances of alleged police misconduct, and (3) the influence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on state and local policing through its role as an enforcer, policy leader, convener, and funder of law enforcement. There are several options policy makers might examine should they choose to play a role in facilitating better police-community relations: - Congress could consider placing conditions on federal funding to encourage law enforcement to adopt policy changes to promote better community relations. - Policy makers could consider expanding efforts to collect more comprehensive data on the use of force by law enforcement officers. - Congress could consider providing grants to law enforcement agencies so they could purchase body-worn cameras for their officers. - Policy makers could take steps to facilitate investigations and prosecutions of excessive force by amending 18 U.S.C. S242 to reduce the mens rea standard in federal prosecutions, or place conditions on federal funds to promote the use of special prosecutors at the state level. - Congress could fund Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants so law enforcement agencies could hire more officers to engage in community policing activities. - Policy makers might consider using the influence of congressional authority to affect the direction of national criminal justice policy. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2016. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: R43904: Accessed March 29, 2016 at: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=762775 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=762775 Shelf Number: 138452 Keywords: Criminal Justice PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice LegitimacyPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Futterman, Craig B. Title: 'They Have All the Power': Youth/Police Encounters on Chicago's South Side Summary: Public conversations about urban police practices tend to exclude the perspectives and experiences of the young Black people, the citizens often most affected by those practices. The aim of the Youth/Police Project -- a collaboration of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School and the Invisible Institute -- is to access that critical knowledge and ensure that it is represented in the public discourse. This paper describes what we have learned from our ongoing project. In contrast to the attention commanded by high profile incidents of police abuse, we focus on the routine encounters between police and Black youth that take place countless times every day in cities across the nation -- interactions that shape how kids see police and how police see them. Our methodology is straightforward. We ask Black high school students to describe their interactions with the police. And we listen. Three findings stand out, above all, from these conversations: (1) The ubiquity of police presence in the lives of Black youth. Every student with whom we work lives with the ever-present possibility of being stopped, searched, and treated as a criminal. These negative encounters make many students feel "less than a person," and cause them to curtail their own freedom at critical times in their development to avoid being stopped by the police. (2) The depth of Black students' alienation from law enforcement. The overwhelming majority expressed great distrust of the police, so much that they did not feel comfortable seeking police assistance, even when someone close to them was the victim of a violent crime. (3) The primacy of accountability. Unchecked police power -- lack of accountability -- emerged as the single greatest barrier to building a relationship of trust with police. This paper offers a concrete policy, advocacy, and research agenda to address these issues. Central to our recommendations is acknowledging the realities of young people living in marginalized communities. Drawing on our work with youth, we propose a set of policies that, taken together, have the potential to yield more equitable and constructive relationships between Black communities and police. Details: Chicago: University of Chicago Law School, 2016. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 573 : Accessed April 6, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2754761 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2754761 Shelf Number: 138579 Keywords: African Americans Neighborhoods and Crime Police AccountabilityPolice Legitimacy Police-Community Interactions Police-Community Relations |
Author: Calderon, Eduardo L. Title: Citizen Oversight Committees in Law Enforcement Summary: Law enforcement officers are charged with performing a variety of difficult tasks in the communities they serve. In order to carry out these tasks officers are vested with high levels of autonomy and authority. Although most law enforcement personnel throughout the United States perform honorable and conscientious police work, enormous amounts of damage can be done by a single reported incident of police misconduct or corruption. In response to allegations of wrongdoing and the use of excessive force by officers, some police agencies have solicited public opinion and involvement in an effort to build bridges of trust and promote transparency. This often includes discussions of establishing a citizen oversight committee. Citizen oversight committees are officially recognized groups composed of members of the community, often non-sworn civilians, who review complaints about police on behalf of the citizenry. Currently, there are more than 100 citizen oversight committees in the United States and approximately 18 percent of local law enforcement agencies in California have one. Each citizen oversight committee is a unique product of the environment that surrounds it. Citizen oversight committees generally fall into two categories or model types: they are either external or internal to the law enforcement agency. A current trend is to incorporate aspects of both external and internal models into a hybrid model. While there are no validated "best practices" in creating citizen oversight committees, successful committees can include benefits such as: empowering citizens, promoting change within law enforcement agencies, improving police-community relations, and increasing police transparency. Despite these benefits, committees face a number of structural and political obstacles that can hinder their ability to create lasting and permanent change in the police agencies they oversee. Many officers believe that citizen oversight and outside investigations are "unfair and biased against them" because their presence implies an inability of police agencies to monitor and investigate themselves. Recent changes in police oversight, however, have shifted away from the "us v. them" mentality. Similar to the theories guiding Community Oriented Policing, contemporary citizen oversight committees have embodied values that seek joint partnerships with stakeholders involved in the oversight process. Support from local politicians and police administrators as well as rank-and-file officers is crucial to the success of all citizen oversight committees. If city officials and the police department do not support the oversight body, it will have no access to the confidential documents and case evidence necessary to review incidents involving police misconduct. To be effective, citizen oversight committees must be skillful at getting policing issues on the city's agenda so that officials will address, rather than ignore, suppress, or minimize problems in the police agency. While there are many things to consider, some important questions to keep in mind when implementing a citizen oversight committee are: - Membership: Who will sit on the committee? Do committee members need to have any specialized skills or knowledge beyond an ability to be fair, open-minded, and conscientious? Will they be paid or volunteer positions? Will positions be appointed or by application/qualifications? How will appropriate- and fair-minded citizens be recruited? - Power and Responsibilities: Will the committee conduct investigations or just oversee the investigation process? Will the committee recommend or issue discipline? Will the committee have subpoena powers? - Governance: Who will oversee the committee - an elected body or police administrator(s)? How will a committee be established by charter or the electorate? - Funding: How will the committee be funded? What costs will be associated with the implementation and maintenance? - Goals: What is/are the goal(s) of the committee? The success of citizen oversight committees rests on their ability to establish joint partnerships with stakeholders involved in the oversight process. Often citizen oversight committees balance the needs of the public, police officers, and law enforcement agencies in an effort to establish their legitimacy. However, citizen oversight committees should continue to adapt to changes in political leadership and internal departmental transitions so that their membership and legitimacy will remain a fixture for years to follow. Details: Fullerton, CA: California State University - Fullerton, Center for Public Policy, 2013. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2016 at: http://cpp.fullerton.edu/pdf/cpp_policeoversight_report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://cpp.fullerton.edu/pdf/cpp_policeoversight_report.pdf Shelf Number: 138586 Keywords: Citizen Oversight CommitteesPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Australian Federal Police Title: Project APEX: A strategic assessment of corruption risk factors in ACT Policing Summary: This report presents the outcomes of Project Apex - a joint integrity initiative of the Chief Police Officer of ACT Policing and the Integrity Commissioner, involving also the Professional Standards team of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Any investigation of corrupt conduct should involve questioning whether particular observed conduct is a 'one-off' or indicative of a wider problem. For instance, external drivers (such as the economy, organised crime, price of illicit drugs, changes in societal behaviours) or internal factors (such as workplace culture or shortcomings in the integrity framework) are issues to consider. Accordingly, Project Apex sought to establish what is in the ACT Policing 'basket of risks', and which (if any) of these issues might be a cause for concern. It also sought to identify how resilient (or 'pressure-sensitive') the AFP's integrity framework is in withstanding the identified risks. This Project Apex report is a point-in-time picture of ACT Policing's exposure to corruption risk factors, having regard to past, current and emerging issues. A key issue was to find ways to 'read the prevailing culture on the ground'. Accordingly, the report also sets out various risk analysis methods and tools, developed during the project. The Project Apex Team comprised experienced corruption prevention, intelligence and operational staff from the AFP and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. It found that ACT Policing is professional and ethical, and aims to have a high level of corruption awareness and a strong commitment to professional standards. In addition, the AFP's integrity framework and anti-corruption measures provide a robust platform to assist ACT Policing in managing the integrity risks that arise from its law enforcement functions. However, corruption risk - like organised crime - is dynamic and changes in response to the environment. Drivers for corrupt conduct will continue to emerge, and must be anticipated and dealt with. As with comparable police forces, ACT Policing needs to maintain its vigilance against corruption, and continue to be adaptable in identifying and responding to corruption risks. The Project Apex Team found that, presently, the main integrity risk in ACT Policing concerns opportunistic corruption (individual susceptibility) and situational corruption (misplaced loyalties). This finding implies that the best defences will be: - supervisors (the 'front-line' of corruption control) who are alert to the signs that corrupt conduct may be occurring and well-placed to exercise control over the working environment; - heightening staff awareness of risk-taking behaviour which may be an 'early warning' sign of susceptibility to corruption or other misconduct; and - fair processes and robust checking mechanisms. Details: Canberra: ACLEI, 2014. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2016 at: https://www.aclei.gov.au/sites/g/files/net846/f/documents/Reports%20submissions%20and%20speeches/Project%20Apex%20A%20strategic%20assessment%20of%20corruption%20risk%20factors%20in%20ACT%20Policing%20a%20joint%20project%20by%20ACLEI%20and%20the%20AFP.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://www.aclei.gov.au/sites/g/files/net846/f/documents/Reports%20submissions%20and%20speeches/Project%20Apex%20A%20strategic%20assessment%20of%20corruption%20risk%20factors%20in%20ACT%20Policing%20a%20joint%20project%20by% Shelf Number: 138636 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice IntegrityPolice Misconduct |
Author: Bruce, David Title: Unfinished Business: The architecture of police accountability in South Africa Summary: The African National Congress that emerged in South Africa after its unbanning in February 1990, the return of its exiled members and 'surfacing' of those who had been operating underground, was a political party with little expertise in the field of policing. But the first formal positions on policing issues that emerged from its 1992 policy conference, articulated in the ANC policy document Ready to govern, gave substantial emphasis to police accountability. Not only did this say that the new police service would be 'accountable to society and the community it serves through its democratically elected institutions' but also that policing should be 'based on community support and participation' and that policing priorities would be 'determined in consultation with the communities they serve'. To some degree these ideas were carried forward. An elaborate architecture of oversight of police was established by means first of the 'interim' Constitution that came into effect on 27 April 1994, and then by the 1995 South African Police Service Act and the 1996 'final' Constitution. Police in South Africa are indeed by law accountable to democratically elected institutions. At first it may also have appeared that direct accountability to communities was to become a central building block of policing in South Africa. Major emphasis was given to the role of Community Police Forums (CPFs) in the 'interim' Constitution, their foremost function described as 'the promotion of accountability of the Service to local communities.' But there was one factor that trumped all others in shaping the structure of control of police that emerged in South Africa. The police had been principal instruments of maintaining apartheid and were seen as potentially a key threat to the transition, particularly if they remained in the hands of regionally powerful groups opposed to full democracy. Police reform, it was understood, needed to take place at a national level. Fearing that 'the devolution of powers to the regions would insulate lower levels from change' the ANC believed that the South African Police 'could only be reformed from the centre'. At a conference in 1992 for instance, one of the key architects of ANC policy on the police argued that a regionalised system of policing 'would lead to jurisdictional problems and inadequate civilian control' and that 'a more centralised force would also ensure that uniform standards could be applied to police conduct'. The ANC's position was thus that a regionalised system of policing 'would be dangerous as it would allow transformation to take place at different speeds across the country and would offer the opportunity for regionally-based political parties to use the police for their own ends'. It therefore resisted any model of government that conceded substantial levels of regional autonomy in relation to the police. This, it feared, would enable regions to resist its transformative agenda, at worst feeding into the danger of regional instability and secession. Ironically, despite the fact that their erstwhile political masters were in favour of a regional system9, senior South African Police (SAP) officials who were involved in discussions over the structure of policing in South Africa were inclined to align themselves with the ANC position, as regionalising the police would undermine their own 'ability to control change'. This paper raises questions about whether the strongly centralised system of governance of police that has emerged in South Africa as a result of decisive influence of these concerns continues to be functional to policing in South Africa. As a result of the process of en masse recruitment over recent years the SAPS now employs over 190 000 people, making it one of the biggest police services in the world. Centralised political control over such a large bureaucracy may have drawbacks such as limiting the potential for responsiveness, innovation or new ideas. In the US for example it is apparent that the highly decentralised system of policing has supported innovation and experimentation and the advancement of policing. This paper is not however concerned to advance the US or any other model of policing governance but to focus on the current architecture of control of policing in South Africa and examine questions about possibilities for strengthening this architecture in such a way as to support a greater degree of flexibility, innovation and responsiveness within the policing system. Details: Cape Town: African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Paper no. 2: Accessed April 14, 2016 at: http://www.apcof.org/files/9437_Brief2Unifnished%20Business.pdf Year: 2011 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.apcof.org/files/9437_Brief2Unifnished%20Business.pdf Shelf Number: 138667 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice EffectivenessPolice LegitimacyPolice ReformPolicing |
Author: Police Accountability Task Force (Chicago) Title: Police Accountability Task Force. Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago Police and the Communities they Serve: Report Summary: The Police Accountability Task Force arose amidst a significant and historic public outcry. The outcry brought people into the streets, on social media and on other venues to say in a very clear voice that they had reached a breaking point with the entire local law enforcement infrastructure. People were and are demanding accountability and real and lasting change. The outcry was not localized in any particular neighborhood or demographic, although communities of color and those ravaged by crime added some of the most poignant commentary. The Task Force immediately understood that one of our most important responsibilities was to actively seek out, listen and respond to voices from all over Chicago who had much to say about their personal and often painful experiences with the Chicago Police Department ("CPD"), the Independent Police Review Authority ("IPRA") and other parts of the local policing infrastructure, as well as their frustrations and lack of confidence in political actors. What we have heard has been humbling. As we dug deeper into the complaints of so many about the callous and disrespectful way in which they had been treated by some officers, we also understood that we had an important duty to lay bare the systemic and sanctioned practices that led to the deaths of fellow citizens and the deprivation of the rights of so many others. We have borne witness to many hard truths which have profound and lasting impacts on the lives and hopes of individuals and communities. Our recommendations are intended to be responsive to the people, empower the people and to specifically identify a range of changes that are essential to building trust, accountability and lasting change. As part of our work, the Task Force heard from many current and former CPD officers who are dedicated public servants, committed to performing their duties lawfully and making Chicago a safer place for all of its residents. Serving as a police officer is a challenging and often dangerous job. The police face an increasingly daunting challenge in crime fighting. Illegal guns flood the streets of the same neighborhoods that are devastated by crime, poverty and unemployment. We as a society cannot expect the police to cure every ill in Chicago's neighborhoods. Yet we put significant pressure on them to solve and prevent crime, as well as to address the manifestations of a number of other daunting social and economic challenges beyond their charge and capacity to manage, let alone solve. Still, a keen appreciation of and sensitivity to these broader issues is critical to effective law enforcement and positive community-police relations. The findings and recommendations in this report are not meant to disregard or undervalue the efforts of the many dedicated CPD officers who show up to work every day to serve and protect the community. The challenge is creating a partnership between the police and the community that is premised upon respect and recognizes that our collective fates are very much intertwined. Simply put, a more professional, engaged and respectful police force benefits us all. We cannot and have not shied away from identifying systemic problems or challenges that undermine the efforts of those officers who are sincerely committed to doing their jobs the right way. To be sure, individual officers must own responsibility for not merely their actions each day, but also the reverberating and sometimes corrosive and lingering effect of those actions on citizens. And ultimately, the responsibility for setting the correct course lies with CPD leadership itself. The City and in particular CPD would do well to embrace the necessary changes to address the systemic problems in CPD and not simply hope that this storm will pass. It will not and ignoring this opportunity will exacerbate Details: Chicago: The Task Force, 2016. 190p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2016 at: https://chicagopatf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PATF_Final_Report_4_13_16-1.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://chicagopatf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PATF_Final_Report_4_13_16-1.pdf Shelf Number: 138830 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice IntegrityPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductPolice PerformancePolice Reform |
Author: Murray, Kath Title: Landscape Review on Stop and Search in Scotland Summary: This report presents a landscape review of academic and policy research and evidence on stop and search in Scotland. The report was commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) via the Scottish Institute for Policing Research. It is not an exhaustive systematic evidence review. Rather the aim is to provide an overview of the key findings and themes in the existing evidence base, and relate these to the direction of police policy and practice in Scotland. The review also aims to support the Authority's commitment to building a stronger and more holistic research picture on the wider societal impact of stop and search. Details: Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, 2015. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Landscape_review_stop_search_270116.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Landscape_review_stop_search_270116.pdf Shelf Number: 139394 Keywords: Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Discretion Police Performance Police PracticeStop and Search |
Author: StopWatch Title: StopWatch Submission to the Consultation on Police Powers to Stop and Search Summary: The Home Office consultatio' document defines the purpose of stop and search as being to 'fight against crime'. According to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC), however, most police forces have no clear approach to using stop and search powers, nor a strategy or objective for their exercise. Existing definitions of the purpose of stop and search lack the clarity and precision required to ensure appropriate regulation of police powers and evaluation of their effectiveness. The absence of circumscription heightens the risk of those powers being abused. The exercise of police powers to stop an individual in a public place, to detain them for questioning, and to search their person or their belongings, constitutes an invasion of liberty and privacy. The powers are intrusive and coercive, and the circumstances in which they are exercised are frequently embarrassing, humiliating, intimidating and frightening for the individual concerned. - Stop and search has potentially damaging effects on individuals, communities and wider society. The powers can only be justified if there is evidence that they contribute significantly to the public good and if there is no less intrusive or coercive means to achieve the same end. The evidence of effectiveness, insofar as it exists, is unconvincing and there has been insufficient effort dedicated to the development of a less costly and less invasive alternative. Stop and search powers can be abused and used arbitrarily, without proper grounds and for improper purposes. The exercise of these powers must therefore be properly supervised to ensure that they are lawful, necessary, proportionate, properly circumscribed, and subject to adequate legal safeguards against abuse. Police officers do not have a right to stop and search. They have a duty to investigate crime and contribute to community safety; to promote equality, prevent illegal discrimination; and to protect our rights and freedoms. The police are granted powers to carry out these duties. Stop and search powers require a secure base of community support. Police action must both be fair and rational, and be perceived as so being by individuals and wider society. Without community consent and legitimacy, the use of the power becomes corrosive and ineffective Details: London: Stopwatch, 2013. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 13, 2016 at: http://www.stop-watch.org/uploads/documents/StopWatch_consultation_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.stop-watch.org/uploads/documents/StopWatch_consultation_final.pdf Shelf Number: 139406 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice DiscretionPolice PracticeStop and Search |
Author: Drover, Paul Title: Leading and Testing Body Worn Video in Wolverhampton Summary: Policing faces both a crisis in public confidence and the challenge of improving effectiveness in times of austerity. Body Worn Video (BWV) is seen internationally as having the potential to reduce public complaints, police use of force and potentially to improve criminal justice outcomes. However there are very few studies currently that explore the effects of BWV. Further replication of the BWV trial in Rialto, California (Farrar, 2013) is required to develop our understanding of the effects. This research shall document a Police Leaders' implementation of a randomised control trial into the effects of BWV. The main objectives are to identify the challenges to implementing a trial and identify how they were overcome. The solutions to these challenges shall provide key lessons for future police leaders as they undertake research and implement change. This study shall break down the sections of the implementation process. It shall explore each issue from gaining support to run a trial through to the challenge of maintaining it. The main challenges encountered from devising the trial in March 2014, through to three months into random allocation in August 2014 shall be detailed. Addressing police resistance, tracking performance, working with technology and maintaining officer compliance will feature as key issues. This study found that gaining the support of police practitioners and police leaders requires both negotiation and direction. Once overcome the ability to maintain compliance with the experimental protocols of random assignment was key. A combination of nudge theory and direct accountability is required. The study identifies planning and a skilled support team as being crucial to overcoming the issues of trial implementation and management. A leader with strong communication skills who can adapt to feedback is central to overcoming the many issues encountered in the trial. Details: Cambridge, UK: Wolfson College, 2014. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed June 29, 2016 at: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Paul%20Drover.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Paul%20Drover.pdf Shelf Number: 139538 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice PerformancePolice TechnologySurveillance Video Cameras |
Author: Stinson, Philip M. Title: Police Integrity Lost: A Study of Law Enforcement Officers Arrested Summary: 1 ABSTRACT There are no comprehensive statistics availa ble on problems with police integrity, and no government entity collects data on all criminal arrests of law enforcement officers in the United States. Police crimes are those crimes committed by sworn law enforcement officers with the general powers of arrest. These crimes can occur while the officer is either on- or off-duty and include offenses committed by officers employed by state and local law enforcement agencies. This study provides a wealth of data on a phenomen a that relates directly to police integrity- data that previously did not exist in any useable format. The first goal of the study is to determine th e nature and extent of police crime in the United States. The objective for this goal is to determine the inciden ce and prevalence of officers arrested. A second goal is to determine what factors influence how an agency responds to arrests of its officers. Objectives for this goal are to determine whether certain factors influence agency response and employment outcome s: (a) severity of crimes for which officers are arrested; (b) level of urbanization for each employing agency; (c) geographic location for each employing agency; (d) length of service and ag e of arrested officers; and, (e) criminal case outcomes. A final goal is to foster police integr ity by exploring whether o fficer arrests correlate with other forms of police misconduct. Objectives for this goal are to determine whether arrested officers were also named as a civil defendant in any 42 U.S.C. 1983 federal court actions during their careers, and to inform practiti oners and policymakers of strategies that will better identify problem officers and those at risk for engaging in pol ice crime and its correlates. The advent of nationwide, objec tive, and verifiable data on th e law-breaking behavior of sworn officers and provides potential benefits to law enforcement agencies that connect the technical expertise of researcher s to criminal justice policymaker s and practitioners. These data provide direct guidance in thr ee areas. First, the study provi des agencies information on the types of crime that are most frequently perp etrated by police officers. Second, the research provides information on the relationship between police crimes and other types of misbehavior that collectively comprise the problem officer. Third, nationwide data on police crimes and the manner in which arrested officers are organiza tionally sanctioned provide s points of comparison for law enforcement agencies that confront thes e problems, as well as information on the degree to which law enforcement agencies tend to sanction or ignore certain crimes committed by officers. This is a quantitative cont ent analysis study of archiv ed records reporting several thousand arrests of police officers during the years 2005-2011. The primary information source is the Google News search engine and its Google Alerts email update service. Chi-Square was used to measure the statistical significance of th e association between two variables measured at the nominal level. Cramer's V was utilized to measure th e strength of the Chi-Square association. Stepwise binary lo gistic regression was used to de termine which of the predictor variables are statistically significant in multivar iate models. Classification tree analysis was utilized to uncover the causal pa thways between independent predic tors and outcome variables. The Google News searches resulted in the id entification of 6,724 cas es in which sworn law enforcement officers were arrested during the years 2005 through 201 1. The cases involved the arrests of 5,545 individual sworn officers employed by 2,529 nonfederal state and local law enforcement agencies located in 1,205 counties a nd independent cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The findings indicate th at nonfederal law enforcement officers were arrested nationwide during 2005-2011 at a rate of 0.72 officers arrested per 1,000 officers, and at a rate of 1.7 officers arrested per 100,000 population nationwide. Details: Bowling Green, OH: Criminal Justice Program Bowling Green State University, 2016. 671p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249850.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249850.pdf Shelf Number: 139639 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice IntegrityPolice Misconduct |
Author: San Francisco. Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement Title: Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement Summary: The Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement (the Panel) was established as an advisory body to the San Francisco District Attorney in May 2015 in the wake of revelations that 14 San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officers had exchanged numerous racist and homophobic text messages. The text messages-milder examples of which included statements such as "Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!" and "I still hate black people" - expressed blatant hostility toward and mocked people of color - including SFPD officers - and insulted lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The Panel was tasked with answering the critical and obvious question that the text-messaging scandal raised and - to the Panel's knowledge - no other city agency had investigated: Was the racial and homophobic bias so clearly demonstrated by the offensive texts a reflection of institutionalized bias within the SFPD and, if so, to what extent? Over a one-year period, the Panel examined a number of different aspects of the SFPD to try to develop a comprehensive understanding of the issue, interviewing more than 100 witnesses and reviewing thousands of public documents. The result is this report. Its findings and recommendations strive to give credit where credit is due, but point to several unmistakable conclusions: the SFPD is in need of greater transparency; lacks robust oversight; must rebuild trust with the communities it serves; and should pay greater attention to issues of bias against people of color, both officers and members of the public. In short, the Panel concludes that the SFPD is in urgent need of important reforms. Details: San Francisco: The Panel, 2016. 249p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 21, 2016 at: http://sfdistrictattorney.org/sites/default/files/Document/BRP_report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://sfdistrictattorney.org/sites/default/files/Document/BRP_report.pdf Shelf Number: 139754 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsRacial Profiling in law EnforcementStop and Search |
Author: Chicago. Police Accountability Task Force Title: Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago Police and the Communities they Serve: Report Summary: The primary mission of the Police Accountability Task Force was to lay the foundation for the rejuvenation of trust between the police and the communities that they serve by facing hard truths and creating a roadmap for real and lasting transparency, respectful engagement, accountability and change. The Police Accountability Task Force developed comprehensive findings with specific recommendations for change in the short, interim and long term in five important areas: - Video Release Policies - De-escalation - Community & Police Relations - Early Intervention & Personnel - Legal Oversight & Accountability The Police Accountability Task Force arose amidst a significant and historic public outcry. The outcry brought people into the streets, on social media and on other venues to say in a very clear voice that they had reached a breaking point with the entire local law enforcement infrastructure. People were and are demanding accountability and real and lasting change. The outcry was not localized in any particular neighborhood or demographic, although communities of color and those ravaged by crime added some of the most poignant commentary. The Task Force immediately understood that one of our most important responsibilities was to actively seek out, listen and respond to voices from all over Chicago who had much to say about their personal and often painful experiences with the Chicago Police Department ("CPD"), the Independent Police Review Authority ("IPRA") and other parts of the local policing infrastructure, as well as their frustrations and lack of confidence in political actors. What we have heard has been humbling. As we dug deeper into the complaints of so many about the callous and disrespectful way in which they had been treated by some officers, we also understood that we had an important duty to lay bare the systemic and sanctioned practices that led to the deaths of fellow citizens and the deprivation of the rights of so many others. We have borne witness to many hard truths which have profound and lasting impacts on the lives and hopes of individuals and communities. Our recommendations are intended to be responsive to the people, empower the people and to specifically identify a range of changes that are essential to building trust, accountability and lasting change. As part of our work, the Task Force heard from many current and former CPD officers who are dedicated public servants, committed to performing their duties lawfully and making Chicago a safer place for all of its residents. Serving as a police officer is a challenging and often dangerous job. The police face an increasingly daunting challenge in crime fighting. Illegal guns flood the streets of the same neighborhoods that are devastated by crime, poverty and unemployment. We as a society cannot expect the police to cure every ill in Chicago's neighborhoods. Yet we put significant pressure on them to solve and prevent crime, as well as to address the manifestations of a number of other daunting social and economic challenges beyond their charge and capacity to manage, let alone solve. Still, a keen appreciation of and sensitivity to these broader issues is critical to effective law enforcement and positive community-police relations. The findings and recommendations in this report are not meant to disregard or undervalue the efforts of the many dedicated CPD officers who show up to work every day to serve and protect the community. The challenge is creating a partnership between the police and the community that is premised upon respect and recognizes that our collective fates are very much intertwined. Simply put, a more professional, engaged and respectful police force benefits us all. We cannot and have not shied away from identifying systemic problems or challenges that undermine the efforts of those officers who are sincerely committed to doing their jobs the right way. To be sure, individual officers must own responsibility for not merely their actions each day, but also the reverberating and sometimes corrosive and lingering effect of those actions on citizens. And ultimately, the responsibility for setting the correct course lies with CPD leadership itself. The City and in particular CPD would do well to embrace the necessary changes to address the systemic problems in CPD and not simply hope that this storm will pass. It will not and ignoring this opportunity will exacerbate an already volatile set of circumstances. CPD in particular must face the problems in order to fix them. Details: Chicago: The Task Force, 2016. 184p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 21, 2016 at: https://chicagopatf.org/ Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://chicagopatf.org/ Shelf Number: 139755 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice IntegrityPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Feeney, Matthew Title: Watching the Watchmen: Best Practices for Police Body Cameras Summary: Coverage of recent police killings has prompted a much-needed debate on law enforcement reform, and proposals for police body cameras have featured heavily in these discussions. Body cameras undoubtedly gather valuable evidence of police misconduct, and although research on the effects of body cameras is comparatively limited there are good reasons to believe that they can improve police behavior. However, without the right policies in place the use of police body cameras could result in citizens' privacy being needlessly violated. In addition, poorly considered police body camera policies governing the storage and release of footage might be too costly to implement. This paper examines the research on the costs and benefits of police body cameras, arguing that the devices can, if properly deployed and regulated, provide a valuable disincentive to police abuses as well as valuable evidence for punishing abuses when they occur. No one-size-fits-all set of body camera policies should be imposed on the thousands of police departments across the United States, which vary significantly in size as well as the crime rates they face. Nonetheless, the policies that municipal, state, and federal actors adopt will need to address transparency, accountability, and privacy in order to realize the potential benefits of wearable cameras. Toward that end, this paper outlines a number of best practices designed to help law enforcement agencies at all levels address the privacy and fiscal issues associated with body cameras. By themselves, body cameras are not a police misconduct panacea. Police misconduct can only be adequately addressed by implementing significant reforms to police practices and training. Still, body cameras can serve as an important component of police reform. Details: Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Analysis no.782: Accessed July 21, 2016 at: http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa782.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa782.pdf Shelf Number: 139757 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Pang, Min-Seok Title: Armed with Technology: The Effects on Fatal Shootings of Civilians by the Police Summary: The police in the United States shot and killed 986 civilians in 2015. Deaths of civilians by the police in recent years have led to protests and disruptions in several large cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. In this study, we investigate how the use of technology by the police affects use of lethal force on civilians. Drawing upon signal detection theory, we propose a simple, stylized model on a police officer's decision to shoot. This model posits how the use of technology for intelligence access (e.g., statistical analyses of crime data) and evidence gathering (e.g., wearable body cameras) affects use of deadly force on civilians by the police. Empirical investigations with a large-scale dataset on fatal shootings revealed both encouraging and surprising findings. We found that both the use of smartphones and the statistical analyses of crime data are associated with a decrease in deadly shootings. In contrast, the use of wearable body cameras is related to an increase in the deaths of civilians by the police, contrary to an intuitive expectation that the adoption of body cameras would prevent deadly shootings. Interestingly, we also found that the observed effect of technology use is more pronounced for African Americans or Hispanics than Whites or Asians and for armed suspects than unarmed ones. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating the far-reaching role of technology use in novel contexts, specifically in highly risky, violent environments Details: Philadelphia: Fox School of Business, Temple University, 2016. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2808662 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2808662 Shelf Number: 139793 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasDeadly ForceFatal ShootingsPolice AccountabilityPolice Use of Force |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Summary: Military police officers Roberta Moreira and Wallace Justo walk through one of the trails at Mangueira favela on January 14, 2016. Members of the local Pacifying Police Unit (UPP), they carry out social projects with children to try to gain the community's trust. Police in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro have killed more than 8,000 people in the past decade, including at least 645 in 2015. Three quarters of those killed were black. Given that Rio police face real threats of violence from heavily-armed gangs, many of these killings were likely the result of the legitimate use of force. But many others were extrajudicial executions. Drawing on interviews with more than 30 police officers - two of whom admitted to participating in executions - and in-depth documentation of 64 cases where there is credible evidence that police sought to cover up unlawful killings. Government data examined by Human Rights Watch supports the view of local justice officials that this practice is widespread. Unlawful police killings take a heavy toll - not only on the victims and their families - but also on the police force itself. The killings fuel cycles of violence that endanger the lives of all officers serving in high-crime areas, poison their relationship with local communities, and contribute to high levels of stress that undermine their ability to do their jobs well. The officers responsible for unlawful killings and cover ups are rarely brought to justice. While investigations by civil police have been woefully inadequate, responsibility for this failure ultimately lies with Rio's Attorney General's Office. Unless authorities take urgent steps to ensure accountability for unlawful police killings, it will be very hard for Rio to make real progress in reducing violence and improving public security. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 117p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/brazil0716web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/brazil0716web.pdf Shelf Number: 139922 Keywords: Dead ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Rogers, Colin Title: Community Safety and Zero Tolerance: A Study of Partnership Policing Summary: The so-called partnership style of policing has become a political issue in the UK. That the so-called answer to the crime problem appears to lie at the local and voluntary level and in a sense moves central governments responsibility for tackling crime and disorder issues fairly away from central accountability. Details: Glamorgan, UK: University of Glamorgan, 2002. 254p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 4, 2016 at: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.395286 Year: 2002 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.395286 Shelf Number: 130041 Keywords: Community Policing Police AccountabilityPolice-Community Relationships |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union Title: Unleashed and Unaccountable: The FBI's Unchecked Abuse of Authority Summary: The Federal Bureau of Investigation serves a crucial role in securing the United States from criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign agents. Just as importantly, the FBI also protects civil rights and civil liberties, ensures honest government, and defends the rule of law. Its agents serve around the country and around the world with a high degree of professionalism and competence, often under difficult and dangerous conditions. But throughout its history, the FBI has also regularly overstepped the law, infringing on Americans' constitutional rights while overzealously pursuing its domestic security mission. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress and successive attorneys general loosened many of the legal and internal controls that a previous generation had placed on the FBI to protect Americans' constitutional rights. As a result, the FBI is repeating mistakes of the past and is again unfairly targeting immigrants, racial and religious minorities, and political dissidents for surveillance, infiltration, investigation, and "disruption strategies." But modern technological innovations have significantly increased the threat to American liberty by giving today's FBI the capability to collect, store, and analyze data about millions of innocent Americans. The excessive secrecy with which it cloaks these domestic intelligence gathering operations has crippled constitutional oversight mechanisms. Courts have been reticent to challenge government secrecy demands and, despite years of debate in Congress regarding the proper scope of domestic surveillance, it took unauthorized leaks by a whistleblower to finally reveal the government's secret interpretations of these laws and the Orwellian scope of its domestic surveillance programs. There is evidence the FBI's increased intelligence collection powers have harmed, rather than aided,its terrorism prevention efforts by overwhelming agents with a flood of irrelevant data and false alarms. Former FBI Director William Webster evaluated the FBI's investigation of Maj. Nadal Hasan prior to the Ft. Hood shooting and cited the "relentless" workload resulting from a "data explosion" within the FBI as an impediment to proper intelligence analysis. And members of Congress questioned several other incidents in which the FBI investigated but failed to interdict individuals who later committed murderous terrorist attacks, including the Boston Marathon bombing. While preventing every possible act of terrorismis an impossible goal, an examination of these cases raise serious questions regardingthe efficacy of FBI methods. FBI data showing that more than half of the violent crimes, including over a third of the murders in the U.S. ,go unsolved each year calls for a broader analysis of the proper distribution of law enforcement resources. With the appointment of Director James Comey, the FBI has seen its first change in leadership sincethe 9/11 attacks, which provides an opportunity for Congress, the president, and the attorney general to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the FBI's policies and programs. This report highlights areas in which the FBI has abused its authority and recommends reforms to ensure the FBI fulfills its law enforcement and security mi ssions with proper public oversight and respect for constitutional rights and democratic ideals. The report describes major changes to law and policy that unleashed the FBI from its traditional restraints and opened the door to abuse. Congress enhanced many of the FBI's surveillance powers after 9/11, primarily through the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments. Therecent revelations regarding the FBI'suse of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act to track all U.S. telephone calls is only the latest in a long line of abuse. Five Justice Department Inspector General audits documented widespread FBI misuse of Patriot Act authorities in 2007 and 2008. Congress and the American public deserve to know the full scope of the FBI's spying on Americ ans under the Patriot Act and all other surveillance authorities. Details: New York: ACLU, 2013. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2016 at: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/unleashed-and-unaccountable-fbi-report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/unleashed-and-unaccountable-fbi-report.pdf Shelf Number: 130020 Keywords: Domestic TerrorismFBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationPatriot ActPolice AccountabilityPrivacySurveillance |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department Summary: This report present the outcome of the Department of Justice's investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department (BP D). After engaging in a thorough investigation, initiated at the request of the City of Baltimore and BPD, the Department of Justice concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law. BPD engages in a pattern or practice of: (1) making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests; (2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans; (3) using excessive force; and (4) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally -protected expression. This pattern or practice is driven by systemic deficiencies in BPD's policies, training, supervision, and ac countability structures that fail to equip officers with the tools they need to police effectively and within the bounds of the federal law. We recognize the challenges faced by police officers in Baltimore and other communities around the country. Every day, police officers risk their lives to uphold the law and keep our communities safe. Investigatory stops, arrests, and force - including, at times, deadly force - are all necessary tools used by BPD officers to do their jobs and protect the safety of thems elves and others. Providing policing services in many parts of Baltimore is particularly challenging, where officers regularly confront complex social problems rooted in poverty, racial segregation and deficient educational, employment and housing opportunities. Still, most BPD officers work hard to provide vital services to the community. The pattern or practice occurs as a result of systemic deficiencies at BPD. The agency fails to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training; fails to collect and analyze data regarding officers' activities; and fails to hold officers accountable for misconduct. BPD also fails to equip officers with the necessary equipment and resources they need to police safely, constitutionally, and effectively. Each of these systemic deficiencies contributes to the constitutional and statutory violations we observed. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2016. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2016 at: http://civilrights.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/20160810_DOJ%20BPD%20Report-FINAL.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://civilrights.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/20160810_DOJ%20BPD%20Report-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 140031 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Title: Police Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard Summary: In the wake of high-profile incidents in Ferguson, Staten Island, North Charleston, Baltimore, and elsewhere, law enforcement agencies across the country are rapidly adopting body-worn cameras for their officers. One of the main selling points for these cameras is their potential to provide transparency into some police interactions, and to help protect civil rights, especially in heavily policed communities of color. But accountability is not automatic. Whether these cameras make police more accountable - or simply intensify police surveillance of communities - depends on how the cameras and footage are used. That's why The Leadership Conference, together with a broad coalition of civil rights, privacy, and media rights groups, developed shared Civil Rights Principles on Body Worn Cameras. Our principles emphasize that "[w]ithout carefully crafted policy safeguards in place, there is a real risk that these new devices could become instruments of injustice, rather than tools for accountability." This scorecard evaluates the body-worn camera policies currently in place in major police departments across the country. Our goal is to highlight promising approaches that some departments are taking, and to identify opportunities where departments could improve their policies. Details: Washington, DC: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 2016. 208p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2016 at: https://www.bwcscorecard.org/static/pdfs/LCCHR_Upturn-BWC_Scorecard-v2.03.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.bwcscorecard.org/static/pdfs/LCCHR_Upturn-BWC_Scorecard-v2.03.pdf Shelf Number: 140036 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera TechnologyCamerasLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Use of Force |
Author: Shjarback, John Title: Cops, Culture, and Context: The Integration of Structural and Cultural Elements for Explanations of Police Use of Force Summary: This dissertation integrates concepts from three bodies of literature: police use of force, neighborhood/ecological influence on police, and police culture. Prior research has generally found that neighborhood context affects police use of force. While scholars have applied social disorganization theory to understand why neighborhood context might influence use of force, much of this theorizing and subsequent empirical research has focused exclusively on structural characteristics of an area, such as economic disadvantage, crime rates, and population demographics. This exclusive focus has occurred despite the fact that culture was once an important component of social disorganization theory in addition to structural factors. Moreover, the majority of the theorizing and subsequent research on police culture has neglected the potential influence that neighborhood context might have on officers' occupational outlooks. The purpose of this dissertation is to merge the structural and cultural elements of social disorganization theory in order to shed light on the development and maintenance of police officer culture as well as to further specify the relationship between neighborhood context and police use of force. Using data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN), I address three interrelated research questions: 1) does variation of structural characteristics at the patrol beat level, such as concentrated disadvantage, homicide rates, and the percentage of minority citizens, predict how an officer views his/her occupational outlook (i.e., culture)?; 2) do officers who work in the same patrol beats share a similar occupational outlook (i.e., culture) or is there variation?; and 3) does the inclusion of police culture at the officer level moderate the relationship between patrol beat context and police use of force? Findings suggest that a patrol beat's degree of concentrated disadvantage and homicide rate slightly influence officer culture at the individual level. Results show mixed evidence of a patrol beat culture. There is little support for the idea that characteristics of the patrol beat and individual officer culture interact to influence police use of force. I conclude with a detailed discussion of the methodological, theoretical, and policy implications as well as limitations and directions for future research. Details: Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, 2016. 280p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: https://repository.asu.edu/items/39457 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://repository.asu.edu/items/39457 Shelf Number: 140045 Keywords: Neighborhoods and CrimePolice AccountabilityPolice CulturePolice DiscretionPolice Use of Force |
Author: Todd, Hilary Ellen Marta Title: The effects of citizen monitoring on the police: an examination of citizen monitoring and police use of justified force Summary: Citizen monitoring of police officers is an area of increasing importance in law enforcement research. The most powerful weapon against police misconduct is rapidly becoming the cellular phone and other hand held photography and videography devices. The practice of recording the police conducting their work either properly or improperly and subsequently uploading the footage onto the Internet has had marked effects on members of the force. Monitoring and surveillance are known to have a significant impact on individuals and their resulting actions (Campbell and Carlson, 2002). This study offers an examination of surveillance on the police population. Through the use of a qualitative approach, the present study explores the impact citizen monitoring has on police officers. The study addresses officers' perceptions of citizen monitoring, and the impact the interviewees felt it had on their use of justified force. Guided by the question: "What impact does citizen monitoring have on police use of force, and would body worn cameras (BWC) serve as a means to mitigate this impact?", this exploratory study found that indeed, the officers interviewed may be impacted by citizen monitoring, and further, that a great deal of uneasiness exists within the force around the potential adoption of BWC technology. Details: Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University, 2015. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Shelf Number: 134047 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCitizen MonitoringPolice AccountabilityPolice Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForceSocial Media |
Author: Bud, Thomas Title: The Rise of Body-Worn Camera Programs in Canada and the United States: An Extension of the Surveillant Assemblage Summary: This thesis examines the extent to which body-worn cameras programs in Canada and the U.S. befit the notion of counter-law. The research is theoretically based on Ericson's (2007a) framework of counter-law and the surveillant assemblage. The results indicate that body-worn camera programs can be considered an extension of the existing surveillant assemblage. In the U.S., numerous legislative amendments exempted body-worn cameras from certain legal requirements and thus facilitated their integration into existing surveillance networks. In Canada, legal amendments were not enacted through counter-law; nevertheless, the broadness and inconsistency of existing legislation allowed body-worn camera programs to become part of the surveillant assemblage. This thesis also contributes to refinements of counter-law I and the surveillant assemblage by analyzing variations in how these concepts apply to localized contexts of uncertainty. Details: Windsor, ONT: University of Windsor, 2016. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5722/ Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5722/ Shelf Number: 140048 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera TechnologyCamerasLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice Surveillance |
Author: Harris, David A. Title: Picture This: Body Worn Video Devices ('Head Cams') as Tools for Ensuring Fourth Amendment Compliance by Police Summary: A new technology has emerged with the potential to increase police compliance with the law and to increase officers' accountability for their conduct. Called "body worn video" (BWV) or "head cams," these devices are smaller, lighter versions of the video and audio recording systems mounted on the dash boards of police cars. These systems are small enough that they consist of something the size and shape of a cellular telephone earpiece, and are worn by police officers the same way. Recordings are downloaded directly from the device into a central computer system for storage and indexing, which protects them from tampering and assures a defensible chain of custody. This article explores the good that BWV can do for both the police and members of the public, particularly how these recordings might play a role in assuring that officers comply with Fourth Amendment search and seizure rules. Field tests of BWV in Britain have shown that police used the devices to keep records and record evidence, and that the devices were a uniquely effective bulwark against false complaints. Coupled with a requirement that every citizen encounter involving a search or seizure be recorded, and a presumption that without a recording the factfinder must draw inferences in favor of the defendant, BWV can help resolve disputes over search and seizure activities, and give the public a heretofore unattainable degree of assurance that police officers enforcing the law obey it as they do so. While BWV is certainly no panacea, and presents significant issues of tampering and reliability, it can help bring accountability and rule following to an aspect of police behavior that has largely proven resistant to it. Details: Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 2010. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-13 : Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1596901 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1596901 Shelf Number: 140049 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera TechnologyCamerasLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Use of Force |
Author: Guerin, Paul Title: City of Albuquerque Police Department On Body Camera System Research Summary: This research study has several goals. First, to document the use of the OBCS, second, to provide information useful for informing the development of a policy regarding the use of the OBCS and third, to provide information that will inform a method to audit the developed policy and the use of the system by APD personnel. Currently it is not known how officers actually use the OBCS in the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). According to an APD special order authorized May 4, 2012, officers were required to use their OBCS during every citizen contact that is the result of a dispatched call for service, arrest warrant, search warrant, or traffic stop. On May 6, 2012 General Order 1-39 Use of Tape/Digital Recorders was made effective replacing an earlier version. This order includes the language in the Special Order and provides a list of incidents that must also be recorded. Another version of General Order 1-39 was made effective January 22, 2013 with some additional language including noting when officers should activate their cameras. It appears to also differentiate between dispatched and non-dispatched events and situations. Via our focus groups it appears many officers have interpreted the policy to include any citizen contact. The January 2013 general order appears to be modified by an October 2014 special order dealing with video evidence tagging procedures, which directed all officers to video if logged on a call where an arrest, criminal summons or non-traffic citation was issued. These four managing documents are found in the appendices of this report. Official information sources for this study included the OBCS information system, City of Albuquerque Human Resource information, Automated Reporting System (ARS) data, APD computer aided dispatch information (CAD), and focus groups with sworn APD staff. City of Albuquerque and APD staff collaborated in providing access to the necessary official information and provided technical information in matching and merging information from the data sources. Eleven focus groups with APD patrol officers, sergeants, and lieutenants were conducted, as well as three focus groups with Investigative Bureau detectives and one focus group with a mix of Investigative Bureau sergeants and several SWAT officers. APD staff was helpful in arranging these focus groups. APD has implemented an OBCS and similar camera programs are being implemented in law enforcement agencies around the country. This is a fairly new technology for law enforcement and best practices have not been established regarding the use of cameras, video storage and download protocols, privacy concerns, use of evidence, and officer training. Literature addressing these and other issues suggests police departments have much to consider before investing in and implementing an OBCS. This study involved two primary tasks. First, a review and analysis of APD video camera data, APD CAD data, and human resource data for APD officers was completed and second, focus groups of patrol officers, detectives, sergeants, and lieutenants from the APD Field Service Bureau (FSB), the Investigative Bureau (IB), and Special Services Bureau (SSB) were conducted. This report includes this introduction, a literature review of current practices in the field of on body camera systems, a study design and methodology section, the analysis and discussion of the data listed above, and a recommendations and conclusions section. Details: Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, Institute for Social Research, 2016. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 29, 2016 at: https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/obcs-report-draft-all-bureaus-master-final_v102022016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/obcs-report-draft-all-bureaus-master-final_v102022016.pdf Shelf Number: 140073 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera Technology Law Enforcement Technology Police AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Technology Police Use of Force |
Author: Morrison, Caren Myers Title: Body Camera Obscura: The Semiotics of Police Video Summary: Our understanding of violent encounters between the police and civilians is now primarily mediated by video images. With surprising rapidity, recording these encounters has become an integral part of modern policing, sparking the current body camera bonanza. When these recordings are used as evidence in police use-of-force cases, the factfinders must decide whether the police officer's actions were "reasonable" under the Fourth Amendment. But there is an unrecognized fault line between "police video" (video recorded by the police in the course of their official duties) and "eyewitness video" (recorded by bystander-witnesses). Police video tends to recirculate dominant narratives of violence and masculinity as heroic ideals that coexist easily with the legal standard of the reasonable officer. In contrast, eyewitness videos typically offer the counter-narrative of an abusive state. These images have evidentiary value, but also cultural currency. They reflect back to us our feelings about violence, race, masculinity, and the law. This article proposes a descriptive critique of the use of video evidence in assessing the lawfulness of police violence. Using insights from semiotics, film criticism, cultural theory, and cognitive psychology, it attempts to sketch out a more nuanced way of approaching video evidence in the context of these cases. Details: Atlanta: Georgia State University - College of Law, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2826747 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2826747 Shelf Number: 140085 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasFourth AmendmentPolice AccountabilityPolice ShootingsPolice Use of ForceVideo Technology |
Author: Goff, Phillip Atiba Title: Science of Justice: City Report Summary: How do you measure justice? It is a question that has confounded scholars, activists, and public servants since before it was even asked. Yet, despite the inherent philosophical, methodological, and logistical difficulties, law enforcement executives are increasingly asked to turn over data with the aim of evaluating how fairly they are doing their jobs. Rather than shrink from this task, courageous executives are seeking out partnerships with prominent researchers to solve this riddle and lead policing in the nation with respect to civil rights and public accountability. The aim of the city reports is to provide law enforcement with a powerful tool towards that end. They are intended as a kind of roadmap of options towards the goal of ensuring equity in public safety. Too often law enforcement data are captured with an eye towards accounting or litigation, and without leveraging the data to optimize performance. The city reports are designed to help fill that gap, providing straightforward statistical answers to some of the most pressing questions that cut across law enforcement agencies. Consequently, we have organized the reports to address the most frequently asked questions we receive from both law enforcement executives and communities over our decades working with both. The questions that motivate the city report are: What data should a department collect? Are the racial disparities we observe evidence of racial bias? If there are biases, does department leadership need to train/select officers differently or should they focus on department policies? If a department does need to train or select its officers differently, what are the factors leadership should consider? And, if a department does need to focus on its policies, how should it do that? Finally, the most common questions we receive from law enforcement executives are: How am I doing? And how do I compare to everybody else? Given how pervasive these questions are, we wanted to provide law enforcement with the analytic tools necessary to understand the world in which they are operating. We have avoided unnecessarily complicated quantitative techniques where possible in order to allow for ease of comprehension and to position departments as best we can to track their progress themselves. Section 1 outlines the data a department gave us, and identifies additional data that would help to further contextualize what we were given. Section 2 prepares a department for what others will see. The analyses do not provide a strong basis for determining whether or not disparities result from bias - particularly the population benchmark analyses. But they do offer a snapshot of what an interested community might see with widely available data. In addition, Section 2 provides information on disparities in treatment after a stop that may warrant a department's attention. Section 3 uses four techniques to help a department decide whether or not any disparities that may have been observed in Section 2 warrant concerns related to biased behavior and/or policies. This section also features comparative analyses of these four indicators, revealing where the department's results stand relative to both national trends and regional ones (where data are available). Section 4 provides measurements of the extent to which observed disparities are due to officer variation as opposed to district or department-wide behaviors. Section 5 reveals how the attitudes of officers influence their orientation towards the department, its policies, and the community. Section 6 provides a unique set of analyses to assess how departmental policies advance the goals of fairness in policing. And, finally, Section 7 provides a summary of the report findings and how the department results compare to regional and national trends for departments who provided the same data. Taken together, we hope that the city report will serve as a step forward in using law enforcement data analytics to shape policing equity. Details: Los Angeles: Center for Policing Equity, 2016. 101. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: http://policingequity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/EverytownPD.City_.Report-FINAL.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://policingequity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/EverytownPD.City_.Report-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 145607 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice DepartmentsPolice Integrity |
Author: Davies, Matthew Title: Driving Accountability from Within: Key lessons for newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners Summary: This first empirical study of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) highlights a set of key findings and recommendations for newly elected PCCs to assist them in developing the internal capacity and key relationships that are essential to the challenging and expanding role. Details: London: Police Foundation, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 21, 2016 at: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/catalogerfiles/driving-accountability-from-within-key-lessons-for-newly-elected-pccs/driving_accountability_final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/catalogerfiles/driving-accountability-from-within-key-lessons-for-newly-elected-pccs/driving_accountability_final.pdf Shelf Number: 145629 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice Legitimacy |
Author: Fisk, Catherine Title: Police Unions Summary: Perhaps no issue has been more controversial in the discussion of police union responses to allegations of excessive force than statutory and contractual protections for officers accused of misconduct, as critics have assailed such protections and police unions defend them. For all the public controversy over police unions, there is has been relatively little legal scholarship on them. Neither the legal nor the social science literature on policing and police reform has explored the opportunities and constraints that labor law offers in thinking about organizational change. The scholarly deficit has substantial public policy consequences, as groups ranging from Black Lives Matter to the U.S. Department of Justice are proposing legal changes that will require the cooperation of police labor organizations to implement. This article fills that gap. Part I explores the structure and functioning of police departments and the evolution of police unions as a response to a hierarchical and autocratic command structure. Part II examines the ways in which and the reasons why police unions have been obstacles to reform, focusing particularly on union defense of protections for officers accused of misconduct. Part III describes and analyzes 50 years worth of instances in which cities have implemented reforms to reduce police violence and improve police-community relations. All of them involved the cooperation of the rank and file, and many involved active cooperation with the union. Part IV proposes mild changes in the law governing police labor relations to facilitate rank and file support of the kinds of transparency, accountability, and constitutional policing practices that police reformers have been advocating for at least a generation. We propose a limited form of minority union bargaining a reform that has been advocated in other contexts by both the political left and the political right at various points in recent history to create an institutional structure enabling diverse representatives of police rank and file to meet and confer with police management over policing practices. Details: Irvine: School of Law, University of California, Irvine, 2016. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: University of California, Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2016-47 : Accessed October 6, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2841837 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2841837 Shelf Number: 147821 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice MisconductPolice Unions |
Author: New York (City). Department of Investigation Title: Using Data from Lawsuits and Legal Claims: Involving NYPD to Improve Policing Summary: Over the past decade, legal claims and civil lawsuits against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) have been increasing in number. According to NYPD, in the past five fiscal years alone, the City has seen more than 15,000 lawsuits filed against NYPD, a 44% increase in total number, that in sum have cost the City over $202 million. These cases result in a substantial financial burden on New York City taxpayers. The City's response has ranged from removing the most-sued officers from the streets to allocating new and greater resources to the attorneys who must defend these lawsuits. The Mayor recently announced that the New York City Law Department would receive an additional $4.5 million to hire 30 new attorneys and 10 new paralegals to defend the City against such lawsuits. While parties may differ on what has caused this high volume of lawsuits, the byproduct has been a large quantity of lawsuit and claims data which, if used correctly, can assist NYPD and the City with taking necessary corrective action. However, various agencies with responsibility for different aspects of this litigation are not tracking the data from these cases in the most effective way possible. This Report discusses the necessary steps needed for the efficient collection and use of this data. While the high number of legal claims and lawsuits being filed against NYPD is concerning, the careful collection and analysis of data regarding legal claims and civil lawsuits (hereinafter "litigation data") has the potential to reduce costs while improving both officer performance and police-community relations. Although litigation data is not a perfect indicator of police performance, when the correct litigation data is collected and used properly, it can help result in changes that benefit individual officers, the police department, community members, and the City at large. As outlined in this Report, NYPD can use litigation data in three ways: First, a quantitative and qualitative review of litigation data can be used to help law enforcement identify patterns and trends of police misconduct that warrant remediation. Second, by coupling litigation data with "Early Intervention Systems," law enforcement agencies can identify at-risk officers who may be in need of enhanced training or monitoring. Third, litigation data analysis can contribute to improvements and positive shifts in departmental culture. In this Report, OIG-NYPD looks at how law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions have successfully used litigation data in these three ways to effect change and reduce costs, and how NYPD can do the same. While litigation data has the potential to bring improvements, the limitations of the information must also be taken into account. For example, the fact that a claim or lawsuit is settled is not necessarily proof of liability or improper conduct. Cases are not always resolved on the merits, and non-meritorious cases are sometimes settled for lower amounts to avoid the costs and uncertainties of litigation. Moreover, litigation data cannot, by itself, drive change in how plaintiffs and the City choose to litigate and resolve lawsuits. Separate strategies, independent of this Report, are required to address how claims and lawsuits are managed by agencies and counsel. But when the data is properly gathered and analyzed, litigation data can still be used for positive, proactive improvements in policing. While this Report lists several steps that should be taken, OIG-NYPD notes that NYPD is, in some ways, ahead of many other police departments with respect to tracking and analyzing litigation data. For example, NYPD has been improving its system for using data - including litigation data - to track and monitor the performance of individual officers. NYPD also recently revamped its internal team responsible for reviewing and identifying trends in legal claims and litigation. Finally, NYPD has been exchanging data more regularly with the two agencies that also track litigation data against NYPD and its officers: the Office of the Comptroller of the City of New York (Comptroller's Office) and the New York City Law Department (Law Department). Notwithstanding this progress, more should be done. OIG-NYPD sees several opportunities for enhancing how litigation data is collected and utilized in the long-term. OIGNYPD therefore makes the following three recommendations: 1) NYPD should perform a qualitative review of the most relevant data contained within legal claims and lawsuits against NYPD. A more thoughtful examination of certain litigation metrics generates the greatest benefit from a risk management perspective, police oversight perspective, and accountability perspective. Specifically, NYPD, the Comptroller's Office, and the Law Department need to start tracking more details about the nature of the claims and the core allegations, information about the subject police officer, the location of the alleged incident, and the address of the plaintiff. A more qualitative review of claims and final outcomes will also help to distinguish potentially meritless cases from more substantive claims and, therefore, will help to determine which cases can best help with an Early Intervention System or a trend analysis system. 2) NYPD should more closely coordinate the collection and exchange of litigation data through the creation of an interagency working group with the Comptroller's Office and the Law Department. Beyond the current bilateral discussions that NYPD has with both the Comptroller's Office and the Law Department, an interagency working group would allow all three agencies to better understand the optimal path forward in facilitating and exchanging the review of police-involved litigation data. This includes identifying what data exists and where, how data should be classified, what additional data should be collected, what resources are needed to capture data that is not readily available, and how to best balance the benefits of data review with the practical realities of data collection. 3) NYPD should be more transparent in its emerging work in litigation data analysis so that New York City residents can better understand how the officers serving their community are evaluated and how NYPD is using litigation data to identify trends in the Department as a whole. In addition to revealing details about both officer performance monitoring and litigation data analysis, NYPD should also solicit public comment regarding these systems. With increased transparency and openness to comment will come greater public confidence in NYPD's plan for analyzing litigation data. Reliable data on police activities is a foundation of oversight and review. This Office, as well as NYPD, must therefore take all practical steps to harness the most accurate data from all available sources and render it useful. If the recommendations in this Report are implemented, litigation data analysis may further this goal by helping to reduce the number of legal claims and lawsuits directed towards NYPD, while also reducing costs and improving policing and police-community relations in New York City as a whole. Details: New York: New York City Department of Investigation, Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, 2015. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2016 at: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/oignypd/downloads/pdf/2015-04-20-litigation-data-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/oignypd/downloads/pdf/2015-04-20-litigation-data-report.pdf Shelf Number: 145427 Keywords: Legal ClaimsPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Shultz, Ashley Title: Early Warning Systems: What's New? What's Working? Summary: CNA-a not-for-profit organization that focuses on operations and applied research to solve tough issues facing communities and governments at all levels-has worked with more than 50 police agencies over the past 10 years on issues relating to use of force, deadly use of force, community policing, citizen complaints against police, ambushes of police officers, violence reduction, innovative policing practices, police-community engagement, and rigorous evaluation of police initiatives. For several years-predating the publicized police shootings of civilians (or deaths in custody) in 2014 in Ferguson, MO; New York, NY; and Cleveland, OH-CNA, through its work with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Smart Policing Initiative and the Violence Reduction Network, and with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Collaborative Reform Initiative, heard from police officers at all ranks about their desire for better approaches to avoiding such catastrophic incidents. Many departments across the country utilize an early warning system (EWS)-a data-based police management tool that identifies "at risk officers" who are frequently the subject of complaints or demonstrate patterns of inappropriate behavior that could lead to more serious problems. The system is designed to alert police departments of such behavior and afford them the opportunity to provide some form of intervention, such as counseling or training, before an officer is in a situation that warrants formal disciplinary action, or worse. Early warning systems capture factors such as how often officers are involved in shootings, get complaints, use sick days, or get into car accidents, and then notify departmental supervisors once a specific threshold is reached. According to the 1999 National Survey of Early Warning Systems, the most recent survey on early warning systems to date, 39 percent of all municipal and county law enforcement agencies that serve populations greater than 50,000 either had an early warning system in place or were planning to implement one. Currently, there is concern about the effectiveness of early warning systems-whether these systems are capturing the right data and alerting supervisors to potential problematic behavior. For example, some officers are concerned they could be flagged down merely because they work in a high-crime area, where they are more likely to use their weapon or physical force.4 While the EWS forewarns, it is up to the departmental supervisors as to how they act on the information received. This apparent dilemma-whether these systems work, and whether they serve their intended purpose-prompted CNA to convene an Executive Session on September 24, 2015 in Arlington, VA: "Early Warning Systems: What's New? What's Working?" The Executive Session included panels of speakers representing different perspectives on these pertinent questions. CNA asked a diverse group of practitioners, researchers, and analysts to step forward and discuss these important questions. They responded, and they did so with heartfelt sincerity- in many cases, reaching back to their own experiences with law enforcement, and conveying the lessons learned to the Executive Session's audience with emotion and insight. We hope you read this report with interest, curiosity, and an open mind. In this manner, we also hope that you respect the forthrightness of our presenters and audience participants. Lamentably, rare are the sincere, civil, data-informed, and productive discussions on matters such as these facing our nation, though such conversations are happening with increasing frequency, as our federal partners who participated in this Executive Session explain below. Please also note that this CNA Executive Session was the third in a series that we will continue to convene, so long as the nation has diverse and informed practitioners, community members, and decision makers willing to engage in these important dialogues. The participants in this Executive Session offered numerous suggestions for future session topics, which we will consider Details: Arlington, VA: CNA, 2015. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2016 at: https://www.cna.org/cna_files/pdf/CRM-2015-U-012182.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.cna.org/cna_files/pdf/CRM-2015-U-012182.pdf Shelf Number: 140658 Keywords: Early Warning SystemsPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: The Stephen Lawrence Independent Review: Possible Corruption and the Role of Undercover Policing in the Stephen Lawrence Case Summary: The questions posed by our terms of reference must be considered in the context of the following key findings of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: a) The initial investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence was seriously flawed and deserving of severe criticism. The underlying causes of the failure were more troublesome and potentially more sinister. The impact of incompetence, racism and corruption on the investigation had been the subject of much evidence and debate. b) The Inquiry was faced with a complex task in order to determine whether corruption and collusion, racism or institutional lethargy had (alone or in combination) been causative of the seriously flawed initial investigation of the murder. Each contended force could have resulted in or contributed to the same failings. To assess the extent of the impact of any one of the forces on the investigation, it was necessary to consider that force in isolation. c) Applying the civil standard of proof to its findings, namely on the balance of probability, the Inquiry concluded that institutional racism affected the murder investigation, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and police services elsewhere, as well as other institutions and organisations. d) As regards the serious allegation of corruption or collusion, the Inquiry decided that it would be wholly unfair to reach any adverse conclusion without being sure of it, applying the criminal standard of proof. Applying that standard, the Inquiry found that the evidence fell short of making it sure that corruption or collusion had infected the initial murder investigation. e) The flawed MPS Barker Review of the murder investigation in late 1993 had failed to expose the faults in the murder investigation as it should have. Equally, in the face of the Lawrence family's justified criticism, for years afterwards the MPS had wrongly insisted that the investigation had been professionally and competently carried out. This had piled more grief upon that caused by the murder itself and had misled both the family and the public. Details: London: Home Office, 2014. 2 vol., summary Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-independent-review Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-independent-review Shelf Number: 140536 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationPolice AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice IntegrityPolice MisconductStephen Lawrence |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: PEEL: Police legitimacy 2015: A National Overview Summary: As part of HMIC's annual inspections into police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL), this programme assessed how legitimate the force is at keeping people safe and reducing crime. The inspection focused on whether forces are consistently behaving in a way that is fair, reasonable, effective and lawful, and if they have the consent of the public. HMIC has reported on legitimacy at a force level, as well as drawing out overarching themes which are set out in this national report. Details: London: HMIC, 2016. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-legitimacy-2015.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-legitimacy-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 145429 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice EffectivenessPolice Legitimacy |
Author: U.S. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Title: An Assessment of the San Francisco Police Department. Collaborative Reform Initiative Summary: In response to requests from city officials who asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an in-depth review of the policies and practices of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the COPS Office launched the Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA) with the SFPD. The COPS Office supports law enforcement agencies by implementing and sustaining reforms that increase public trust through improvements in community policing practices, transparency, professionalism, and accountability while taking into account national standards, promising practices, current and emerging research, and community expectations. Although the COPS Office found a department that is committed to making changes and working with the community, it also found a department with outdated use of force policies that fail the officers and the community and inadequate data collection that prevents leadership from understanding officer activities and ensure organizational accountability. The department lacked accountability measures to ensure that the department is being open and transparent while holding officers accountable. Disparities were found in traffic stops, post-stop searches, and use of deadly force against minorities. Altogether, the COPS Office identified 94 findings and developed 272 associated recommendations. This report is a road map to reform policing in San Francisco to conform to community expectations and improve public safety. This report summarizes the full assessment including findings and recommendations that will help the department modernize its policing practices and enhance community trust Details: Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2016. 432p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: https://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0817-pub.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0817-pub.pdf Shelf Number: 145539 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice LegitimacyPolice PerformancePolice Policies and PracticesPolice ReformPolice Use of Force |
Author: Katz, Charles M. Title: Evaluating the Impact of Officer Worn Body Cameras in the Phoenix Police Department Summary: The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), through the SMART Policing Initiative (SPI), awarded the Phoenix Police Department $500,000 to purchase, deploy and evaluate police body worn cameras. The design and implementation of the project included the purchase of 56 Body Worn Camera (BWC) systems and deploying them in the Maryvale Precinct. The implementation of the BWC;s occurred in one of the two Maryvale Precinct squad areas (aka target area). All officers assigned to the target area were issued the equipment and were provided training in its use, maintenance, and related departmental policy. This evaluation was conducted to examine the effect of implementing police worn body cameras on complaints against the police and domestic violence case processing and outcomes. Our analysis of the camera meta-data indicated that only 13.2 to 42.2 percent of incidents were recorded by and BWV camera. Domestic violence incidents were the most likely to be recorded (47.5%), followed by violent offenses (38.7), back-up (37%), status offenses (32.9%), and subject/vehicle stops (30.9%). Other offense types were recorded less often. While in general the technology was found to be comfortable and easy to use, officers were dissatisfied with long down load times, increased amount of time that it took to complete reports, and the possibility that video recordings might be used against them by the department. We also found that video submitted to the court was difficult to process because of logistical problems associated with chain of custody and the length of time that it took the prosecutors to review video files. While many of the problems were addressed by the precinct commander by assigning a police officer to serve as a court liaison officer, prosecutors still maintained that they did not have enough time to review video footage. Regardless, the officer worn body cameras were found to be beneficial to the officers and the court in a number of ways. First, officer productivity as measured through the number of arrests increased significantly. For instance, the number of arrests increased by about 17% among the target group compared to 9% in the comparison group. Second, complaints against the police declined significantly. Complaints against officers who wore the cameras declined by 23%, compared to a 10.6% increase among comparison officers and 45.1% increase among patrol officers in other precincts. Third, our data showed that those officers who wore cameras and received a complaint were significantly less likely to have the complaint sustained when compared to the comparison group and other patrol officers throughout the PPD. This suggests that even if a complaint was made against a camera wearing officer the video file was likely to provide support to the officer. Fourth, and related, the officer self-report data suggested that a significant number of complaints were not pursued because of video recordings. BWC did not appear, however, to have an impact on suspect behavior as measured through resisting arrest charges. Additionally, we examined the impact of body worn cameras on domestic violence case processing. Analysis of the data indicated that following the implementation of body cameras, cases were significantly more likely to be initiated, result in charges filed, and result in a guilty plea or guilty verdict. The analysis also determined that cases were completed faster following the implementation of body cameras, however, we believe that this finding was largely a product of the addition of a court liaison officer who facilitated case processing between the PPD and city prosecutors office. Details: Phoenix, AZ: Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety, Arizona State University, 2014. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 15, 2016 at: https://publicservice.asu.edu/sites/default/files/ppd_spi_feb_20_2015_final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://publicservice.asu.edu/sites/default/files/ppd_spi_feb_20_2015_final.pdf Shelf Number: 144873 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera TechnologyLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice Surveillance |
Author: Merola, Linda Title: Body Worn Cameras and the Courts: A National Survey of State Prosecutors Summary: Recent use-of-force events involving police in Ferguson, New York City, South Carolina, and Baltimore have led law enforcement agencies, citizens, civil rights groups, city councils, and even President Obama to push for the rapid adoption of body-worn camera (BWC) technology by police. In a period of less than a year, BWCs transformed from a technology that received little attention by many police leaders and scholars to one that has become rapidly prioritized, funded, and diffused into local policing. The U.S. Department of Justice has dedicated $20 million to fund the purchase of and technical assistance for BWCs. In 2013, the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey estimated that about a third of local law enforcement agencies had already adopted BWCs, and this percentage has likely greatly increased since then. At the same time, this rapid adoption of BWCs is occurring within a low information environment; researchers are only beginning to develop knowledge about the effects, both intentional and unintentional, of this technology. A recent review of the literature on the topic of BWCs conducted by White (2014) found only a handful of empirical studies of the technology completed by September 2013. These studies have focused on a narrow set of research questions about the impact of the cameras on police behavior. Further, only a small subset of these studies rigorously examined BWCs using valid scientific methods. As Lum (2015) has emphasized, rapid adoption of technologies in the absence of high-quality information about the impact of those technologies can lead to unanticipated and unintended consequences that may work against both police and citizen interests. The need for more research in this area is paramount, as the adoption of BWCs will likely have important implications for police-citizen interactions, police management and budgets, safety and security, citizen privacy, citizen reporting and cooperation with police, and practices in the courts. But what research questions and types of research should be pursued and why? How can we build a translatable knowledge base that is responsive and rigorous? In our first report to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (see Lum, Koper, Merola, Scherer & Reioux, 2015), we reviewed the existing and ongoing body worn camera research to identify what was known about BWCs and what questions needed further research. In this report, we build on the knowledge about body worn cameras by carrying out a national survey of state prosecutors’ offices to begin to understand the impacts of BWCs on the courts. A random sample of 1,005 prosecutors’ offices was drawn from the National Census of State Prosecutors produced by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS, 2007). Mail-based surveys with an electronic option across multiple waves of data collection yielded 321 returned surveys. Lead prosecutors were asked about their use of body worn camera footage so far, as well as their opinions about key issues related to the technology and any concerns they have about the adoption of cameras by law enforcement in their jurisdictions. Key findings from this survey revealed: Most state prosecutors’ offices (almost two-thirds) are already working with BWC evidence. Of these offices, a full 42.1% have used the evidence for longer than one year. Yet, a significant number (almost one-fifth of those using BWC evidence) are still very new to working with it (one month or less). Nearly all prosecutors’ offices in jurisdictions with BWCs (92.6%) have used BWC evidence to prosecute private citizens. In comparison, 8.3% of offices located in jurisdictions with BWCs indicated that they have used BWC evidence to prosecute a police officer. It should be noted, however, that many more total citizens than police are prosecuted each year, so these percentages are not directly comparable. Generally, lead prosecutors expressed strong support for the use of BWCs. Very high numbers of respondents (79.5%) indicated that prosecutors in their offices support BWC use. Additionally, large majorities believed that BWC evidence will help the prosecution more than it will assist the defense (62.7%) and that BWCs would improve prosecutors’ overall ability to prosecute cases (65.8%). Fewer than 10% of lead prosecutors disagreed with these statements. Taken together, these results suggest that lead prosecutors view BWC evidence as a powerful prosecutorial tool. Yet, most lead prosecutors recognized that BWCs would produce both positive and negative impacts on prosecutors’ workloads. A majority (64.2%) believed that BWC evidence would aid in witness preparation. However, most lead prosecutors also felt that BWC evidence would increase prosecutors’ case preparation time (54% agreement) and make the discovery process more burdensome or difficult for them (56.2% agreement). These findings regarding increased workload make sense, as prosecutors will be working with a new stream of evidence. Lead prosecutors also emphasized a continuing need to address logistical issues related to BWC evidence. A majority 59.5% of respondents expressed concern over the redaction of BWC videos. Indeed, most lead prosecutors who are working with BWCs indicated that their offices must perform their own redactions, a process which can be costly and time consuming. 54.1% were also concerned about their office’s ability to quickly obtain videos from law enforcement for use in cases. Despite these logistical issues, however, relatively few respondents (12.7%) expressed concern over negative impacts to the police-prosecutor working relationship stemming from BWCs. When asked about resources needed to utilize BWCs effectively, the most urgent requests focused more on infrastructure and technology than on personnel. A large majority (65.4%) reported a high or moderately high need for upgrades to existing technology to view or show videos. 51.9% indicated that their offices would have high/moderately high requirements for resources to alter evidence cataloging or storage systems to effectively handle BWC evidence. Likewise, 46.3% of lead prosecutors also highlighted the need for resources to hire technical support personnel or provide technical training. In contrast, fewer respondents prioritized the need to hire either additional support personnel (36.7%) or additional prosecutors (22.4%) in response to BWCs. When asked about the impacts of BWCs on courts, lead prosecutors cited primarily positive prosecutorial outcomes. A majority believed that BWC evidence would increase both rates of conviction (58.3% agreement) and the frequency/likelihood of plea bargains (62.3% agreement). In fact, fewer than 10% of lead prosecutors disagreed that BWCs would produce either of these results. Comparatively few lead prosecutors believed that BWC evidence would increase either the numbers of appeals or case dismissals. However, larger numbers of respondents (42.5%) indicated neutrality with respect to the question about case dismissals, signaling that views on this point may not yet be well developed. However, nearly 30% of lead prosecutors believed that BWCs would lead to delays in case processing or other court delays. While not a majority, this finding is consistent with other results suggesting that logistical issues of evidence transfer, storage, and sufficient technical training are yet to be fully resolved. Details: Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, 2016. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2016 at: http://cebcp.org/wp-content/technology/BWCProsecutors.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://cebcp.org/wp-content/technology/BWCProsecutors.pdf Shelf Number: 146965 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasEvidence GatheringPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Use of ForceProsecutors |
Author: District of Columbia. Police Complaints Board Title: Enhancing Police Accountability through an Effective On-Body Camera Program for MPD Officers Summary: Over the past few years, police departments across the country have begun equipping their officers with body-worn cameras. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has recently announced its plans to implement a body-worn camera program, citing it as one of the Department's "top five priorities." The footage that these cameras capture can be used to resolve citizen complaints and train officers on proper procedures, and even as evidence in criminal and civil litigation. In addition to these benefits, a recent study shows that the mere presence of body-worn cameras may even serve to prevent negative interactions by changing officer and citizen behavior. As a result, the use of these devices can lead to enhanced police accountability as well as improved police-community relations. While body-worn cameras have many possible benefits, their use also implicates some concerns for members of the public, government agencies, civil liberties advocates, and even the officers who wear the devices. In order to maximize the many advantages that the cameras can provide, it will be crucial for MPD to develop and implement clear policies governing video creation, access, usage, and retention. Police union representatives, policy experts, and civil liberties experts nationwide have expressed concern that deploying body-worn cameras with no official policy in place could undermine public confidence in the program, as well as jeopardize the privacy of officers and the public. Having a suitable policy in place is so critical to the deployment of a body-worn camera program that the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), with support from the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), is currently working on guidelines to help formulate model policies. At a recent PERF Town Hall Meeting in Philadelphia, law enforcement executives from across the nation agreed that policies and procedures involve multi-faceted and complex issues. According to PERF President Charles Ramsey, who also serves as the commissioner of Philadelphia's Police Department and was previously MPD’s chief of police, "If you don't have a policy in place, eventually you're going to have a problem," noting that such policies should also exist to cover officers who might use their own cameras. To ensure the most effective policy, the needs and concerns of the many stakeholders throughout the District should be assessed and incorporated to the maximum extent possible. This kind of participation will also build public support and buy-in for the camera program, which should help ensure successful implementation. Therefore, the Police Complaints Board (PCB) recommends that MPD establish an advisory panel of District of Columbia stakeholders to assist in the development of a policy to govern a body-worn camera pilot program in the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). This panel should, at a minimum, include representatives from: MPD; the Office of Police Complaints (OPC); the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (USAO); the District's Office of the Attorney General (OAG); the criminal defense bar; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); and the Fair and Inclusive Policing Task Force. The panel should also include members of MPD's Citizen Advisory Councils as well as representatives of groups from around the District who could provide insight into how a camera program would affect various segments of the public, including, among others, immigrants, non-English speakers, crime victims, and the LGBTQ population. PCB further recommends that the District provide MPD with the necessary funding to conduct a pilot program. Once a pilot program has been conducted, the advisory panel should review the program's efficacy, identify any concerns about processes or policies, and suggest changes and improvements. If the program is determined to be beneficial, the District government should then provide funding for wider implementation across MPD. In the event that MPD decides to launch a pilot program prior to convening the recommended panel, it should be allowed to do so, but should permit OPC to provide real-time input and feedback to MPD as the expedited pilot program takes shape and is implemented. Adopting this approach would allow MPD to avail itself of OPC's ties with community groups and District stakeholders, thereby incorporating useful external feedback until the panel could be established. As for the proposed panel, it should be convened as soon as practicable to help develop a final policy based on an assessment of the ongoing pilot program. Details: Washington, DC: Police Complaints Board, 2014. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 17, 2016 at: http://policecomplaints.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/office%20of%20police%20complaints/publication/attachments/Final%20policy%20rec%20body%20camera.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://policecomplaints.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/office%20of%20police%20complaints/publication/attachments/Final%20policy%20rec%20body%20camera.pdf Shelf Number: 145083 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera SurveillanceCitizen ComplaintsPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice Misconduct |
Author: Renauer, Brian Title: Public Perceptions Regarding the Police Bureau and Crime in Portland, Oregon Summary: The "Portland Public Safety Survey" was implemented in the summer of 2013 to fulfill research needs and begin baseline data collection necessitated by the settlement agreement approved by Portland City Council with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on November 14, 2012. Here are some examples from the settlement agreement that specify the need for a general population survey and the focus of measures. Page 3 of the settlement agreement notes a need for measures that, "will assist the Parties and the community in determining whether, (2) community trust in PPB has increased; and (3) the improvements will be sustainable." Page 52 of the settlement agreement authorizes the City to conduct a representative survey of the Portland community, "regarding their experiences with and perceptions of PPB's prior community outreach efforts and accountability efforts and where those efforts could be improved, to inform the development and implementation of the CEO Plan." The bulk of the settlement agreement focuses on reforming use of force policy and training with a particular focus on mental health crisis management. Dr. Brian Renauer of Portland State University and his research team entered into a contract with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), with the approval of City Council, to address the above needs stipulated in the settlement agreement. This is the first of three reports required in the contract. The methodology and content of the general population survey was informed by the language of the settlement agreement, meetings with PPB and City representatives, and resource constraints. The focus of the general population survey is on five content areas: Section 1. Legitimacy and Trust Section 2. Evaluation of PPB’s Performance Over the Past Year Section 3. Perceptions of Use of Force Section 4. Perceptions of Safety Section 5. Police Contact Experiences Sections 1 through 4 are reviewed in this report and section 5 will be the focus of a separate report. It is important to point out this report represents “baseline” data. In other words, it is the first year of data collection and there are as yet no appropriate comparison data that would allow us to assess changes over time. Nor are there nationally established policing standards that could be used in comparing Portland to other regions. For these reasons the report does not make value judgments regarding the findings. Instead, the report is designed to help the City understand existing public perceptions, identify potential factors that may be influencing perceptions, and to generate a list of strategies that could help to sustain and improve public opinion of local law enforcement. Details: Portland, OR: Portland State University, Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute, 2013. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 13, 2016 at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=cjpri_briefs Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=cjpri_briefs Shelf Number: 146048 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsPublic Opinion |
Author: Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Title: Special report concerning illicit drug use by Victoria Police officers Operations Apsley, Hotham and Yarrowitch Summary: This report presents the findings of key investigations by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) into serious police misconduct involving the use of illicit drugs, and broader consideration of Victoria Police’s systems and practices to detect and prevent illicit drug use by its officers. IBAC's Operations Apsley, Hotham and Yarrowitch raise serious concerns about illicit drug use by sworn police officers and also highlight potential systemic weaknesses in Victoria Police's approach to this issue. Any illicit drug use by police is a serious problem with significant ramifications not only for the individual officers involved, but also for their colleagues, and the police force as a whole. Importantly, police use of illicit drugs adversely impacts the safety of the community and undermines the community's level of trust and respect for police and the law. In summary, illicit drug use by police is clearly unacceptable because: Illicit drug use, possession and trafficking are criminal offences which contravene the oath or affirmation sworn by all police officers, as well as contravening the professional and ethical standards and values they are required to uphold. Illicit drug activity exposes individual officers to compromise and corruption. An officer who procures and uses illicit drugs is by definition engaging in criminal conduct. This not only seriously compromises the officer but also leaves them vulnerable to blackmail or coercion and at real risk of engaging in other serious forms of misconduct or corruption. As previously reported by IBAC, organised criminals seek to exploit risk taking behaviour such as illicit drug use to compromise and corrupt public officials, especially police. Victoria Police's authority to uphold the law, and maintain the community’s respect for the law are eroded by police using illicit drugs. An individual officer using illicit drugs lessens their authority to enforce the law, and diminishes the collective authority of Victoria Police in the community. Illicit drug use by police officers also presents a serious health and safety issue for individual officers, their work colleagues and the broader community. It is imperative that an officer's judgement and performance are not impaired by illicit drugs, particularly when police are exercising a range of lethal and non-lethal force options, making decisions about arrest and the exercise of other powers, driving in unpredictable situations, or dealing with difficult and challenging situations. Details: Melbourne: The Commission, 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 15, 2016 at: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/special-reports/special-report-concerning-illicit-drug-use-by-victoria-police-officers.pdf?sfvrsn=6 Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/special-reports/special-report-concerning-illicit-drug-use-by-victoria-police-officers.pdf?sfvrsn=6 Shelf Number: 146150 Keywords: Illicit Drug AbusePolice AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice MisconductPolice Oversight |
Author: Police Foundation Title: The governance of supra-force specialist policing capabilities Summary: In early 2006 the Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced a programme of mandated police force mergers in England and Wales that would have seen the number of police forces reduced by about half. Clarke envisaged a police service "close, responsive and accountable to the communities it serves, supported by larger forces with the capacity and specialist expertise to protect the public from wider threats such as serious and organised crime". In May 2006 Clarke was sacked, and by July his plans had been scrapped in favour of an emphasis, in the words of Prime Minister Tony Blair, on areas where there is the scope for "far greater strategic co-operation across force lines". The advent of a new government in 2010 was followed by the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners and the 43 force structure seems here to stay. Instead, the growing emphasis in recent years has been on increased collaboration between police forces as a means of delivering an improved service for the public while also responding to the demands of austerity and fundamental changes to the nature of crime and police demand. This has been underpinned by the statutory 'duty to collaborate' introduced by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, but also financial incentives in the form of the Innovation Fund and Transformation Fund. A key challenge has been to reconcile force-level statutory accountability arrangements with the need to provide effective governance of collaborated arrangements across multiple forces. A range of approaches have been adopted across what is quite a mixed economy of largely ad-hoc and in some cases multi-layered collaborations. A focus on specialist capabilities In July 2014, HMIC called for a national debate regarding police reform and in June 2015 an influential group of policing leaders published Reshaping Policing for the Public, which set out a 'possible new approach' that would see 'specialist capabilities... consolidated into cross-force functions, strategically located and operating to national standards' with 'the most highly specialised capabilities (such as counter-terrorism)... delivered nationally'. In early 2016 the PCC chaired Police Reform and Transformation Board was established, with a specific programme focused on specialist capabilities such as armed policing and surveillance. As part of that work, a governance sub group was established, chaired by PCC Paddy Tipping, which commissioned the Police Foundation to undertake a review of the governance of police services delivered above force level. The objectives of the review were three-fold: 1. To review the existing secondary literature on collaboration. 2. To give all PCCs and chief constables the opportunity to feed in their views about the governance of collaboration arrangements, which we did by way of a questionnaire and the offer of follow-up telephone interviews. 3. To apply the learning from (1) and (2) to the Networked Policing Model proposed (after the consultation had closed) in the Specialist Capabilities Programme Phase One Report, in the form of a governance proposition to form the basis for further discussion. Networked Policing Model By adopting a 'mutual mindset' in policing, the proposed Networked Policing Model encompasses three things: 1. A strategic understanding of specialist capability supply and demand across all forces. 2. A more strategic approach to the development of specialist capabilities, including their leadership, tactics and standards. 3. A brokerage service that would link police forces to capabilities beyond current force and collaborative boundaries. Consultation findings Questionnaire responses were received from 14 PCCs and 19 chief constables, and with additional telephone interviews a total of 37 respondents informed our consultation. Although only a minority of PCCs and chief constables, their responses nevertheless provide a window on the balance of views regarding the governance of existing and future collaborative models. • Collaboration is believed to have delivered efficiencies and resilience, but there are concerns that governance arrangements are often complex, which can produce bureaucracy and weaken accountability. • Confidence in collaborative arrangements is contingent on personal trust, on geographical constraints, on historical relations between forces and on similarities in their size, outlook and character. There is opposition to any centrally organised brigading of capabilities that might ignore local nuances and undermine efforts already invested in collaboration. • There is some support for more specialist capabilities being delivered through regional clusters. Nonetheless there are concerns about whether shared capabilities will be available when required and will arrive in a form sympathetic to the character of local policing. In light of this it is clear to see why a model for the future that leaves existing and emerging regional structures intact – as the Networked Policing Model does – is a pragmatic approach. That said, it is likely that the transition to a Networked Policing Model will present governance challenges. Our consultation responses suggest a lack of consensus on basic principles, including around lines of accountability and Direction and Control. Collective agreement on these basic principles would seem to be a prerequisite for the kind of Networked Policing Model envisaged by the Specialist Capabilities Programme. Details: London: Police Foundation, 2016. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 15, 2016 at: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/holding/projects/governance_of_supra_force_specialist_policing_capabilities.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/holding/projects/governance_of_supra_force_specialist_policing_capabilities.pdf Shelf Number: 141217 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice CollaborationPolice ReformPolice Specialist Units |
Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Legitimacy and Procedural Justice: A New Element of Police Leadership Summary: The job of leading a local law enforcement agency has always been a complex one, requiring skills in mastering complex policy issues, developing organizational structures and systems, managing employees, and addressing the various and sometimes conflicting expectations of the community, political leaders, agency employees, and the news media. Many experienced police chiefs are saying that the 21st Century has brought a trend toward even greater complexity in their jobs. New types of technology are revolutionizing how police departments operate, and often the challenge is to make sound decisions about how to integrate multiple forms of technology. The widespread adoption of community policing has resulted in community members having higher expectations of accountability and efficiency in their police departments. National and international economic conditions have strained local police budgets. The workforce is changing in ways that affect police recruiting and retention. These are just a few of the challenges that must be understood and constructively managed by today’s chief executives in policing. In fact, perhaps the greatest job qualification for today’s police executives is the ability to recognize and respond to the swiftly changing issues and opportunities facing them. Police chiefs often speak of their role as being “agents of change.” Never before has managing change been a larger element of their jobs. Today’s police departments appear to be succeeding, at least by the measure of crime rates. Violent crime rates nationwide are half what they were two decades ago, and many jurisdictions are experiencing record low crime rates not seen since the 1960s. In addition, there are indications that a variety of types of wrongful police behaviors, ranging from corruption to unlawful shootings, are at lower levels today than in the past. As today’s police executives strive to maintain the progress in reducing crime while serving as effective agents of change, many are taking on a new challenge: applying the concepts of “legitimacy” and “procedural justice” as they apply to policing. These concepts are defined in detail later in this report (see page 9). In essence, legitimacy and procedural justice are measurements of the extent to which members of the public trust and have confidence in the police, believe that the police are honest and competent, think that the police treat people fairly and with respect, and are willing to defer to the law and to police authority. Because the effectiveness of police operations often depends at least in part on the public’s willingness to provide information to and otherwise help the police, police leaders increasingly are seeing legitimacy and procedural justice as necessary conditions of success, and as worthy goals in themselves. This paper discusses the concepts of legitimacy and procedural justice in the context of police leadership. In any given community, residents will have opinions about whether their local police act “legitimately.” These opinions may be based on a particular encounter a resident had with the police, such as a traffic stop, or on larger policy issues. And these opinions often vary from one subgroup of the community to another. For a police leader, the key challenge is to think about the ways in which the public’s perceptions of legitimacy and procedural justice can affect a police agency's efforts to achieve its goals. For example, the goals of building community cohesion and trust in the police clearly depend on the extent to which the public believes that police actions are legitimate and procedurally just. And other goals—such as high success rates for investigating crimes and preventing crime—depend on the willingness of the public to cooperate with police, to provide information to the police, and to willingly obey the law, all of which can be affected by the department’s reputation for legitimacy. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2014. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 21, 2016 at: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Leadership/legitimacy%20and%20procedural%20justice%20-%20a%20new%20element%20of%20police%20leadership.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Leadership/legitimacy%20and%20procedural%20justice%20-%20a%20new%20element%20of%20police%20leadership.pdf Shelf Number: 147766 Keywords: Community PolicingPolice AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice LegitimacyPolice ReformPolice-Community RelationsProcedural Justice |
Author: United States Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: The Civil Rights Division's Pattern and Practice Police Reform Work: 1994-Present Summary: There are more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. Law enforcement is a demanding, rigorous, and – at times – dangerous profession. The vast majority of men and women who police our communities do so with professionalism, respect, bravery, and integrity. But as we have seen around the country, when police departments engage in unconstitutional policing, their actions can severely undermine both community trust and public safety. Today, our country is engaged in a critically important conversation about community-police relations. This report describes one of the United States Department of Justice’s central tools for accomplishing police reform, restoring police-community trust, and strengthening officer and public safety – the Civil Rights Division’s enforcement of the civil prohibition on a “pattern or practice” of policing that violates the Constitution or other federal laws (the Department’s other tools are described later in this document). Pattern-or-practice cases begin with investigations of allegations of systemic police misconduct and, when the allegations are substantiated, end with comprehensive agreements designed to support constitutional and effective policing and restore trust between police and communities. The Division has opened 11 new pattern-or-practice investigations and negotiated 19 new reform agreements since 2012 alone, often with the substantial assistance of the local United States Attorney’s Offices. The purpose of this report to make the Division’s police reform work more accessible and transparent. The usual course of a pattern-or-practice case, with examples and explanations for why the Division approaches this work the way it does, is set forth in this report. The following is a brief summary of its major themes: The Division’s pattern-or-practice cases focus on systemic police misconduct rather than isolated instances of wrongdoing. They also focus on the responsibilities of law enforcement agencies and local governments rather than on individual officers. The Division’s pattern-or-practice cases begin with the launch of a formal investigation into a law enforcement agency to determine whether the agency is engaged in a pattern or practice of violating federal law. An investigation most often consists of a comprehensive analysis of the policies and practices of policing in a particular community, although an investigation may also focus on a specific area of policing practice. If the Division finds a pattern or practice of police misconduct, it issues public findings in the form of a letter or report made available to the local jurisdiction and the public. The Division conducts a thorough and independent investigation into allegations of police misconduct and substantiates any conclusions it draws with evidence set forth in its public findings. After making findings, the Division negotiates reform agreements resolving those findings, usually in the form of a “consent decree” overseen by a federal court and an independent monitoring team. The lead independent monitor is appointed by the court, and usually agreed upon by both the Division and the investigated party, but reports directly to the court. If an agreement cannot be negotiated, the Division will bring a lawsuit to compel needed reforms. When the court finds that the law enforcement agency has accomplished and sustained the requirements of the reform agreement, the case is terminated. In recent years, the Division’s reform agreements have included data-driven outcome measures designed to provide clear and objective standards for measuring success and determining whether the law enforcement agency has met the objectives of the agreement. At all stages of a pattern-or-practice case, from investigation through resolution, the Division emphasizes engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, including community members and people who have been victims of police misconduct or live in the neighborhoods most impacted by police misconduct, police leadership, rank and file officers, police labor organizations, and local political leaders. Each of these groups brings a different and important perspective and plays a critical role in accomplishing and sustaining police reform. In keeping with the focus on systemic problems, the Division’s reform agreements emphasize institutional reforms such as improving systems for supervising officers and holding them accountable for misconduct; ensuring officers have the policy guidance, training, equipment and other resources necessary for constitutional and effective policing; creating and using data about police activity to identify and correct patterns of police misconduct; and institutionalizing law enforcement agencies’ engagement with and accountability to the community. The sections that follow provide background on why Congress gave the Division authority to address systemic police misconduct, how the Division opens pattern-or-practice investigations, what an investigation involves, and how the Division negotiates reform agreements. The report then outlines the common threads among the Division’s current generation of police reform agreements, explaining how the Division’s model promotes sustainable reform and constitutional, effective policing, as well as how those agreements come to a close. Finally, the report discusses the evidence to date of the impact of the Division’s pattern-or-practice work on police reform, as well as future directions for research and reflection on that impact. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2017. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2017 at: https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download Shelf Number: 147803 Keywords: Civil RightsPolice AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolice ReformPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: De Angelis, Joseph Title: Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement: Assessing the Evidence Summary: Over the last several decades, issues of trust and accountability have moved to the forefront of community-police relations and a great deal of scholarship has been devoted to enhancing police performance through the strengthening of law enforcement oversight functions. During this same period, highly publicized officer-involved encounters have led to the proliferation of organizational mechanisms for reviewing and improving officer conduct (Walker 2001; Alpert et al. 2016). One such mechanism is the development of civilian oversight of law enforcement. Sometimes referred to as citizen oversight, civilian review, external review and citizen review boards (Walker 2001; Alpert et al. 2016), this form of police accountability is often focused on allowing non-police actors to provide input into the police department’s operations, often with a focus on the citizen complaint process. In some jurisdictions, this is sometimes accomplished by allowing oversight practitioners (both paid and volunteer) to review, audit or monitor complaint investigations that were conducted by police internal affairs investigators. In other jurisdictions, it is done by allowing civilians to conduct independent investigations of allegations of misconduct lodged against sworn law enforcement officers. It can also be accomplished through the creation of mechanisms that are authorized to review and comment on police policies, practices, training and systemic conduct. Some oversight mechanisms involve a combination of systemic analysis and complaint handling or review . The goal of this publication is to offer a broad examination of the key issues facing civilian oversight of law enforcement in the U.S. Drawing from a review of the available research, as well as organizational data collected from 97 police oversight executives, this report is designed to help local policy-makers, police executives and members of the local community explore the key issues that can accompany the implementation and sustainability of civilian oversight of police mechanisms at the municipal and county levels. More specifically, this report addresses a number of key areas in relation to police oversight, including: 1 . A comprehensive review of the key resources and research relating to civilian oversight of police; 2. A brief review of the historical evolution of oversight in the U.S.; 3 . A detailed examination of three different models of oversight: investigation-focused, review-focused and auditor/monitor-focused; 4. An assessment of the key factors that promote organizational effectiveness in civilian oversight; and, 5 . An exploration of trending issues in relation to oversight, particularly the debate over how to measure performance of police oversight agencies, the potential value of problem-solving methodologies and the increasing emphasis on the value of alternative dispute resolution techniques for resolving complaints against police officers. This report concludes by identifying issues that jurisdictions may want to consider if they are evaluating whether to implement oversight or revise their current oversight framework. This report also identifies critical areas in need of further research. Details: Washington, DC: Booz Allen Hamilton, 2016. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2017 at: https://www.ojpdiagnosticcenter.org/sites/default/files/NACOLE_AccessingtheEvidence_Final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ojpdiagnosticcenter.org/sites/default/files/NACOLE_AccessingtheEvidence_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 147798 Keywords: Civilian Review BoardsComplaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice IntegrityPolice LegitimacyPolice-Community InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Bromwich Group LLC Title: The Durability of Police Reform: The Metropolitan Police Department and Use of Force: 2008-2015 Summary: This report evaluates whether the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) remains in compliance with the June 2001 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between MPD, the District of Columbia, and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The 2001 MOA required MPD to adopt a broad set of reforms relating to the use of force by police officers, and to incorporate those reforms into policies, procedures, and training. The goal was to create a culture of accountability and constitutional policing within MPD. Although MPD is currently under no legal obligation to maintain these reforms, they establish meaningful benchmarks for assessing MPD's current management of the use of force. We were asked to undertake this review by the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA). This report reflects fieldwork conducted from May through late September 2015 and includes certain use of force data through the end of 2015. We have seen much that is positive in our review of MPD. MPD's command staff remains committed to limiting and managing use of force - and to fair and constitutional policing. MPD has reduced its use of the most serious types of force, including firearms, even during periods of increased crime in the District of Columbia. Importantly, we have seen no evidence that the excessive use of force has reemerged as a problem within MPD. But we have also identified some significant shortcomings that need to be addressed, including changes in the requirements for reporting and investigating use of force that impair MPD's ability to manage use of force, and declines in the quality of use of force investigations. In addition, we found systemic problems, involving both MPD and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (USAO), that result in excessive delays in resolving officer-involved fatal shootings. All of this is described in detail in this report. Our review, although limited to MPD, comes at a time of intense national focus on the relationship between local law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Within the last two years alone, the use of force policies and practices of police departments across the country - in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York City, Cleveland, Albuquerque, Newark, and, most recently, Chicago - have been the focus of community unrest, DOJ civil rights investigations, and intense media scrutiny. In addition, in December 2014, President Obama created the Task Force on 21st Century Policing with a mandate to examine use of force issues. MPD was one of the first local law enforcement agencies to successfully navigate a reform process initially triggered by profound concerns about its use of force and its management of use of force. Beginning in 1999, MPD experienced a comprehensive, two-year DOJ civil rights investigation focusing on use of force, a binding agreement by MPD and the District of Columbia to implement substantial reforms, and a multi-year period of outside independent monitoring. As far as we know, this review marks the first retrospective examination of its kind - an analysis of the durability of such use of force reforms many years after independent monitoring ended - of any of the law enforcement agencies investigated by DOJ during the period 1994-2004, the first decade during which DOJ had statutory authority to investigate such matters. Because of limitations of time and resources, we did not review all aspects of MPD's continued adherence to the MOA. Instead, we selected issues that we considered among the most significant reforms embodied in the MOA and implemented within MPD. We focused on the adequacy of MPD's use of force policies; MPD's use of force investigations; the operations of MPD's Use of Force Review Board (UFRB); MPD's systems for dealing with at-risk officers; and the operations of MPD's Office of Risk Management, the Department's internal oversight entity. In addition, we reviewed three officer-involved fatal shooting cases, and examined issues related to the alleged "use and potential abuse" of charges for alleged assaults on police officers. The Review Team received excellent cooperation from MPD throughout this project, from our project liaison up to and including Chief Cathy L. Lanier. From the outset, Chief Lanier and her command staff showed strong interest in the results of our work and demonstrated a willingness to promptly address some of the deficiencies we identified. In early December, we circulated a draft of this report to MPD, inviting its comments and its responses to the report's 38 recommendations. We met with Chief Lanier and her staff for approximately four hours on December 16, and received a 42-page written response from MPD on December 22. We believe this process, and MPD's deep engagement with it, have resulted in a better report. Of our 38 recommendations, MPD has said it agrees with and will implement 15, agrees in part with 13, and disagrees with 10 - although of the 10 with which it disagrees, four relate to a new MPD program, and MPD therefore views the recommendations as premature. Details: Washington, DC: Office of the District of Columbia Auditor, 2016. 343p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 6, 2017 at: http://www.dcauditor.org/sites/default/files/Full%20Report_2.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.dcauditor.org/sites/default/files/Full%20Report_2.pdf Shelf Number: 146028 Keywords: Civil Rights ViolationsDeadly ForcePolicePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice ReformPolice Use of Force |
Author: Murphy, Sandra Tibbetts Title: Police Body Cameras in Domestic and Sexual Assault Investigations: Considerations and Unanswered Questions Summary: Over the last several years, as the public demand for law enforcement's use of body cameras has increased dramatically, much has been written about body cameras as a law enforcement tool, including constitutional analyses, recommended protocols and procedures and even assessments of differing body camera models. Communities in the United Kingdom and United States have initiated pilot programs to determine the appropriate and most effective use of body cameras by policing agencies. Research regarding how body cameras are used, in what situations and their effect, if any, on law enforcement response and citizen behavior, however, remains very limited. "There remains insufficient empirical research to fully support or refute many of the claims made about the police body-worn cameras." If research on body camera programs in general is limited, the use of body cameras when responding to and investigating cases of domestic violence and sexual assault is almost nonexistent. In the few articles and studies that even mention body cameras in the context of law enforcement response to domestic violence and sexual assault, such references carry the connotation of being afterthoughts, tagged on to a larger argument or recommendation as a means of further support. This paper identifies and addresses the various issues – those known and unresolved – that may arise when law enforcement equipped with body cameras respond to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including issues of privacy and confidentiality, witness intimidation, possible evidentiary challenges when using body camera footage in trial, and unintended consequences such access and use may create for victims. Details: Minneapolis, MN: The Battered Women’s Justice Project, 2015. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 7, 2017: http://www.bwjp.org/assets/documents/pdfs/police-body-cams-in-domestic-and-sexual-assault-inve.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.bwjp.org/assets/documents/pdfs/police-body-cams-in-domestic-and-sexual-assault-inve.pdf Shelf Number: 146018 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCriminal InvestigationsDomestic ViolencePolice AccountabilityPolice Body Worn CamerasSexual Assaults |
Author: Bates, Adam Title: Stingray: A New Frontier in Police Surveillance Summary: Police agencies around the United States are using a powerful surveillance tool to mimic cell phone signals to tap into the cellular phones of unsuspecting citizens, track the physical locations of those phones, and perhaps even intercept the content of their communications. The device is known as a stingray, and it is being used in at least 23 states and the District of Columbia. Originally designed for use on the foreign battlefields of the War on Terror, "cell-site simulator" devices have found a home in the arsenals of dozens of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. In addition, police agencies have gone to incredible lengths to keep information about stingray use from defense attorneys, judges, and the public. Through the use of extensive nondisclosure agreements, the federal government prevents state and local law enforcement from disclosing even the most elementary details of stingray capability and use. That information embargo even applies to criminal trials, and allows the federal government to order evidence withheld or entire cases dropped to protect the secrecy of the surveillance device. The controversy around police stingray surveillance challenges our antiquated Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, undermines our cherished principles of federalism and separation of powers, exposes a lack of accountability and transparency among our law enforcement agencies, and raises serious questions about the security of our individual rights as the government"s technological capability rapidly advances. Details: Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2016. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Analysis No. 809: Accessed February 7, 2017: Accessed February 7, 2017 at: https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa-809-revised.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa-809-revised.pdf Shelf Number: 146016 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Technology |
Author: Muggah, Robert Title: Filling the Accountability Gap: Principles and practices for implementing body cameras for law enforcement Summary: New technologies are revolutionizing the way governments provide services, including law enforcement. Around the world, police departments are investing in predictive analytics, digital forensics, data mining systems and crime mapping platforms to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. They are also experimenting with mobile technologies to strengthen communication and outreach. One such device - on-officer recording systems, or body-worn cameras (BWC) - is catching on. Police are experimenting with "cop cams" in dozens of cities across North America and Western Europe while sparking debate and some controversy in the process. There are also small-scale pilots using open source and mobile phone-operated BWCs in Latin America and South Africa. There is growing awareness of their effectiveness. The introduction of BWCs has the potential to transform policing. If implemented with appropriate checks and balances, BWCs can potentially improve oversight over police officers and strengthen their accountability to citizens. Many civil liberties groups are already advocating for cameras due to their ability to check the abuse of power by police while also helping to protect them (and citizens) against false accusations. What is more, cumulative data harvested by such devices can improve the targeting of crime prevention efforts as well as overall law enforcement performance. With safeguards in place, citizens, too, will benefit from these technologies since the use of cameras changes the nature of police-civilian interaction, most often for the better Of course, there are also risks associated with cop cams. This is particularly the case if broader policy and institutional questions related to the deployment of the technology are not adequately thought through. On the one hand, if deployed inappropriately and without proper oversight, body cameras can violate citizens' rights to privacy.4 Body cameras used without restrictions are tantamount to pervasive surveillance. They can be used invasively since police routinely enter citizens' homes and often encounter individuals in extreme situations. On the other, the use of body cameras without adequate consideration of how such tools will be implemented can lead to cost overruns (especially in relation to storing and redacting data) and, ultimately, the rejection of the tool itself. Guidance on the best practices of cop cams is urgently needed. Note too that the other end of the spectrum - complete officer discretion over when to activate a camera - has been shown to increase, not decrease, both officer use of force and assaults on police. This Strategic Note sets out some of the opportunities and challenges associated BWCs. It builds on several years of experience of the IgarapeInstitute in testing body cameras in Brazil and South Africa, as well as consultations with dozens of specialists in law enforcement and civil liberties communities. It focuses especially on key political and institutional questions regarding the management of these new tools. The first section highlights the emergence of new technologies in law enforcement and, in particular, the rise of cop cams. Section two underlines some of the controversies - both operational and ethical - associated with these technologies. The third section presents a shortlist of emerging principles for institutionalizing cop cams, as well as practices that flow from them. The note is not exhaustive; it is a first pass over a complex and rapidly-evolving public policy area. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Igarapé Institute, 2016. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Note 23: Accessed February 28, 2017 at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AE-24_Filling-the-accountability-gap-body-worn-cameras-14-11.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AE-24_Filling-the-accountability-gap-body-worn-cameras-14-11.pdf Shelf Number: 145580 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice CamerasPolice SurveillancePolice TechnologyPolice-Citizen Interaction |
Author: Denyer-Willis, Graham Title: Smarter Policing: Tracking the Influence of New Information Technology in Rio de Janeiro Summary: Technological advancements are changing the architecture of police-society relations around the world. New modes of oversight, whether applied by public security entities or citizens, are dramatically transforming the way policing is conducted. This is especially the case in digitally connected cities in the North and South. Surprisingly little is known, however, about how technology can be used to drive reform in police institutions including in Rio de Janeiro, where the relationships between police and residents are characterized by mistrust. A key objective of the Smart Policing project, a partnership of the Igarapé Institute and the Policia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (PMERJ), is to explore ways to enhance police accountability through technology. The following Strategic Note considers how the recently installed pacification police units (Unidades de Policia Pacificadora or UPP) are using technology to recapture urban territory from drug trafficking groups while simultaneously expanding trust and reciprocity with citizens. It examines how technological innovations at the street level, including mobile phone applications, can potentially strengthen the integrity of police work and the social contract. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarapé Institute, 2013. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Note 10: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Smarter_Policing_ing.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Brazil URL: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Smarter_Policing_ing.pdf Shelf Number: 141323 Keywords: Drug TraffickingInformation TechnologyMobile PhonesPolice AccountabilityPolice EffectivenessPolice Technology |
Author: Nix, Justin Title: In the eye of the beholder? Exploring the dialogic approach to police legitimacy. Summary: In recent years, police legitimacy has generated a great deal of scholarly attention. Numerous studies carried out in a variety of settings have demonstrated that citizens are more likely to perceive the police as a legitimate authority when they interact with citizens in a procedurally fair way. In turn, citizens become more likely to accept police decisions, comply with the law, and cooperate with the police. Yet until very recently, scholars have only focused on citizen perceptions of legitimacy while neglecting the perspective of the police themselves. It may very well be that the police believe other ideals are more important than procedural justice in terms of establishing legitimacy. Accordingly, Anthony Bottoms and Justice Tankebe suggest that legitimacy should be treated as an ongoing dialogue between power-holders and audiences. The present study adds to a very limited body of research applying this dialogic model to understand legitimacy by surveying a nationally representative sample of U.S. police executives about how they believe citizens residing in different areas of the community evaluate their agencies and their officers. Findings suggest that respondents do in fact appear to be aware that procedural fairness is important to citizens in terms of establishing legitimacy. However, respondents do not appear to realize that citizens are more likely to cooperate with the police when they perceive them as legitimate. Instead, they believe performance is the key to generating cooperation. There also appear to be key differences in how officers believed they are perceived by residents of high crime areas and residents of low crime areas. Finally, the present study considers whether individual characteristics of the responding officers moderate the strength of relationships between key theoretical variables and legitimacy outcomes. In a similar fashion, the present study explores the possibility that officers believe citizens' perceptions of collective efficacy, disorder, their perceived risk of being caught and punished for breaking the law, or their cynicism toward the law moderate the aforementioned relationships. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed in the final chapter. Details: Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2015. 157p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 10, 2017 at: http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4186&context=etd Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4186&context=etd Shelf Number: 144451 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Legitimacy Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Policing |
Author: Jackson, Jonathan Title: Truly Free Consent? Clarifying the Nature of Police Legitimacy Summary: Legitimacy is generally seen as an unqualified social good. On the one hand, legitimacy tames power; to gain legitimacy in the eyes of citizens, institutional actors need to act in normatively appropriate ways. On the other hand, legitimacy minimizes the need for coercive forms of social control; when people view an institution as legitimate, they will comply and cooperate because they feel a moral duty, not because they fear punishment. Yet, scholars have recently questioned whether prior studies have conflated a normatively-grounded sense of "truly free consent" with a more instrumental motivation to obey external authority. This is an important critique. If measures of legitimacy capture a sense of fear, powerlessness and “dull compulsion,” then we may be misunderstanding the normative significance of legitimacy in policing policy and practice. Drawing on data from a randomized controlled trial of procedurally just policing in Scotland, we provide the first sustained empirical assessment of the nature of normative (consensus-based) and instrumental (coercive-based) forms of obligation to obey. Placing both forms of obligation in a procedural justice framework, we find that procedural justice seems to increase normative obligation and decrease instrumental obligation. We also show that consensual obligation is strongly and positively related to procedural justice, social identity, normative alignment and proactive cooperation, and that coercive obligation is moderately and negatively related to the same diagnostic constructs. We conclude with the idea that consent-based obligation can reasonably be included in the legitimacy concept, so long as the measures capture a sense of moral duty. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 29, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2620274 Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2620274 Shelf Number: 144615 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Legitimacy Policing Procedural Justice Trust |
Author: Subramanian, Ram Title: To Protect and Serve: New Trends in State-Level Policing Reform, 2015-2016 Summary: In 2015 and 2016, 34 states and the District of Columbia passed at least 79 bills, executive orders, or resolutions to change some aspect of policing policy or practice. This is significant, since policing reform is largely the province of local jurisdictions or specific police departments. In contrast, in the three years prior to the study period-between 2012 and 2014-there were few pieces of state legislation that dealt with policing. In reviewing legislative activity over the last two years, the Vera Institute of Justice found that states focused reform efforts in the following three areas: > improving policing practices around use of force, racial profiling, and vulnerable populations; > documenting police operations through the increased use of body-worn cameras, enhanced protections for public recordings of police, and new requirements for maintaining and reporting data on police operations; and > improving accountability in instances of police use of force and misconduct cases, especially those incidents that result in death. By providing concise summaries of representative legislation in each area, this report aims to inform policymakers and members of the public who are looking to understand state-level changes in policing policy and practice. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2017. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2017 at: https://www.vera.org/publications/protect-and-serve-policing-trends-2015-2016 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.vera.org/publications/protect-and-serve-policing-trends-2015-2016 Shelf Number: 144751 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice EffectivenessPolice LegitimacyPolice ReformPolice Use of ForcePolicing |
Author: Small Arms Survey Title: Policing in South Sudan: Transformation Challenges and Priorities Summary: Over the past three years, ongoing conflict in South Sudan has fundamentally reshaped donor engagement with the security sector. In the wake of the conflict that began in December 2013, major bilateral donor support was suspended to the security services, including the police. More recent efforts to support transitional security arrangements under the terms laid out in the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS), signed in August 2015, have been met with criticism in the face of persistent conflict and human rights abuses. Although the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) is meant to serve as the lead agency for internal security, some operational responsibilities have fallen to competing security services and ethnically aligned militias. These include rival factions within the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the National Security Service (NSS). The SSNPS is among the weakest and most under-resourced security services in South Sudan. Even before December 2013, donor efforts to support police transformation were fraught with challenges. While donors piloted a community-focused approach to police reform, the SSNPS essentially continued to operate as a paramilitary force. Police recruits receive paramilitary training, use military ranks, and are legally mandated to support the SPLA by order of the president. Interviews with police commanders suggest that the high number of militias integrated into the SSNPS after independence has also had a negative impact on overall command and control. In addition, the economic crisis facing South Sudan has intensified predatory behaviour towards civilians in an environment that lacks accountability for human rights abuses. In the absence of broader political and economic reforms, donor engagement with the police under the terms laid out in the ARCSS is unlikely to curb rampant insecurity and crime. Based on extensive in-depth interviews with the police leadership, rank-and-file SSNPS, donors, legal and security experts, and civil society groups, this Issue Brief reviews the state of the police in South Sudan in order to draw attention to shortcomings that may be addressed as part of ongoing donor engagement with the SSNPS. Key findings of this Issue Brief include: South Sudan lacks a culture of democratic policing. Police officers generally do not have a clear enough understanding of their mandate to distinguish themselves from the SPLA. Since the conflict erupted in 2013, high levels of insecurity throughout the country have reinforced a paramilitary style of policing. The SSNPS faces many of the same challenges as the SPLA, including low salaries and delayed payments, high levels of illiteracy, inadequate training on human rights, and a culture of impunity. The SSNPS has far less access to resources and essential equipment than the SPLA. In the absence of adequate oversight and accountability, some police officers form predatory relationships with the very communities they are charged to protect. There is little access to justice for victims of human rights violations, which has reinforced a culture of impunity. Cronyism and entrenched patronage networks undermine the overall effectiveness of the police force. In some cases, favouritism prevents promising junior officers from advancing while permitting militia members to be integrated into the SSNPS. As a result, it is even more difficult to professionalize the police force and to establish clear lines of command and control. The formation of the Joint Integrated Police (JIP), a transitional security arrangement required by the ARCSS, has proceeded without due transparency measures or consultations with communities or civil society groups. Moreover, it is unclear how opposition forces will participate in the JIP given the split within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). Donor efforts to implement the transitional security arrangements laid out in the peace agreement despite ongoing conflict in South Sudan are unlikely to succeed in the absence of renewed political negotiations and broader political and economic reforms. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2017. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: HSBA Issue Brief: Accessed April 8, 2017 at: http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/issue-briefs/HSBA-IB26-Policing-in-South-Sudan.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Sudan URL: http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/issue-briefs/HSBA-IB26-Policing-in-South-Sudan.pdf Shelf Number: 144755 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice AdministrationPolice EffectivenessPolice ReformPolicing |
Author: Young, Joshua Title: Implementation of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Ventura, California: A Body-Worn Video Camera Experiment Summary: Police agencies from around the world are currently deploying police practices which have been empirically shown to be ineffective. Yet, alarmingly, there doesn't seem to be any urgency to move away from these ineffective practices and into methods supported by evidence. It could be that the idea of using evidence from criminological research and running scientific experiments to test the effectiveness of new innovations seems out of reach for local agencies. In reality, this is far from the truth. There is currently, however, a lack of implementation literature for police agencies looking to implement experimentation and transition to evidence-based practices. The purpose of this thesis is to dispel the myth that integrating an evidence-based policing culture and scientifically testing new innovations is outside the scope of local police agencies. Based on lessons learned from implementing a body-worn video (BWV) camera randomized controlled trial (RCT), this thesis is written to offer the practitioner a real-world thematic guide. This guide aims to assist police agencies looking to implement a BWV camera experiment and provide recommendations on how to integrate and sustain an evidence-based policing culture. During the Ventura Police Department's (VPD) randomized controlled trial (RCT), we were not only able to implement an experiment with the University of Cambridge but provide a replication study of the first BWV camera randomized controlled trial conducted in Rialto, California. During the implementation of Ventura's BWV randomized controlled trial, we encountered stumbling blocks in the non-compliance of the randomization schedule. We show with verifiable data that we were able to increase officer compliance by 92% and provide recommendations on how to reduce contamination issues by laying an evidence-based foundation prior to implementation. In addition, I offer a recommendation for agencies looking to embrace evidence-based policing to create a guiding coalition with enough influence to support, integrate, and sustain a culture willing to test new innovations. Our experiment evaluates the effects of BWV cameras on police use of force and citizens' complaints. In addition, Ventura's BWV camera experiment will be the first to empirically test the effects of BWV cameras on prosecution outcomes, particularly the speed of early-guilty pleas and the rate of prosecution. I purposely do not provide any preliminary data relating to use of force, citizens' complaints, and prosecution outcomes. It is too early to show any causal inferences to suggest the effects the BWV cameras are having at VPD. However, early indications suggest that the cameras are having a positive effect. We look to provide statistical strength to Rialto's findings at the conclusion of our 12 month RCT. Details: Cambridge, UK: Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, 2014. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 10, 2017 at: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Joshua%20Young%20Thesis.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Joshua%20Young%20Thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 144766 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamerasEvidence-Based PolicingEvidence-Based ProgramsPolice AccountabilityPolice TechnologySurveillance Video Technology |
Author: Tyler, Tom R. Title: Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men's Legal Socialization Summary: Legal scholars recognize the centrality of the issue of legal culture (i.e., the "network of values and attitudes relating to law") (Friedman 1975:34) to the functioning of legal authorities. In particular, they have been concerned about how Americans acquire views about the legitimacy of law and legal authority (Sarat 1977). People do so through a process that includes childhood socialization (Tapp & Levine 1977) and later personal and peer experiences with legal authorities. In particular, the period of adolescence and young adulthood is often viewed as key since young men have their most frequent experiences with legal authorities, as do their peers, during this period (Brunson & Weitzer 2011; Fagan & Tyler 2005). The most frequent legal authority young people encounter is a police officer (Tyler & Huo 2002). The goal of this study is to explore the impact on legitimacy of a particularly salient type of young adult experience with the police-the car or street stop-during a particularly central developmental period-young adulthood. Details: Unpublished paper, 2014. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Faculty Scholarship Series. 4988: Accessed April 13, 2017 at: http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5987&context=fss_papers Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5987&context=fss_papers Shelf Number: 144897 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyStop and Search |
Author: Henstock, Darren Title: Testing the Effects of Body Worn Video on Police Use of Force during Arrest: A Randomised Controlled Trial Summary: There is, at present, a worldwide uncontrolled social experiment taking place within policing. Body worn cameras have been rolled-out in many forces worldwide, aiming to improve the procedural compliance of officers and reduce the incidence of use of force. Yet rigorous evidence is virtually non-existent on this multi-billion dollar industry, on either its efficacy or cost-effectiveness. This study tested the effect of body worn cameras within a large UK force in a six month randomised-controlled-trial, whilst observing the effect within pre-specified force categories. Overall a 50% reduction in the odds of force being used was recorded when body worn cameras are present compared to control conditions, interpreted to be a result of the deterrence-effect body worn cameras have on officers, offenders, or both. However, the effect concentrates in open-hand tactics, with no discernible effect on categories of more aggressive force responses. Furthermore, 40% 'more force' was detected in treatment-conditions for handcuffing compliant suspects - contextualised as enhanced transparency and accountability, rather than a backfiring-effect. In logical conclusion to this recorded reduction in low level use of force, the study documents a 65% reduction in recorded injuries to persons arrested, but counter-intuitively a corresponding increase in reported injuries to officers. This seemingly unexpected finding is attributed to improved confidence in reporting by officers rather than the cameras creating more aggression towards them. Finally, the dissertation also considers issues surrounding the implementation of body worn camera experiments. Details: Cambridge, UK: Wolfson College, 2015. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 4, 2017 at: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Darren%20Henstock.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Darren%20Henstock.pdf Shelf Number: 145315 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamera TechnologyCamerasLaw Enforcement TechnologyPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice Use of Force |
Author: Ryan, Emma Title: Below the belt: police use of conducted energy weapons in Australia Summary: This thesis represents the first critical examination of the proliferation of sub-lethal weapons in Australian policing. It traces the introduction of such weapons in Australian policing, with an emphasis on Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs), in particular Tasers. Using a multi-method, phronetic approach it examines whether the rhetoric used to support the introduction of CEWs is reflected in the policies related to the use of such weapons and in evidence about their use in the field. Phronetic methodology aims to explain social phenomena via the piecing together of large and small details that form the context of events; in this case the introduction of CEWs in Australia, the resulting policies established to control the weapon's use (excluding Tasmania and South Australia where access to the policy documents was refused) and also evidence about its use in practice. This comparative analysis of CEW use in each Australian state and territory is directed at three specific sites: the rhetoric used in relation to the introduction and further justification of CEW use by police across Australia, the policies used to guide police in their use and the available evidence about how CEWs are used in practice. The analysis draws on a broad range of sources incorporating document, news media and interview material. The findings draw attention to the phenomenon of 'mission creep' occurring in Australia, where CEWs have come to be used well outside of their original intended purpose. The thesis shows that this pattern has already been observed in relation to Oleoresin Capsicum spray (OC Spray), which is the other type of sub-lethal weapon widely adopted by police in Western democracies. It is now being observed internationally in relation to CEWs. The thesis therefore adds an Australian perspective to a growing body of literature suggesting that sub-lethal weapons' use by police is likely to have a corrosive effect on police/ community relationships and, crucially, on the principle of minimum force. It further argues that the weapons may have a profound impact on the delicate balance of consensual versus coercive policing styles. The analysis is set against the broader history of CEWs, and especially events in North America, where electronic weaponry evolved. Experiences in Britain and New Zealand are also examined briefly. The findings also demonstrate that the reasons for CEW adoption by police across jurisdictions, nationally and internationally, are very similar. It is argued that this is the case because decisions (and policy making) have been based on a series of misconceptions about sublethal weapons' utility. The thesis argues that the problems arising in jurisdictions that use CEWs are so similar as to warrant a set of clear statements about the potential consequences of their inappropriate deployment in Australia. On this basis, this research concludes by making an argument for the importance of establishing strict national guidelines to control the use of CEWs and by offering a range of observations on what such guidelines could look like. Details: Clayton, Victoria, AUS: Monash University, 2012. 255p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 5, 2017 at: http://arrow.monash.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/monash:89033;jsessionid=E79AD5DD3381841D4B31D1125437E67C?exact=sm_subject%3A%22Accountablility%22 Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://arrow.monash.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/monash:89033;jsessionid=E79AD5DD3381841D4B31D1125437E67C?exact=sm_subject%3A%22Accountablility%22 Shelf Number: 145322 Keywords: Assault WeaponsNon-lethal WeaponsPolice AccountabilityPolice Use of ForceTasers |
Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Winslow, AZ Police Department Review and Assessment: Final Report Summary: In July 2016, the City of Winslow, Arizona commissioned the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct an organizational review of the Winslow Police Department (WPD). PERF's review was broad in scope and examined WPD's policies and practices across a variety of areas, including officer training, resource deployment, internal leadership and communication, agency transparency and accountability, use-of-force tactics and training, and engagement with the community. Although the request for this review was made in the wake of a March 2016 shooting incident involving a WPD officer, the purpose of this study was not to investigate that or any other specific incident. Instead, PERF was asked to perform a broad assessment of WPD's overall policies, practices, and organizational structure, with the goal of assisting the department as it strives to improve the delivery of police services and meet the needs of the community. WPD's desire to improve these areas is in line with recommendation 1.3 of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which states that law enforcement agencies should establish a culture of transparency and accountability in order to build public trust and legitimacy. WPD has already taken several important steps towards making positive changes within the department. For example, in 2016 Winslow City Manager Stephen Pauken brought in Chris Vasquez, a retired police chief and sheriff, to serve as WPD's Interim Police Director. Under Mr. Vasquez's leadership, WPD has begun implementing an array of reforms to its policies and practices. Throughout the duration of this project, PERF found that WPD personnel, Winslow city officials, and community members were supportive and dedicated to working together as they move forward. Overall, the members of the WPD demonstrated a strong commitment to their work, and the recommendations in this report aim to ensure that WPD personnel will have the support, guidance, and tools they need to better serve the City of Winslow. Details: Washington, DC; PERF, 2017. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2017 at: http://www.winslowaz.gov/city-documents/4578464666 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.winslowaz.gov/city-documents/4578464666 Shelf Number: 146312 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice DepartmentsPolice Education and TrainingPolice LegitimacyPolice Policies |
Author: Washington (State). Joint Legislative Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing Title: Final Report to the Legislature and Governor Summary: During the 2016 regular legislative session, the Legislature established the Joint Legislative Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing through the passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2908. The legislation charged the Task Force with: - Reviewing laws, practices, and training programs regarding use of deadly force in Washington and other states; - Reviewing current policies, practices, and tools used by or otherwise available to law enforcement as an alternative to lethal uses of force, including Tasers and other nonlethal weapons; and - Recommending best practices to reduce the number of violent interactions between law enforcement officers and members of the public. The Task Force worked within an aggressive time frame to develop its recommendations. It convened four meetings for a total of 26 hours from June to November. Task Force members also met independently with interested stakeholders and constituents. The Task Force engaged in robust and substantive discussions on difficult policy issues facing the state. Topics considered include: standards for using deadly force; practices for investigating officer-involved shootings; police training and funding; less lethal weapons; and data collection practices. Also, racial bias, behavioral health issues, de-escalation, and accountability and oversight were recurring items of discussion throughout Task Force deliberations. The Task Force utilized an inclusive and transparent process for considering recommendation proposals. This report is a reflection of that process. All submitted proposals, whether or not they were adopted, are included in the text of this report with the accompanying vote count. The Task Force adopted 15 recommendations on a variety of subjects, including: the state deadly force statute; training and community outreach; accountability; data collection; racial bias; behavioral health; less lethal weapons; and funding and oversight. Details: Olympia, WA: The Legislature, 2016. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2017 at: https://app.leg.wa.gov/ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=Final%20Report_Jt.%20Leg.%20TF%20Deadly%20Force%20Community%20Policing_d704e027-1f1e-40a9-9388-f570930f2cbe.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=Final%20Report_Jt.%20Leg.%20TF%20Deadly%20Force%20Community%20Policing_d704e027-1f1e-40a9-9388-f570930f2cbe.pdf Shelf Number: 146325 Keywords: Community Policing Deadly Force Police AccountabilityPolice Use of Force |
Author: Koen, Marthinus Christoffel Title: On-Set Body-Worn Cameras in a Police Organization: Structures, practices, and technological frames Summary: Existing research on body-worn cameras (BWCs) has primarily focused on outcomes (e.g., use-of-force incidents, complaints, and arrests) rather than the processes related to BWC implementation and use by officers. This dissertation provides insights into the effects that the implementation of BWCs has had on key organizational structures and practices, including reporting, discretion, training, police-citizen interactions, and supervision. It also focuses on the technological frames of individuals belonging to different organizational groups and examines to what extent these outlooks differed between groups and changed over time. Using in-depth interviews, ride-along observations, and patrol officer surveys at a single police agency, this research resulted in two major, interrelated findings. First, the largest effect of the implementation of BWCs was on accountability, which had increased in scope to cover a range of aspects of policing, including training, reporting, discretion, and police-citizen interactions. At the same time, the intensity with which officers' experienced accountability had not significantly increased as BWC footage was not systematically used to monitor, review, and/or evaluate police officer conduct and quality of performance. The second major finding, regarding the technological frames of two relevant social groups (Managers and Users), helps explain these findings. BWCs were implemented primarily for training purposes and to protect patrol officers against groundless complaints rather than as a mechanism for identifying officer misconduct, for failing to comply with departmental policies, and for poor street-level performance. Although Users initially feared that BWCs were going to be used to get them into trouble for minor instances of misconduct or rule violations, their frames changed over time as they realized that BWCs were not going to be used by Managers as a "gotcha" mechanism. As officers learned that BWCs were used primarily to protect and support them, they became much more positive and less apprehensive about their implementation in the department. This challenges the view suggested by the technological frames literature that "first impressions" last, as Users' initial apprehension toward BWCs gave way to a readiness to embrace them, particularly in light of the several benefits they subsequently learned BWCs delivered. This contribution to existing knowledge is beneficial in two ways: first, it fills a gap in existing police technology research in providing an in-depth examination of the effects of BWC implementation on a variety of structures and practices in addition to technological frames; second, it serves as a baseline for future, large-scale studies by identifying additional factors that were important and/or specific to the implementation of BWCs that have not been fully explored. Details: Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2016. 269p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed June 28, 2017 at: http://digilib.gmu.edu/jspui/bitstream/handle/1920/10419/Koen_gmu_0883E_11230.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://digilib.gmu.edu/jspui/bitstream/handle/1920/10419/Koen_gmu_0883E_11230.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 146450 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Camera Technology Law Enforcement Technology Police AccountabilityPolice Technology Police Use of Force |
Author: Muntingh, Lukas Title: Understanding impunity in the South African law enforcement agencies Summary: This paper analyses the underlying structural and functional reasons for de facto impunity in South African law enforcement with specific reference to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). While the legislative framework presents no major obstacles to holding state officials accountable for gross rights violations, it remains a rare event that officials are prosecuted and convicted for assault, torture and actions resulting in the death of criminal suspects and prisoners. The paper argues that the reasons for prevailing impunity in respect of rights violations perpetrated by state officials are found across a broad spectrum. These relate firstly to South Africa's historical development and in particular the security forces inherited by the Government of National Unity (GNU) in 1994. The failure by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute apartheid-era perpetrators of rights violations following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set a particular benchmark that left victims frustrated and, more importantly, a prosecutorial approach tolerant of rights violations. Important legal and policy developments in the police and prison system faltered in material ways and this further undermined accountability. Post-1994 governments' response to or lack thereof, in respect of obligations under international human rights law and treaty monitoring bodies left much to be desired, thus further strengthening a perception that the state is not accountable. At the functional level it is argued that the state has failed to regard the high incidence of rights violations as a systemic problem and rather opted to focus on managing the media fall-out when high profile violations surface. The manner in which the NPA has dealt with rights violations perpetrated by law enforcement officials clearly indicate that it is reluctant to prosecute, but it has also not been called to account for this trend and explain the reasons why recommendations by oversight structures to prosecute are in the overwhelming majority of cases not followed. Impunity is also enabled by the erratic enforcement of the internal disciplinary codes in SAPS and DCS. Statistics show great variation from year to year, indicative that managers in these two departments do not enforcement discipline in a consistent manner. With reference to designated oversight structures, it is observed that recommendations to these two departments are seldom followed. This is particularly the case with SAPS and the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). Civil litigation against the two departments in respect of rights violations result in substantial costs to the tax payer, yet the two departments have not regarded this as the result of systemic problems and opted to contest these claims individually. As a result of de facto impunity, law enforcement is increasingly suffering from a legitimacy crisis and public confidence in these institutions are probably at all-time low. To address impunity it is required that transparency and accountability be strengthened to ensure that the transformative ideals of the Constitution are realised. Details: South Africa: Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI) c/o Community Law Centre, 2013. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: http://acjr.org.za/resource-centre/understanding-impunity-in-the-south-african-law-enforcement-agencies Year: 2013 Country: South Africa URL: http://acjr.org.za/resource-centre/understanding-impunity-in-the-south-african-law-enforcement-agencies Shelf Number: 146703 Keywords: Corrections OfficersHuman Rights AbusesLaw EnforcementPolice AccountabilityPolicingPrison GuardsPrisons |
Author: Morden, John W. Title: Independent Civilian Review into Matters Relating to the G20 Summit Summary: The Independent Civilian Review into Matters Relating to the G20 Summit was launched on September 23, 2010 by the Toronto Police Services Board. The Review examined issues concerning the role the Board played with respect to the policing of the G20 Summit that was held in Toronto on June 25-27, 2010. It also examined the role played by the Toronto Police Service during the G20 Summit, with a view to determining whether the plans developed and implemented were adequate and effective for policing of the Summit. The Board appointed the Honourable John W. Morden, a former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, to conduct the Review and provide a report and recommendations. Details: Toronto: Toronto Police Services Board, 2012. 475p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2017 at: http://www.tpsb.ca/g20/ICRG20Mordenreport.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://www.tpsb.ca/g20/ICRG20Mordenreport.pdf Shelf Number: 146909 Keywords: Civilian Oversight of PoliceComplaints Against the PolicePolice Accountability Police Oversight Police Policies and PracticesPolice ReformPublic DisorderRiots and Protests |
Author: Crowell, Mark Title: Police Officers' Attitudes Toward Civilian Oversight Mechanisms in Ontario, Canada Summary: Police services in Canada were historically self-regulating institutions that managed internally their administrative affairs and allegations of professional misconduct. In recent decades, however, there has been an inexorable movement to external review in many Western nations, including Canada, whereby civilians have become increasingly involved in the administrative oversight of policing and the investigation of complaints about alleged misconduct. Research on how police have responded to these developments is sparse and overwhelmingly non-Canadian. This study examines the attitudes and experiences of police officers pertaining to three types of civilian-led agencies that govern police practices and conduct in Ontario, Canada. To wit: i) Police Services Boards, which provide administrative and financial governance of police services; ii) The Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which investigates instances where citizens have been seriously harmed, killed or allegedly sexually assaulted while in the care of the police; and iii) The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which reviews and sometimes investigates citizens' complaints about police conduct. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design was utilized in this study. In Phase 1: Survey Questionnaire, 1593 police officers from a large police service in Ontario responded to an online survey questionnaire that queried them about their experiences and perceptions in relation to the three previously-mentioned agencies and about their own police service's Professional Standards Bureau. In Phase 2: Semi-structured interviews, 40 interviews were conducted with police officers from the same police service and six interviews were conducted with senior executive representatives from stakeholder organizations in Ontario and across Canada. Results from both the survey questionnaire and the interviews revealed that most police officers were generally accepting of the need for civilian-led oversight initiatives to uphold accountability and public trust in policing. However, this study found that many police officers queried the qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, training and experience) of the involved civilian investigators and administrators. Respondents also raised concerns about issues of "procedural justice" (e.g., the quality and frequency of communication during investigations; speed of investigations; notification regarding the outcome) during the course of both civilian-led and police-led investigations into alleged misconduct. Although the majority of respondents expressed a preference for alleged misconduct to be investigated by their own Professional Standards Bureau rather than by personnel from the SIU or the OIPRD, evidence was mixed on the extent to which police officers perceived that civilian oversight agencies pose a significant threat or challenge to their status as "professionals." Many respondents opined that police officers are more closely scrutinized than other professional/occupational groups and are held to higher standards of accountability. A number of practical recommendations are proposed related to enhanced communication and education for police services and relevant stakeholders in Ontario, Canada and beyond. Details: Waterloo, ONT: University of Waterloo, 2016. 410p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 30, 2017 at: https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/11034/Crowell_Mark.pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: Canada URL: https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/11034/Crowell_Mark.pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 146950 Keywords: Citizens Complaints Against PoliceCivilian OversightPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice Misconduct |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Title: No Tape, No Testimony: How Courts Can Ensure the Responsible Use of Body Cameras Summary: In January 2015, the Chicago Police Department launched a pilot program requiring its officers to use body-worn cameras. The program began in the wake of public outcry over violence by Chicago police officers against civilians, and a police official explained that it sought to "rebuild[] trust with the residents we're sworn to serve." In July 2016, an officer wearing one of these cameras killed Paul O'Neal, a Black teenager who allegedly stole a car and crashed it into a police cruiser. After Mr. O'Neal fled on foot, the officer fatally shot him in the back. In theory, Mr. O'Neal's final moments should have been recorded by the officer's body camera, and the recording should now be available to assist a court, a jury, or the public in deciding whether the shooting was justified. But no such video exists. The camera worn by the officer who killed Mr. O'Neal was reportedly not turned on until after the fatal shot had been fired. This incident, and others like it, have been cited as cautionary tales about how the value of body cameras can be undermined if the police cannot or will not ensure their consistent use. But police departments are not the only institutions capable of assuring the effective use of body-worn cameras. Courts can do it too. For three reasons, courts can and should encourage the police to record, when practicable, their investigative encounters with civilians. 1. Videos of police-civilian encounters have shaken public confidence in the capacity of legal proceedings to separate fact from fiction. Time and again, cases have been headed for an incorrect result - such as the wrongful prosecution of a civilian or the wrongful exoneration of a police officer - until videos surfaced that contradicted officers' versions of events. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that witness testimony, on which courts must often rely when video is absent, can be quite flawed when used as the exclusive means of resolving disputes between police officers and civilians. Thus, when video evidence of a police-civilian encounter does not exist, legal proceedings may be less likely to get the right answer or to be respected by the public. 2. Police body-worn cameras present a viable and valuable supplement to witness testimony. These cameras are quickly becoming part of the 21st-century police uniform, with a recent survey of 70 law enforcement agencies finding that 95% of respondents had either implemented or had committed to implementing body camera programs. Body cameras can be critical to uncovering the truth when the facts of a police-civilian encounter are contested. There is also evidence that, when body cameras are consistently worn and activated, they can deter misconduct or violence from happening in the first place. 3. Courts have both a distinct interest in and a unique means of encouraging police officers to record their encounters with civilians. Courts have an interest in conducting legal proceedings that are fair, that avoid wrongful convictions and other catastrophic outcomes, and that efficiently resolve disputes. Given those interests, and given that videos of policecivilian encounters can make the difference between just and unjust results, courts should encourage, when practicable, the recording of police-civilian encounters. Rather than leave this task to police departments, whose disciplinary practices are necessarily inconsistent, courts should provide this encouragement by using tools uniquely at their disposal: jury instructions. This report proposes a model jury instruction that encourages the recording of police-civilian encounters by empowering juries to impose evidentiary consequences for unreasonable or bad faith failures to record. This instruction would tell the jury that, if it finds that the police unreasonably failed to create or preserve a video of a police-civilian encounter, it can devalue an officer's testimony and infer that the video would have helped the civilian. If the jury finds that the case involves bad faith, such as the outright sabotage of body cameras, then it should be instructed to disregard officer testimony altogether. The tools that courts can use to craft this instruction already exist. Several courts now use jury instructions to encourage the recording of custodial interrogations and drunk-driving field tests; they can and should craft similar rules for body cameras. These measures can help prevent wrongful convictions, accurately resolve allegations of police misconduct, and enhance public trust in the justice system's capacity to get it right when confronted with police-civilian violence. Details: Boston: ACLU of Massachusetts; Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley School of Law Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic, 2016. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2017 at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SLTPPC_ACLU_BodyCameras_Final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SLTPPC_ACLU_BodyCameras_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 147015 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Law Enforcement Technology (U.S.) Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Technology Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Surveillance Video Technology |
Author: Bandiero, Anthony M. Title: Implementation Issues and Policy Implications of Body-Worn Cameras in Routine Police Encounters With Citizens Summary: This study investigates the impact body-worn cameras (BWCs) will have on police-citizen encounters. In an era of increasing surveillance, both private and public, what role should BWCs play? Further, what legislation and institutional safeguards must be put in place to protect privacy and prevent BWCs from becoming a tool to surveil marginalized communities? The implementation of BWCs appears a forgone conclusion in many communities where police relations are tenuous. Specifically, the presence of BWCs can help eliminate excessive force by encouraging pro-social behavior on behalf of both police officers and citizens. Additionally, BWCs can even play a role in reducing lawful uses of force because if a citizen, initially bent on non-compliance with an officer's commands, realizes that the encounter is being recorded, they are likely to change their behavior for the better. This study concludes that BWCs should be supported with the following limitations: BWC videos must not be considered a public record, and therefore susceptible to general public record's requests. BWC videos will record areas where people will have a reasonable expectation of privacy and these intrusions should not be generally available, except under certain pre-authorized circumstances. Additionally, BWCs must not transition into a mass surveillance tool for police. Therefore, this study recommends strict purge requirements for videos that are not applicable to an investigation. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2016. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed September 8, 2017 at: https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/33797278 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/33797278 Shelf Number: 147161 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice-Citizen Interactions |
Author: Leuprecht, Christian Title: FORCE 2.0: Fixing the Governance, Leadership, and Structure of the RCMP Summary: The government has put out the call for a new Commissioner to lead an RCMP that is confronted with a number of major issues: the impending creation of an independent employee association, increased review from the newly established National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (and potentially a new arm's-length bureaucratic review body proposed in Bill C-59), and a review of the RCMP's mandate-contract. The last may even entail the transfer of some border duties to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). In addition, there are ongoing challenges such as allegations of pervasive harassment and bullying as well as a trial on violating the Canada Labour Code. Outside observers are left with the impression of a dysfunctional organization. The symptoms manifest themselves publicly in class-action lawsuits, questions over leadership and equipment, recruitment shortfalls, complaints about compensation, and the Force generally being stretched too thin on too many fronts, particularly the requirement to meet contract policing requirements in much of the country. Governments have in the past responded by picking a new Commissioner and tasking him with an explicit mandate to "fix" the problems, alongside policy change, proposals for reform, and new legislation. This process essentially repeats about every five years, with little to show for it. Insanity, it is often said, is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome. The question is not just what kind of reform is necessary, but why changes have been so slow and difficult in coming - and what conditions are necessary to invigorate and sustain reform. The RCMP needs structural reform if we want to improve its performance and strengthen the professional aspects of policing while building the confidence that is required and expected of Canada's federal police agency. A Civilian Board of Management is widely touted as a panacea to challenge and validate the priorities the Force has identified, liaise with the Minister and senior bureaucracy in a more systematic way, and validate the RCMP's budgetary "asks." Such a board will need to be complemented by a seasoned civilian professional with long-standing expertise in the federal government to liaise with the Minister and senior federal bureaucracy: a Deputy Minister (DM) equal in rank to the RCMP Commissioner. Together, this "diarchy" arrangement would reinvigorate and modernize the RCMP's governance, administration, and leadership. The following set of recommendations need to be pursued: 1. Oversight by a Civilian Board of Management to forge a strategy that bolsters the RCMP's leadership, professionalism, and competence. An independent oversight/management group forestalls the potential for abuse that would arise from greater direct political involvement in the RCMP. 2. Split operations and administration into a diarchy and install a DM equal to the Commissioner. Based on the Canadian Armed Forces/Department of National Defence precedent, that may require the RCMP to be split into two legal entities and to clarify the relationship between the RCMP and Public Safety Canada, and the RCMP's DM and Public Safety Canada's DM. 3. Demilitarize the RCMP by developing personnel, deployment, employment, and career models that transform the RCMP from a paramilitary vocation into a law enforcement profession. This will help professionalize functions, enable a shift from a command to a leadership culture, build an effective system to convert junior members into leaders, establish strategic leadership capacity, and innovate career models. 4. Bind the Commissioner to follow the direction/finding of the current and future review bodies in statutorily defined circumstances and establish sustained monitoring of reform implementation. This could be done possibly through an external audit but preferably internally through a Minister's Monitoring Committee. 5. If the RCMP fails to jettison contract policing altogether, then segregate federal and contract policing into two completely distinct organizations with separate requirements for entry, compensation, professional development, and leadership. Barring that, the RCMP should establish distinct competencies and remuneration specific to the needs of federal policing. An independent employee association is necessary to ensure internal accountability and enhance the sort of collaboration and meaningful consultation with independent representatives of the workforce that is required to drive institutional reform. Hasty implementation risks undermining institutional reform; so, the way reforms are rolled out also needs to be carefully sequenced. The RCMP's size, complexity, and culture makes it difficult to reform, but not impossible. Possible models for the Force include the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the FBI, and most of its allied federal policing counterparts: ample control, but not quasi-military in nature. To this end, there are clear benefits with adopting a diarchy approach. A Civilian Board of Management and co-equal DM provides the best way to confront the structural challenges facing the RCMP. For Canada's federal police force, failure is not an option. Details: Ottawa: Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2017. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2017 at: http://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLILeuprechtRCMPPaper-08-17-F_Web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: http://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLILeuprechtRCMPPaper-08-17-F_Web.pdf Shelf Number: 147715 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Administration Police Reform Policing |
Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: The Impact of Body-Worn Cameras on Complaints Against Officers and Officer Use of Force Incident Reports: Preliminary Evaluation Findings Summary: SUMMARY - The Boston Police Department collaborated with Northeastern University to develop a randomized controlled trial of its pilot implementation of 100 body worn cameras on patrol officers in 5 police districts and plainclothes officers in the Youth Violence Strike Force. - The Northeastern research team randomly allocated 281 officers into treatment (camera wearers) and control groups from these assignments. The selected officers worked the day and first half shifts and were actively providing police services to Boston residents. - The randomization procedure generated treatment (140 officers) and control (141 officers) groups that were equivalent in terms of officer sex, race, age, years on the job, shift, assignment, prior complaints, and prior use of force reports. All treatment officers were trained on the body worn camera policy and the use of the technology. - At the commencement of the pilot program, 100 of the 140 officers trained on the use of body worn cameras were assigned to wear the cameras. Over the course of the one-year intervention period, 21 officers stopped wearing the cameras due to promotions, assignment changes, medical incapacitation, resignation, and retirement. A total of 121 of the 140 treatment officers wore cameras during the pilot program. - The preliminary findings of the randomized controlled trial suggest that the placement of body worn cameras on Boston Police officers may generate small benefits to the civility of police-citizen civilian encounters. Relative to control officers, treatment officers received fewer citizen complaints and generated fewer use of force reports. - Statistical analysis revealed that the impact of body worn cameras on complaints was small but statistically-significant at a less restrictive statistical threshold. The results suggest a reduction of one complaint per month for 140 treatment officers relative to 141 control officers. The analysis indicated body worn cameras generated a small reduction in officer use of force reports that was not statistically-significant, suggesting no meaningful difference between the treatment and control groups. - These preliminary results are not final and should be interpreted with caution. The evaluation team will continue to collect data and pursue supplemental analyses to ensure that these findings are robust to different tests and model specifications. The final report will present completed analyses of the impact of body worn cameras on citizen complaints and officer use of force reports as well as analyses of impacts on police proactivity, lawfulness of police enforcement actions, and police-community relations. Details: Boston: Northeastern University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2018. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2018 at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5086f19ce4b0ad16ff15598d/t/5a563546ec212d4f5bf29527/1515599174343/BPD+BWC+RCT+preliminary+impact+report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5086f19ce4b0ad16ff15598d/t/5a563546ec212d4f5bf29527/1515599174343/BPD+BWC+RCT+preliminary+impact+report.pdf Shelf Number: 148946 Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras Camera Technology Cameras Law Enforcement Technology Police Accountability Police Surveillance Police Use of Force Police-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community relations |
Author: Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland Title: A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland Summary: The Commission held its first meeting on 11-12 June 1998. It held some sixty days of plenary meetings. The Commission began its work by briefing itself, through meetings, research and reading, on the background to the Agreement and the establishment of the Commission, on the present policing arrangements in Northern Ireland, on previous reports on policing in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, and on developments and debates concerning police worldwide. In a press conference on 12 June 1998 the Chairman called for views from members of the public and over the next three weeks advertisements were placed in Northern Ireland's main newspapers and in every public library inviting the public to write to Commissioners with their opinions on policing. Additionally, 130 letters were sent to political parties, churches, non-governmental organisations and others known to have a particular interest in policing. From the beginning the Commission collectively, and Commissioners individually, had numerous private meetings with a range of people - clerics, politicians, civil liberties groups, community and youth workers, editors, academics, and others - as well as visiting every police sub-division, other police stations, headquarters departments and meeting individual police officers. In October the Commission entered into a more public phase of its work, beginning with taking oral submissions in public meetings with political parties, business and trades union groups, and others (a list of those who gave such submissions is in Annex 2). A series of open meetings was then held in every District Council area in Northern Ireland. The main programme of meetings was conducted in November and December 1998 and further meetings were held during the course of this year (list at Annex 3). A number of meetings, public and private, were held with youth groups. In all more than 10,000 people attended the public meetings, with over 1,000 speaking. In addition about 450 further written submissions were handed in at these meetings, most of them on forms distributed by the Commission for this purpose, so that the total number of individual written submissions received was approximately 2,500. We also received a number of petitions, signed by several thousand people, and several standardised letters. All submissions and petitions were read by Commissioners. During this public phase of their work the Commissioners also continued to have numerous private meetings with groups and individuals. Consultants were engaged to conduct a focus group study, involving eight focus groups selected from different traditions and backgrounds; other consultants, with the cooperation of the RUC, undertook a cultural audit of the police. In May/June 1999 we carried out a survey of public attitudes to policing. The Commission visited the Garda Siochana in the Republic of Ireland, as well as a number of police services in Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, Spain and the United States (a list of all the police services we consulted or visited is contained in Annex 4). We also visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and attended a number of policing conferences, and conferences concerned with human rights. In the next chapter of our report we analyse the main findings from the surveys undertaken on our behalf, from our public meetings and from the oral and written submissions to us. We try to put them in the context of the many previous surveys of opinion on policing. Few police services in the world can have been examined more frequently than the RUC. The time has come to try to draw some conclusions from all those surveys and then to ensure that the police service get on with the job of forging a comprehensive and constructive partnership for peace within the community. After our review of attitude surveys, our report addresses the main issues of policing. First, in Chapter 4, we consider the purpose of policing, which we define as the protection of human rights, and we make proposals to reorient policing in Northern Ireland onto an approach based on upholding human rights and respecting human dignity. This approach underlies the whole of our report, from the relationship between police and public, through the way in which policing services are delivered, to the organisation, recruitment and training of the police. In Chapters 5 and 6 we look at the question of police accountability to the community, and we make proposals for greater accountability, communication and transparency at all levels. We go on to propose, in Chapters 7 to 11, a different style of policing, with the police working more directly in the community and in partnership with the community to solve public safety problems together; and with the neighbourhood police officers given the latitude and the management and technical support they require to deliver the services that their neighbourhoods need. In Chapters 12 to 14 we consider how the police service should be structured and composed in order to operate effectively and efficiently in this new style. In Chapters 1517 we consider the recruitment, training and development of police officers, and the culture and ethos of the police service, all of which are critical to the achievement of the aims in the chapters that go before. Chapter 18 deals with the relationship with other police services. Chapter 19 proposes arrangements for overseeing the entire programme of change in the policing arrangements for Northern Ireland. Finally, in Chapter 20 we provide a list of all the recommendations in this report. The recommendations in the following chapters are interlinked. Together they amount to a transformed police service in Northern Ireland, to the new beginning called for in the Agreement and to the sort of police service which we believe most people want - open, accessible, responsive to local needs, effective and efficient. But, as we said in Chapter 1 and as we say again throughout the report, although several of our recommendations may be possible to implement in any event, the full transformation of policing envisaged in this report will be possible only with active community support and with a continuing commitment to peace. Details: Belfast: The Commission, 1999. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2018 at: http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/police/patten/patten99.pdf Year: 1999 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/police/patten/patten99.pdf Shelf Number: 131189 Keywords: Civil rights Police AccountabilityPolice Administration Police Reform Police-Community Relations Policing |
Author: Hickman, Kishon C., Sr. Title: From Behind the Lens: Police Officer Perceptions as Body-Worn Cameras are Introduced Into the New York City Police Department Summary: In 2014, the U.S. District Court ordered the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to test the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) after finding that their stop, question, and frisk practices violated the rights of some minority New Yorkers. The ruling in Floyd v. City of New York (2013) mandated the recording of future interactions to determine if behavior would be influenced. A total of 54 volunteer officers wore a BWC for a 1-year period and were assigned to six precincts, all selected due to the high frequency of stop, question, and frisk reports prepared by patrol officers. This research examined patrol officer perceptions of the BWC from the lens of the NYPD's two-officer patrol car. The study revealed unique access to 54 volunteer officers and their non-camera-wearing patrol partners, as they recorded citizen interactions during this pilot period. Further, this study examined the extent officers were open to the adoption of BWCs, providing some of the first-ever evidence for or against claims of increased transparency, accountability and improvements in both officer and citizen behavior during encounters. The respondents' demographic data were analyzed to determine any relationship with particular viewpoints toward the BWC. The results suggest that patrol officers are in favor of the adoption of a BWC program, and that the BWC had little to no effect on their patrol partnerships. Results also suggest that officers felt comfortable wearing BWCs, and that regardless of their age, gender, years of police experience or years partnering, the existence of the BWC made for better police service in New York City. Details: Rochester, NY: St. John Fisher College, 2017. 163p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 23, 2018 at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1301&context=education_etd Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1301&context=education_etd Shelf Number: 149230 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice TechnologyPolice-Citizen InteractionsStop and Frisk |
Author: Sacca, Giacomo Title: Not just another piece of equipment: an analysis for police body-worn camera policy decisions Summary: In the United States, law enforcement agencies are rapidly deploying body-worn cameras (BWCs) to increase organizational transparency and foster positive community relations. Proponents of the technology see BWCs as a tool to ensure police legitimacy and eliminate abusive conduct. Preliminary evidence identifies several benefits of using BWCs, such as: reduced citizen complaints, increased cooperation, and lower civil liability. However, emerging evidence suggests that the devices may be achieving the intended goals but with unintended consequences. BWC use may inadvertently increase use of force incidents and reduce the time that the police spend on de-escalating a situation. This thesis employs qualitative research methodology to examine how BWCs affect the ambiguous nature of police decision-making, as well as the effects of BWC use on the public, thereby investigating solutions for the frayed police-public relationship. By analyzing current data available on BWCs, examining information on human decision-making including heuristics, and completing a comparative analysis of a similar police technology-the vehicle dashboard camera-the thesis finds that BWC use can have different and changing impacts on police behavior, suggesting that variables related to human factors alter the dynamics of BWC use. The thesis provides recommendations that cover independent agency BWC evaluations, organizational training, limits on discretionary officer recording, and the practical application of automated camera systems. Details: Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2017. 148p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed February 23, 2018 at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/56797/17Dec_Sacca_Giacomo.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/56797/17Dec_Sacca_Giacomo.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 149231 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice Decision-MakingPolice LegitimacyPolice TechnologyPolice-Community Relations |
Author: California. Office of the Attorney General Title: URSUS: Use of Force Incident Reporting Summary: URSUS, 2016 presents a summary overview of use of force and discharge of firearm incidents as defined in Government Code section 12525.2. Due to the narrow definition of this statute, the data contained in this report only represent incidents where use of force resulted in serious bodily injury or death or the discharge of a firearm. Caution should be used in making comparisons or generalizations with this data set as it does not contain the full spectrum of use of force incidents that occurred in California. - In 2016, there were 782 incidents that involved use of force resulting in serious bodily injury or death of a civilian or officer; or the discharge of a firearm. - Of the 782 incidents, 328 reported a discharge of a firearm. - Of the 782 incidents, 49.0 percent (383) occurred during a call for service, 17.8 percent (139) resulted from a vehicle/bike/pedestrian stop, and 16.2 percent (127) occurred while either a crime was in progress or while officers were investing suspicious persons or circumstances. - Of the 782 incidents, 75.7 percent (592) resulted in an arrest. (Tables 2A and 2B) - In 2016, 832 civilians were involved in incidents that involved the discharge of a firearm or use of force resulting in serious bodily injury or death. - Of the 832 civilians, 92.3 percent (768) were male, 6.0 percent (50) were female, and 1.7 percent (14) fled the scene and their gender was unknown. - Of the 832 civilians, 42.2 percent (351) were Hispanic, 30.0 percent (250) were white, and 19.6 percent (163) were black. - Of the 832 civilians, 30.9 percent (257) were hit by the discharge of a firearm, 16.7 (139) and 13.7 percent (114) received force by control hold/ takedown tactics and electronic control device deployment, respectively. - Of the 832 civilians, 63.8 percent (531) were injured, 15.6 percent (130) were not injured, and 18.9 percent (157) died. (Table 21) - Of the 832 civilians, 476 were perceived armed and 354 were confirmed armed. were involved in incidents that involved the discharge of a firearm or use of force resulting in serious bodily injury or death. - Of the 1,729 officers, 95.0 percent (1,642) were male and 5.0 percent (87) were female. - Of the 1,729 officers, 56.5 percent (977) were white, 31.7 percent (548) were Hispanic, 4.8 percent (83) were Asian/Pacific Islander, and 3.4 percent (59) were black. - Of the 1,729 officers, 43.7 percent (755) did not receive force, 24.2 percent (419) received force during physical contact with a civilian, and 9.8 percent (169) received force by the discharge of a firearm. - Of the 1,729 officers, 20.2 percent (349) were injured, 79.5 percent (1,374) were not injured, and 0.3 percent (6) died. - Of the 1,729 officers, 1,603 reported use of force to affect arrest/take into custody (1,209), to overcome resistance (381), or to prevent escape (13). Details: Sacramento: The Office, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2018 at: http://www.jrsa.org/pubs/sac-digest/vol-27/ca-ursus-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.jrsa.org/pubs/sac-digest/vol-27/ca-ursus-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 149440 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice StatisticsPolice Use of Force |
Author: Wasserman, Howard M. Title: Police Misconduct, Video Recording, and Procedural Barriers to Rights Enforcement Summary: The story of police reform and of "policing the police" has become the story of video and video evidence, and "record everything to know the truth" has become the singular mantra. Video, both police-created and citizen-created, has become the singular tool for ensuring police accountability, reforming law enforcement, and enforcing the rights of victims of police misconduct. This Article explores procedural problems surrounding the use of video recording and video evidence to counter police misconduct, hold individual officers and governments accountable, and reform departmental policies, regulations, and practices. It considers four issues: 1) the mistaken belief that video can "speak for itself" and the procedural and evidentiary problems flowing from that mistaken belief; 2) the evidentiary advantages video provides police and prosecutors; 3) procedural limits on efforts to enforce a First Amendment right to record, such as qualified immunity and standing; and 4) the effects of video on government decisions to pursue criminal charges against police officers and to settle civil-rights suits alleging police misconduct. Details: Miami: Florida International University, 2017. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 17-48: Accessed March 23, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3086092 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 149554 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolice-Citizen InteractionsVideo Recordings |
Author: Morin, Rich Title: Behind the Badge: Amid protests and calls for reform, how police view their jobs, key issues and recent fatal encounters between blacks and police Summary: Police work has always been hard. Today police say it is even harder. In a new Pew Research Center national survey conducted by the National Police Research Platform, majorities of police officers say that recent high-profile fatal encounters between black citizens and police officers have made their jobs riskier, aggravated tensions between police and blacks, and left many officers reluctant to fully carry out some of their duties. The wide-ranging survey, one of the largest ever conducted with a nationally representative sample of police, draws on the attitudes and experiences of nearly 8,000 policemen and women from departments with at least 100 officers. It comes at a crisis point in America's relationship with the men and women who enforce its laws, precipitated by a series of deaths of black Americans during encounters with the police that have energized a vigorous national debate over police conduct and methods. Within America's police and sheriff's departments, the survey finds that the ramifications of these deadly encounters have been less visible than the public protests, but no less profound. Three-quarters say the incidents have increased tensions between police and blacks in their communities. About as many (72%) say officers in their department are now less willing to stop and question suspicious persons. Overall, more than eight-in-ten (86%) say police work is harder today as a result of these high-profile incidents. At the same time that black Americans are dying in encounters with police, the number of fatal attacks on officers has grown in recent years. About nine-in-ten officers (93%) say their colleagues worry more about their personal safety - a level of concern recorded even before a total of eight officers died in separate ambush-style attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge last July. The survey also finds that officers remain deeply skeptical of the protests that have followed deadly encounters between police and black citizens. Two-thirds of officers (68%) say the demonstrations are motivated to a great extent by anti-police bias; only 10% in a separate question say protesters are similarly motivated by a genuine desire to hold police accountable for their actions. Some two-thirds characterize the fatal encounters that prompted the demonstrations as isolated incidents and not signs of broader problems between police and the black community - a view that stands in sharp contrast with the assessment of the general public. In a separate Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults, 60% say these incidents are symptoms of a deeper problem. A look inside the nation's police departments reveals that most officers are satisfied with their department as a place to work and remain strongly committed to making their agency successful. Still, about half (53%) question whether their department's disciplinary procedures are fair, and seven-in-ten (72%) say that poorly performing officers are not held accountable. Details: Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2017. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2018 at: https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/06171402/Police-Report_FINAL_web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/06171402/Police-Report_FINAL_web.pdf Shelf Number: 149577 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice ReformPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Minority Relations |
Author: Amnesty International Netherlands Title: A Failed Experiment: The Taser-Pilot of the Dutch Police Summary: It is required by recognized international human rights rules and standards as presented in the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials that police agencies have at their disposition a range of means to respond to difficult situations in a differentiated manner. Thus, Amnesty International is not outright opposed to the use of electro-shock weapons in law enforcement in all cases. However, the current use of electro-shock weapons as well as the governing regulations in The Netherlands raise serious concerns and therefore Amnesty International calls the Dutch police to: - suspend the use of electro-shock weapons by all police units currently using them until a suitable legal and operational framework for their use has been set up that is in line with the obligations of The Netherlands under international human rights law and standards and - until this is done - to withdraw all electro-shock weapons distributed; - refrain from widespread distribution of electro-shock weapons in day-to-day policing; - cease any police interventions in mental health institutions in all situations and circumstances that do not amount to immediate life threatening emergencies (e.g. hostage situations). Amnesty International furthermore urges the Dutch government to create a legislative framework governing the use of force that gives due consideration to the obligations of The Netherlands under international human rights law, in particular to regulate, in formal legislation, the use of force in line with the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, including the use of firearms and the use of electro-shock weapons, as well the overall conditions and criteria for police interventions in mental health institutions. This briefing sets out the background to the current pilot project conducted by the Dutch police on the general deployment of electro-shock weapons in day-to-day policing (I.). It further provides a summary of the Amnesty International's main findings regarding the human rights concerns of the first pilot phase as well as the overall set up of the project and its interim evaluation (II.). These findings are then more in detail explained and elaborated in section III., followed by a conclusion and some recommendations (IV.). Details: Amsterdam: Amnesty International Netherlands, 2018. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2018 at: https://www.amnesty.nl/content/uploads/2018/02/A-Failed-Experiment_The-Taser-pilot-of-the-Dutch-Police.pdf?x32866 Year: 2018 Country: Netherlands URL: https://www.amnesty.nl/content/uploads/2018/02/A-Failed-Experiment_The-Taser-pilot-of-the-Dutch-Police.pdf?x32866 Shelf Number: 149679 Keywords: Human Rights AbusesPolice AccountabilityPolice Use of ForceStun GunsTasers |
Author: Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Title: Audit of Victoria Police's oversight of serious incidents Summary: o determine how effectively Victoria Police oversights serious incidents involving its officers, IBAC audited more than 140 oversight files closed by Victoria Police during the 2015/16 financial year. The audit examined Victoria Police's oversight of serious incidents resulting in death and serious injury following police contact. The audit identified that there are aspects of Victoria Police's oversight process that are concerning and which could be improved. When a person dies or is seriously injured following an interaction with police, Victoria Police conducts an oversight of the incident and any subsequent investigation. Victoria Police's oversight process seeks to identify whether the serious incident was preventable or whether improvements could be made to police policies or practices to prevent similar incidents from occurring. Victoria Police also examines whether the investigation of the death or serious injury met the standards expected for handling serious incidents. Victoria Police conducts an oversight in response to the following serious incidents: a death or serious injury resulting from contact between police and the public a death or serious injury to a person in police custody an attempted suicide by a person in police custody an incident involving the discharge of a firearm by police an escape from custody any serious vehicle collision involving police. This report presents the findings of IBAC's audit of Victoria Police oversight files (known as C1-8 files). The audit assessed whether Victoria Police's oversights were thorough and impartial and met the standards required of such reviews. IBAC also examined relevant Victoria Police policies, conducted data analysis, and reviewed case studies. IBAC has made recommendations for Victoria Police to improve its oversight of serious incidents which Victoria Police has accepted. IBAC will monitor how Victoria Police implements these recommendations. The audit is part of an ongoing program of audits that IBAC conducts on how Victoria Police handles complaints. These audits help Victoria Police build capacity to prevent corrupt conduct and police misconduct by identifying areas of improvement around complaint handling. IBAC's audits also identify good practice that could be considered more broadly by Victoria Police. In doing so, audits help build public confidence in the integrity of Victoria Police's processes and in IBAC's independent police oversight role. Details: Melbourne: The Commission, 2018.62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2018 at: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/research-documents/audit-of-victoria-police-oversight-of-serious-incidents.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/research-documents/audit-of-victoria-police-oversight-of-serious-incidents.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Shelf Number: 149710 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice BehaviorPolice MisconductPolice PerformancePolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen Interactions |
Author: DuPey, Bridget Title: Access Denied: Colorado Law Enforcement Refuses Public Access to Records of Police Misconduct Summary: Despite the Colorado state law permitting discretionary release of law enforcement investigation files of alleged police misconduct under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), most jurisdictions routinely deny public records requests for such files. Although the Colorado Supreme Court has mandated that law enforcement records custodians perform a balancing test on a case-by-case basis to decide whether to release these files, custodians generally deny all requests for files irrespective of the nature of alleged misconduct or the outcome of the investigation. This report details the independent research study conducted as a student-faculty collaboration at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law to assess the willingness of law enforcement agencies to release internal affairs files. The study includes two "waves" of requests. The first wave of the study sought logs of internal affairs files during the 2015 and 2016 calendar years from various law enforcement agencies across Colorado. The second wave sought specific internal affairs files from those agencies that provided a sufficient list or log during the first wave of requests, as well as requests for a few additional targeted files of particular public interest. The researchers were ultimately unable to obtain a single complete internal affairs file from any jurisdiction included in the study. The vast majority of agencies denied outright the request or failed to respond. Furthermore, the two isolated jurisdictions that offered to process the request assessed cost-prohibitive fees for processing. Despite state open records laws explicitly intended to promote public transparency and accountability among government actors, this study illustrates that Coloradans remain largely in the dark with regard to allegations and investigations of police misconduct. Indeed, most law enforcement agencies are categorically unwilling to allow public access to internal affairs files. To achieve the intent behind state open records law, the Colorado General Assembly should amend the CCJRA to require public release upon request of completed internal affairs investigations, a policy in line with at least a dozen other states. Details: Denver, CO: University of Denver - Sturm College of Law, 2017. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: U Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 18-05: Accessed April 9, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3136011 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3136011 Shelf Number: 149731 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Internal AffairsPolice MisconductPolice RecordsPolice Use of Force |
Author: Lancia, Amanda Title: Policing and the Dirty Underbelly: Understanding Narratives of Police Deviance on Social Media Platforms Summary: Policing organizations have been quick to adopt the use of social media as a community policing and investigative tool. However, the user-generated content on social media platforms can pose a risk to police legitimacy, police accountability, and their role as the 'authorized knowers'. This thesis explores how social media problematizes the social problems game and how social media challenges the police as the 'authorized knowers'. Through the analysis of two case studies - #myNYPD campaign and the Walter Scott shooting - it was found that social media users can use social media platforms to construct claims against and challenge police in the social problems game through the circulation of user-generated content. It was discovered that images and videos play a significant role in the social problems game, and the challenging of the police. The authority that the police have with traditional media differs from the relationship they have with social media. This is because social media becomes much more difficult to control, especially with the interpretive flexibility of images and video. It was found that police still engage in counter-claims making activities through traditional media outlets to counteract claims made online, but that social media also provides a new platform for counter-claims making activities. Details: Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 18, 2018 at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2987&context=etd Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2987&context=etd Shelf Number: 149848 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice InvestigationsPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductSocial Media |
Author: Schwartz, David Title: Harnessing Power: Exploring Citizen's Use of Networked Technologies to Promote Police Accountability Summary: In this examination of citizen surveillance, I engage with Foucaultian and Deleuzian conceptualizations of surveillance, power, resistance, control, and desire, to explore the motivation(s) of community members who film and disseminate footage of the police. Methodologically, I conducted semi-structured interviews with community stakeholders to study the latent thematic ideas embedded in their responses. These themes represent the underlying motivational factors a citizen surveiller may have when filming the police. In my analysis of these themes, I explore: citizen surveillers' logic for resisting power; citizen surveillers' understandings of power; and, citizen surveillers' reported approaches to both passive and active forms of resistance. Subsequently, there appears to be an underlying desire for power and a resistance to power when filming the police. However, given the exploratory nature of this study, there is a need to continue investigating the theoretical and under substantiated claims about citizen surveillance and its association with race, gender and socio-economic status. Details: Ottawa: University of Ottawa, 2016. 146p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 19, 2018 at: https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/35338/1/Schwartz_David_2016_thesis.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Canada URL: https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/35338/1/Schwartz_David_2016_thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 149852 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice TechnologyPrivacyVideo Surveillance |
Author: West, Darrell M. Title: Benefits and Best Practices of Safe City Innovation Summary: Public safety is an important aspect of contemporary life. In a world that is chaotic, dangerous, and volatile, it is hard for there to be economic prosperity and social cohesion without some degree of safety. People need security in order to live day-to-day and undertake business and communications. This is especially the case in regard to cities. According to UNICEF, 70 percent of people around the world will live in cities by the Cities face a variety of implementation challenges, such as poor funding, infrastructure difficulties, public resistance, a lack of technical expertise, and privacy and security concerns. Implementation of public safety solutions represents a major challenge in many different places, and it is crucial for leaders to overcome these barriers in order to achieve the benefits of public safety innovation. Solutions such as CCTV cameras, police body cameras, integrated command centers using broadband trunking, social media safety alerts, and predictive data analysis show great promise as tools for law enforcement. Many factors affect technology innovation in the public sector. This includes the level of financial investment, crime rates, safety considerations, openness to technology solutions, and the strength of the digital infrastructure in particular countries. But government policy is especially important because officials make investments that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector operations. The way in which they handle modernization strategies matters a lot in terms of innovation and service delivery. There are many opportunities for cities to build their economies and promote social inclusion through public safety innovation. Cities can encourage greater innovation by increasing budget investments in digital infrastructure, building public support, using crowd-sourcing platforms to encourage citizen participation, breaking down organizational stovepipes through technology, overcoming organizational resistance, making data openly available, deploying data analytics, integrating solutions, figuring out how to balance privacy and security concerns, and identifying opportunities for improvement. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Technology Innovation (CTI) at Brookings, 2017. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 26, 2018 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/safe-city-innovation_final.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/safe-city-innovation_final.pdf Shelf Number: 149914 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCCTVPolice AccountabilityPolice TechnologyPolice Use of ForcePolicingPublic SafetyPublic SecurityVideo Surveillance |
Author: Cox, Stacie Leigh Title: Law Enforcement Attitudes of Current Public and Departmental Surveillance Technologies: A Qualitative Case Study of the Toronto Police Service Summary: This thesis explores the perceptions of front-line police officers surrounding synoptic and panoptic surveillance and the implications of police body-worn cameras on community relations, citizen's recording devices and police practice. The study involves a qualitative approach that utilized one-on-one, semi-structured interviews, in which participants were those members of the Toronto Police Service who wore body-worn cameras during an earlier pilot study of the device conducted by the Toronto Police Service. Police as a sampling group are very exclusive and hard to gain access to, as such this study relied on a snowball sampling strategy which resulted in a sample size of 7. While sample size is a major limitation of this study, these 7 interviews provided rich data that were able to provide a valuable and humanizing dialogue of police officers. Transcriptions of interviews were collected and thematically analyzed, resulting in commonalities among participant responses. These commonalities suggest that officers involved in the piloting project that were interviewed share similar perceptions and concerns of this new technology, whether it be positive or negative. Themes that were established include: Context; Synoptic Surveillance; Accountability; Police and Community Relationship and Trust; Impact on Officer's Job, Career and Routine; Officer Repercussions & Protection from Accusations; Officer Change in Behaviour Due to Surveillance Devices; Officer Physical Safety; Citizens Behavioural Changes and Reactions Body-Worn Cameras; Social Media; Privacy Concerns; Officers Favourability toward Wearing Body-Worn Cameras; and the Overall Impact Body-Worn Cameras have on Policing. Participants reported while this surveillance tool is beneficial in theory, in practice the implications of this device are increasingly negative on police practice and community relations. Study results are framed using contemporary theories of surveillance and concepts central to police legitimacy, and for the purpose of this research the culmination of these notions has been termed the Surveillance Accountability Framework. The concerns surrounding police body-worn cameras raised by this research should be considered for further research and improvement, particularly due to the increasing amount of police services planning on adopting this new technology. Details: Kingston, ONT: Queen's University, 2017. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 26, 2018 at: https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/handle/1974/22788/Cox_Stacie_L_201709_MA.pdf?sequence=2 Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/handle/1974/22788/Cox_Stacie_L_201709_MA.pdf?sequence=2 Shelf Number: 149919 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice SurveillancePolice TechnologySurveillance |
Author: Pape, Edward Allen, Jr. Title: Intersect Policing: Bringing CompStat to the Field Level to Reduce the Fear and Incidence of Crime Summary: CompStat is a computerized crime tracking system that was introduced by the New York City Police Department in 1994 and has been adopted by police departments around the world. The CompStat process acts as an accountability system that calls for commanding officers to reduce the fear and incidence of crime. While the nationwide reduction in crime over the past two decades may be partially attributed to CompStat, the system has also created tension in many police organizations. In addition, it currently fails to involve line members of the organization, those who actually perform the work, in the crime reduction process. In many departments, CompStat has morphed into a bureaucratic monster, creating a culture of fear that has damaged morale and diminished its effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to develop a real-time operating system, using CompStat as a strategic tool, to accomplish the purpose of law enforcement by including the knowledge and experiences from all sworn officers and others with a stake in reducing crime. As the Commanding Officer of Detectives assigned to West Valley Area of the Los Angeles Police Department, I instituted a system, which I termed Intersect Policing, which is coined from Frans Johansson's book (2004), The Medici Effect. This report describes the development and results achieved through the use of Intersect Policing. This work required the use of others' research including performance management, principles of behavior, organizational change, systems, core values, human capability, mental processing ability, mythologies, culture, communication, networking, and organizational learning. Key elements were based on the CompStat model of performance management, Macdonald et al. (2006) Systems Leadership Theory and Johansson's Medici Effect. The study encompassed two years during which the West Valley Area exceeded the average reduction in crime of the entire LAPD, which has continued as of this writing. Although based on a single case, the evidence strongly suggests that Intersect Policing can assist police departments to achieve the purpose of law enforcement, reduce the fear and incidence of crime, change mythologies and culture, and improve morale. Creating an Intersection where all stakeholders in the crime reduction process can communicate and exchange ideas enables police departments to achieve the purpose of law enforcement. Details: Los Angeles: University of Southern California, 2012. 407p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 27, 2018 at: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll3/id/96435 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll3/id/96435 Shelf Number: 149921 Keywords: CompStatCrime Analysis Police AccountabilityPolice Administration Police ManagementPolice Performance |
Author: Timpf, Mark L. Title: Police Reforms: identifying the potential adverse impacts and challenges to law enforcement agencies Summary: his thesis examines the issue of police reform and considers whether a causal connection exists between the reforms being implemented by law enforcement agencies and the issue of police disengagement or de-policing. The two most salient reforms, the Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing and the Police Executive Research Forum's Guiding Principles on the Use of Force, are currently in the process of being adopted and implemented in many law enforcement agencies, which is a process that will take many months if not years to complete. To provide some insight into how these reforms will affect these agencies, three case studies examined police departments currently under federal supervision from either the Department of Justice or the federal court to determine how they impacted officer activity. These studies considered the reform process along with the individual reforms adopted in each agency and examined the levels of officer activity to determine how they were impacted by these reforms. These results were then examined in the context of current research and officer surveys to assist in interpreting the reported declines in officer activity. These findings have possible implications for law enforcement agencies that adopt the reforms in the Final Report and Guiding Principles. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Post Graduate School, 2017. 154p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 27, 2018 at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/56823/17Dec_Timpf_Mark.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/56823/17Dec_Timpf_Mark.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 149924 Keywords: Law Enforcement Agencies Police AccountabilityPolice Legitimacy Police Reform |
Author: Big Brother Watch Title: Smile you're on body worn camera. Part II - Police. The use of body worn cameras by UK police forces Summary: Smile you're on Body Worn Camera Part II - Police reveals for the first time the investment police in the UK have made in equipping frontline officers with body worn cameras. Since 2010 the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and politicians have enthusiastically promoted the roll out of body worn cameras. The public have been told the technology is a critical tool in reducing violence against officers, improving transparency in police/public relations, assisting the police with the number of guilty pleas they obtain and will play an essential role in speeding up justice by being used as evidence in court. Off the back of such enthusiasm we felt it necessary to investigate how many police forces had invested in the technology, how many cameras were being used by frontline staff and if the benefits lived up to the promises promulgated by the various groups. Responses to our Freedom of Information request reveals that 71% have adopted the technology, with a total spend of $22,703,235 on 47,922 body worn cameras. This is a huge increase from 2010 when the police told us in response to a Freedom of Information request that they had spent $2.2million on 2,843 cameras. 1 With such an increase in investment it would be logical to assume that the police had determined conclusively that the technology was indispensable and worthy of such substantial spending, and that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could show the extent to which footage from body worn cameras has benefitted conviction rates. However, this is not the case. Neither the police nor CPS could provide us with data relating to the use of footage in criminal proceedings. This makes it impossible to verify the promise of improved convictions based on the use of the technology. Furthermore, publicly available findings from the police regarding the outcome of the trials of the technology reveal inconclusive proof of the benefits to frontline policing and the public, and ongoing concerns with the technology itself. Meanwhile, academic research shows that the way the cameras are deployed can impact the safety and security of the police and public alike. If the plan for future policing is to provide every frontline officer with a body worn camera, proof of purpose is vital. Our findings reveal that such proof is far from conclusive. In light of our findings we make three policy recommendations: 1. Data must be collated and published to show how often body worn camera footage is used as evidence during court proceedings and in obtaining early guilty pleas. 2. Forces must publish regular transparency reports to show how body worn cameras are being used in day to day policing. 3. Forces should ensure that all body worn cameras deployed feature a visual aid and screen showing clearly when the citizen when they are being filmed. Protection of data when at rest or in transit must be standard. Key Findings Based on responses from 45 police forces2 - 47,922 body worn cameras have been purchased by UK police forces. - 32 Forces (71%) use body worn cameras. - 4 Forces (9%) were in the process of beginning trials or were planning on rolling out body worn cameras for the first time. - 6 forces (12%) do not use body worn cameras and do not have any trials or roll outs planned. - In total $22,703,235 has been spent on body worn cameras. - Neither the CPS nor the police told us how often footage has been used in court proceedings. - 19 forces use body worn cameras made by Reveal. - Axon (formerly trading as Taser International), supply 26,935 cameras to forces, including the three largest police forces in England the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Midlands Police. - 3 forces provided us with information relating to trials of body worn cameras which had been undertaken. Details: London: Big Brother Watch, 2017. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2018 at: https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smile-Youre-on-Body-Worn-Camera-Part-II-Police.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smile-Youre-on-Body-Worn-Camera-Part-II-Police.pdf Shelf Number: 149980 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCriminal InvestigationsPolice AccountabilityPolice InvestigationPolice SurveillancePolice Technology |
Author: Levine, Kate Title: Discipline and Policing Summary: A prime focus of police reform advocates is the transparency of police discipline. Indeed, transparency is one of if not the most popular accountability solutions for a wide swath of policing problems. This Article examines the "transparency cure" as it applies to Police Disciplinary Records ("PDRs"). These records are part of an officer's personnel file and contain reported wrongdoing from supervisors, Internal Affairs Bureaus, and Citizen Complaint Review Boards. This Article argues that making PDRs public is worthy of skeptical examination. First, it problematizes the notion that transparency is a worthy end-goal for those who desire to see police reform in general. Transparency is often seen as a solution with no downside, but this Article argues that, in the realm of PDRs, it comes with at least two major tradeoffs: first making PDRs public will not lead to the accountability that advocates seek, and in fact may cause retrenchment from police departments. Second, transparency on an individual level necessarily comes with major privacy tradeoffs. The problem with individualized transparency is not theoretical. in fact, it has been much critiqued by scholars in a different but comparable realm: the wide dissemination of criminal records. PDRs and criminal records have similar problems: due process issues, inaccuracy, arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, and permanent reputational harm. Indeed, the rhetoric used by law enforcement to defend their privacy rights sounds almost identical to the critiques scholars make of criminal record transparency. This Article argues that the comparison of PDRs and Criminal Records is instructive because it allows us to view criminal records through a new lens. As with criminal record publication, forced PDR transparency will likely not solve the problems advocates hope it will. Thus, the Article concludes that a more nuanced regime should be put in place for PDRs, and that advocates should use law enforcement rhetoric to support a more privacy-protective regime for criminal records. Details: Unpublished paper, 2018. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3130980 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3130980 Shelf Number: 150124 Keywords: Criminal ProcedurePolice AccountabilityPolice DisciplinePolicing |
Author: New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board Title: A Mutated Rule: Lack of Enforcement in the Face of Persistent Chokehold Incidents in New York City Summary: For more than 20 years, the NYPD Patrol Guide has prohibited the use of chokeholds, relying on a Police Department rule that unequivocally forbids any pressure to the neck, throat or windpipe that may inhibit breathing. This rule was plainly intended to prohibit all chokeholds. As defined, chokeholds, though not illegal, are unambiguously prohibited by Department policy. This report reveals that officers have continued to perform chokeholds and, based on the complaints the CCRB received from the public, the use of chokeholds appears to be increasing despite the Patrol Guide prohibition. It also reveals that this crystal clear prohibition has been degraded over the course of the last decade. Put simply, during the last decade, the NYPD disciplinary decisions in NYPD administrative trials of chokehold allegations failed to enforce the clear mandate of the Patrol Guide chokehold rule. In response to these decisions which failed to hold offending officers accountable, the CCRB and NYPD Department Advocate's Office failed to charge officers with chokehold violations pursuant to the mandate of the Patrol Guide chokehold rule. In essence, in their respective charging decisions, the CCRB and the Department Advocate redefined a "chokehold" to require force to the neck during which an officer actually and substantially interfered with a complainant's breathing rather than "pressure" to the neck which "may" interfere with breathing. In this respect the chokehold rule "mutated" to adapt to the NYPD disciplinary process, rather than the disciplinary process following the NYPD rule. This pragmatic redefinition of the rule in response to the NYPD's systematic refusal to impose discipline in all but the most severe chokehold cases, evolved into an unwritten, much less protective definition: actual and sustained interference with breathing was substituted for the Patrol Guide's clear and unequivocal prohibition of any pressure to the neck which "may" inhibit breathing. In essence, inadequate disciplinary practices transplanted the heart of the chokehold rule during a period in which, as the number of chokehold complaints suggests, chokehold incidents were increasing. The NYPD's blanket prohibition of chokeholds should be restored and uniformly enforced. Details: New York: The Civilian Complaint Review Board, 2014. 155p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 24, 2018 at: Lack of Enforcement in the Face of Persistent Chokehold Incidents in New York City Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: Lack of Enforcement in the Face of Persistent Chokehold Incidents in New York City Shelf Number: 150359 Keywords: ChokeholdsCitizen ComplaintsPolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice DiscliplinePolice Use of Force |
Author: New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board Title: Worth a Thousand Words: Examining Officer Interference in Civilian Recordings of Police Summary: Today, the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the nation's largest independent police oversight entity, released a new report revealing insights into officer interference with civilian recordings of police interactions. The report, - Worth a Thousand Words: Examining Officer Interference with Civilian Recordings of Police,‖ reviews complaints filed against members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and is among the first analyses in the country of this type of misconduct. - Technology has greatly increased civilians' ability to record and share video of police encounters-as is their First Amendment right. This has increased transparency and debate about safe and fair policing. As these recordings become more prevalent, our police force must be prepared for the profound ways that video will shape police practices,‖ said CCRB Chair Maya D. Wiley. -This report is a step in that direction. It shows how New York City Police Department officers have interfered with civilian recordings of police activity and provides important recommendations for Patrol Guide revisions and improved officer training to help officers better understand and respect this First Amendment right. The report is a quantitative and qualitative analysis of three years of CCRB complaints in which civilians reported that officers had interfered with their ability to record police activity. Over this period, 257 complaints-less than two percent of the 15,006 CCRB complaints closed over three years-included allegations of officer interference with civilian recordings. These 257 complaints included 347 allegations that directly addressed officer interference with civilian recordings of police activity. That interference included verbal interference like directing civilians to stop recording; physical interference like knocking a recording device out of a civilian's hands; blocking recordings like physically obstructing a civilian's camera view of a scene; and intimidation like threatening to arrest or detain a civilian for recording an interaction. Verbal interference accounted for 24 percent of these complaints, while physical interference accounted for 46 percent of the complaints. Thirty percent of these complaints included allegations of both verbal and physical interference. In issuing its dispositions on allegations of recording interference during the past three years, the CCRB found in: - Twenty-eight percent of the allegations that the misconduct occurred (substantiated); - Forty-two percent of the allegations that not enough evidence was available to determine whether misconduct occurred (unsubstantiated); - Eleven percent of the allegations that the conduct occurred but was lawful (exonerated); and - Six percent of the allegations that the misconduct did not occur (unfounded). CCRB Executive Director Jonathan Darche said, -Interference in civilians' recordings of police activity impedes the Board's ability to make fact-based determinations about alleged misconduct and is a disservice to all involved in an investigation-officers and civilians alike. More video from more sources improves the Board's ability to determine if an allegation of misconduct happened, didn't happen, or happened but was lawful under the circumstances. In addition to urging the NYPD to more fully engage with community organizations on this issue, the Board recommends adding a new section to the NYPD Patrol Guide with more comprehensive language that better outlines the obligations of officers and civilians. This guidance should do the following: - State that members of the public are permitted to record officer activity in public and private settings, provided that the recording party has a legal right to be present; - More clearly define what constitutes -interference with a civilian's right to record and explain what types of prohibited conduct hinder a civilian's ability to record; - Reiterate that civilians are not permitted to record if doing so interferes with police activity or jeopardizes the safety of officers or members of the public; - Instruct officers to redirect recording civilians, when necessary, to a position that will not interfere with police activity, rather than tell civilians to stop recording; and - Emphasize that members of service are, under most circumstances, not permitted to search or seize recording devices without a warrant and are prohibited from ever deleting recordings or destroying or damaging the devices themselves. This report underscores a need for members of the public to be aware of their First Amendment right to record police activity, which is only limited by a specific set of conditions. At the same time, analysis of police interference highlights the need for clearer guidance for NYPD officers on how they respond to civilian recordings of interactions so that police respect civilians' First Amendment liberties while ensuring the safety of the officers and civilians involved in an interaction. Details: New York: The Complaint Review Board, 2017. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 24, 2018 at: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/ccrb/downloads/pdf/20172806_report_recordinginterference.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/ccrb/downloads/pdf/20172806_report_recordinginterference.pdf Shelf Number: 150363 Keywords: Citizen ComplaintsPolice AccountabilityPolice MisconductPolice-Citizen InteractionsVideo Recordings |
Author: Liddell, Marg Title: Evaluation of the Walking Alongside Program (WAP) Summary: This report on the evaluation of the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre's (FKCLC) Walking Alongside Program (WAP) presents findings on the extent to which the outcomes of the program have fulfilled its objectives to date. The WAP is a socio-legal support program for young people of Sudanese and other African migrant/refugee backgrounds pursuing police accountability through often long-running legal actions. It was developed as an adjunct to the FKCLC's Police Accountability Project (PAP)in recognition of its client group's vulnerability and need for ongoing support. The outcome objectives this evaluation set out to measure include enhanced legal, health and educational outcomes; enhanced police accountability; improvements in health and well-being; enhanced community capacity, safety and resilience; reduction in social exclusion and barriers to justice; and whether the WAP is an effective model for replication. A qualitative approach to the evaluation was taken involving interviews and case file analysis. Academic and policy literature on the themes of hope, social exclusion, wellbeing, and community capacity was reviewed as these represent important aspects of the migrant/refugee resettlement experience. While the complexity and overlap of these concepts is acknowledged in the literature, a general consensus emerges about their core meanings, as we discuss. We also consider the literature on therapeutic jurisprudence since this principle underpins the FKCLCs approach to its work. The assumption is that legal processes and interactions can have both harmful and helpful consequences. The FKCLC clearly sees its role as remedying any harmful effects and promoting access to justice for individuals and communities in the inner west region of Melbourne and beyond. These themes are central to the WAP and highlight the important role this kind of program plays to ensure that migrants and refugees in the Flemington and Kensington area (and elsewhere) are welcomed, supported and treated as equal members of our multicultural society. That is not, however, to downplay or disregard the rich diversity within and between communities. The emphasis on participant-driven evaluation in the literature cautions against adopting predetermined constructs or measures. We acknowledge, therefore, that the construct 'refugee youth' itself "can mask the diverse ways in which a young person from a refugee background experiences the world" (Brough et al. 2003: 195): as a young black person, man, woman, migrant, refugee, African, Somalian, Sudanese, Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, for example. The literature highlights the need to allow and encourage interviewees to give voice to their own experience, rather than impose preconceived measures upon them. Also that in-depth narrative accounts provide a rich source of qualitative data about both individual and shared experience. We prepared interview questions that were designed to elicit and capture narrative accounts of the views and experiences of WAP participants, their family members, and support professionals. Thematic content analysis of the qualitative data provided the basis for this evaluation. A total of thirteen interviews were conducted. The very low take-up rate for interviews with WAP participants - only four were possible - reflects these young people's vulnerability, disengagement, and the difficulty gaining access to this group. Some of the professionals interviewed referred to a period of six to nine months needed to gain their trust. This timeframe extended beyond that available for the evaluation. Interview data was therefore supplemented by analysis of twenty WAP files, which enabled the researchers to obtain a broader picture of the role of the youth engagement officers (YEOs) as well as a view on whether the overall objectives of the WAP had been met. Difficulties also arose in locating family members to interview, with only one coming forward. Eight professionals were interviewed: three from FKCLC, and five support professionals who worked with the same group of young people or with other disengaged youth in the Western region. Although the sample was small, data from the file analysis and individual interviews indicated that most of the objectives of the WAP were being met. Frequent accolades of the YEO, both past and current, related especially to their unconditional care and positive regard for the young people and their families, and their ability to work collaboratively with other services to provide holistic case management. Interviews with professionals reflected a deep understanding of the WAP client group and many referred to this group's vulnerability and disengagement from family, community and the service system. The professionals commented on the value of the PAP and the WAP and the importance of the notion of 'walking alongside' people engaged in protracted human rights litigation. All professionals indicated that the YEO was able to undertake tasks that they were often unable to, due to the flexibility of the YEO's role in providing unlimited and unconditional support, regardless of the client's situation. They believed that, without the YEO, many of the young people would not have pursued or continued with their police accountability cases. The advocacy role of the YEO was pivotal in raising awareness of the plight of the people linked to both the WAP and the PAP. This was reinforced with examples of over-policing and discrimination. While there were criticisms of police there were also comments that some police engaged positively with African young people in inner west Melbourne. The overwhelming view expressed was that more police needed to understand and be prepared to engage in an appropriate and respectful manner with African migrants/refugees. WAP participants interviewed indicated the value of the program, with reference to the YEO's ability to stick with them or "hang in there" with young people "no matter what." Participants felt that this helped the young people combat a sense of helplessness and to feel empowered, more confident to pursue their rights. For some this had translated into an ability to advocate for themselves and others, leading their peers in ways to effectively respond to police and to become model responsible citizens. Testament to the YEO's commitment was that WAP clients maintained and/or resumed contact with them. Support and interpretation of court proceedings by the YEO enabled the legal and non-legal proceedings to be brought together and this reduced the stress for the WAP clients. This was important for not just the FKCLC staff but for other staff working with the WAP clients. All those interviewed, including the WAP clients, felt that there was value in the WAP concept being replicated in other community legal centres. They felt that as well as human rights and police accountability cases it could be extended to support people involved in criminal and civil litigation. This was reinforced in comments that the YEO was able to provide systemic advocacy and be inclusive and collaborative in her work with a range of services, both legal and non-legal. Without the WAP the participants felt that "things would return to the way they were" and this would mean a reduction in police accountability. It would also mean that young people would have no place to go when they felt that they were being targeted or discriminated against. All interviewees referred to there being insufficient funding and time for the current YEO position. All thought that the funding should be extended as this would give the YEO greater capacity to assist more young people, as well as advocate for change in the way that young people are dealt with in legal, criminal and civil proceedings. While the data sets were small, sufficient information emerged to determine that the WAP objectives were being met, and to support the recommendation that the program be continued and extended. Recommendations From the findings of this evaluation, we recommend the following: 1. The Youth Engagement Officer (YEO) should be funded to cover more days of the week - currently the position is funded for three days. 2. Consideration should be given to employing an additional YEO. 3. The funding for the Walking Alongside Program (WAP) should be extended to include more time: - to work with police to improve the collaborative relationships between police and the young people being supported by the WAP - while this is currently being undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer of the Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre (FKCLC) there is clearly a role for a YEO in this process; - to be able to provide support to more people over more days of the week; - to make improvements to the internal procedures in managing the cases; - so that collection of information from the point at which the Youth Engagement Officers commences contact with the Police Accountability Program and vice versa can be documented and internal file sharing and file management can be streamlined. 4. Consideration should be given for FKCLC to take a leadership and advocacy role to assist other Community Legal Centres to undertake legal and non-legal advocacy work. This could include: - Human rights and public interest litigation - Criminal and civil litigation. This emphasis should be on the collaborative role of the YEO to facilitate, support and advocate for program participants' access to the range of services required to meet their wider social and emotional needs. 5. FKCLC and the YEO should use these findings to continue to raise awareness, as Higgs (2013) suggests, of: - the value of giving young people hope to develop pathways away from behaviours that are harmful to themselves and others; - the need to recognise and acknowledge injustices that many young people experience and work to remedy these to improve their overall well-being; - the need to establish more inclusionary practices so that young people can feel part of a community of care, within the broader community. 6. Recognising that the FKCLC has helped clients to become advocates and peer leaders, we recommend this model be expanded to train other young people as mentors to work alongside the YEO and the community. 7. While the study was small there were sufficient comments on police behaviour to suggest that police training be enhanced to include anti-bias training. A recent example of six young African men being asked to leave an Apple store suggests that such bias is a wider community problem. 8. Further qualitative research (such as life narratives and participant observations- see Fangen 2010) is required to explore and raise awareness of the problems African youth and their families encounter in settling in a new country, given the traumatic experiences they have often faced in their home country. Details: Melbourne: RMIT University, 2015. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 31, 2018 at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diana_Johns/publication/304269475_Evaluation_of_the_Walking_Alongside_Program_WAP/links/576b612808aef2a864d211ae/Evaluation-of-the-Walking-Alongside-Program-WAP.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diana_Johns/publication/304269475_Evaluation_of_the_Walking_Alongside_Program_WAP/links/576b612808aef2a864d211ae/Evaluation-of-the-Walking-Alongside-Program-WAP.pdf Shelf Number: 150413 Keywords: Asylum SeekersMigrantsPolice AccountabilityPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsPolice-Juvenile RelationsRefugees |
Author: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. New York Advisory Committee Title: The Civil Rights Implications of "Broken Windows" Policing in NYC and General NYPD Accountability to the Public Summary: The New York Advisory Committee (Committee) submits this report, "The Civil Rights Implications of "Broken Windows" Policing in NYC and General NYPD Accountability to the Public," as part of its responsibility to advise the Commission on Civil Rights issues within New York State. Beginning in Fall 2016, the Committee set out to review the effects of New York Police Department (the "NYPD") low level offense enforcement practices on individuals of color, with a particular emphasis on youth, as well as the accountability structures and oversight mechanisms governing the NYPD. The Committee held two days of public briefings on these issues in New York City on March 20 and March 21, 2017. Testimony was provided to the Committee by 27 persons on 11 panels. The presenters were academics, government officials and advocates with particular expertise on the matters covered by this report. The Committee also held interviews with senior leadership of the NYPD on February 13, February 15 and December 19, 2017 to garner the NYPD's perspective. This report summarizes important information from the presenters' testimony, written submissions, publicly available information, and interviews with senior leadership of the NYPD. The report provides recommendations based on the information received. The Advisory Committee trusts the Commission and the public will find the material in this report informative. Details: Washington, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2018. 173p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 1, 2018 at: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/03-22-NYSAC.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/03-22-NYSAC.pdf Shelf Number: 150428 Keywords: Broken Windows PolicingCivil Rights AbusesPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice-Citizen InteractionsRacial Disparities |
Author: Higgins, Andy Title: The Future of Neighbourhood Policing Summary: Neighbourhood policing is widely regarded as the 'bedrock' of British policing. However, as forces have adapted their operating models to new funding and demand challenges, the form in which it is delivered has diversified, and in some places diminished. Concerns have been raised that the ability of the police to prevent crime may be undermined if neighbourhood teams are eroded. 'Hybrid' roles (for example, combining neighbourhood functions with response or investigation work) have been introduced and some officers are no longer attached to specific localities. The meaning of neighbourhood policing is becoming more ambiguous and agreement on what it is and how it should function risks breaking down. At the same time, many neighbourhoods are themselves changing, becoming more diverse and dissimilar. Arguably, their policing needs are becoming more difficult to identify and understand. The focus of policing has also changed, with new emphases on 'hidden' harm and vulnerability. These have been added to or superseded previous local policing objectives such as promoting public confidence, providing visible reassurance and tackling crime and antisocial behaviour in public spaces. Details: London: Police Foundation, 2018. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 1, 2018 at: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/2017/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TPFJ6112-Neighbourhood-Policing-Report-WEB.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/2017/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TPFJ6112-Neighbourhood-Policing-Report-WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 150430 Keywords: Community PolicingNeighborhood PolicingPolice AccountabilityPolice LegitimacyPolice ReformPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Title: Audit of complaints investigated by Professional Standards Command, Victoria Police Summary: As part of our work to determine how effectively Victoria Police handles complaints against police officers, IBAC audited how PSC handled a sample of complaint files, consisting of 59 investigations out of the 221 investigations finalised by PSC in 2015/16. The 59 files selected for audit by IBAC covered complaint investigations that concerned more serious allegations made about Victoria Police officers. These matters included allegations of assault, improper criminal associations, drug use or possession offences, sexual offences, handling stolen goods, threats to kill, interference in investigations, and misuse of information. The audit identified a number of concerns regarding PSC's complaint handling that require improvement. Practices that require improvement include: Poor management of conflicts of interest: The vast majority of files audited (95 per cent) did not explicitly identify or address actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest between investigators and subject officers. Failure to consistently consult with the Office of Public Prosecutions: Victoria Police did not consistently consult with the Office of Public Prosecutions in relation to reportable offences as required under section 127(2) of the Victoria Police Act 2013. Inadequate recommended actions: IBAC auditors disagreed with the action Victoria Police recommended in 15 per cent of files. This included two matters where it appeared the Assistant Commissioner of PSC downgraded the recommended disciplinary action without providing clear reasons. Probity concerns: The audit identified some PSC investigators had complaint histories that raised issues of concern and could adversely affect community confidence in the outcome of investigations. Inappropriate file classification: The way complaint files are classified by PSC determines how they are managed. Issues were identified with the way the work file classification (known as a C1-0 file) is used. The audit found the approach adopted by PSC means this classification is being used well beyond its stated purpose of undertaking preliminary inquiries. For example, the work file classification was used for complaints that contained clear allegations of criminality off-duty (C3-3 file) or corruption (C3-4 file). The practice of reclassifying a matter as a work file after an investigation had been completed, on the basis that the file contained 'intelligence only', was also considered inappropriate. One of the risks in allowing files to be reclassified as work files on closure is that complaint investigations can be closed prematurely. Failure to recommend broader organisational improvements: PSC investigators identified a range of possible policy and procedural improvements in 27 per cent of files. However, no files formally recommended 'action on any identified deficiency in Victoria Police premises, equipment, policies, practices or procedures' as is recommended in the Victoria Police Manual. This is despite the fact that some of the recommendations made by PSC investigators identified opportunities for broader application of findings and improvements across the organisation. Details: Melbourne: The Commission, 2018. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2018 at: http://apo.org.au/system/files/179431/apo-nid179431-874266.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/system/files/179431/apo-nid179431-874266.pdf Shelf Number: 150637 Keywords: Citizen ComplaintsComplaints Against the PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice CorruptionPolice Misconduct |
Author: Victoria. Parliament. Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission Committee Title: Inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria Summary: In 2016, the Independent Broad‑based Anti‑Corruption Commission Committee's Strengthening Victoria's integrity agencies report identified concerns among stakeholders about the transparency, impartiality and effectiveness of the current police complaint‑handling and oversight systems in Victoria. Some stakeholders called for the establishment of a new, independent body to receive, handle and investigate all complaints about police, instead of Victoria Police and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), along the lines of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI). In response to these concerns, the Committee determined in July 2016 to inquire into the external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria, including the effectiveness of the complaints and police oversight systems. Police play a vital role in society in preventing crime, enforcing the law and protecting and assisting the community on a day‑to‑day basis. Their work is complex and demanding and can be extremely challenging.ii In order to meet these demands and effectively carry out their duties, police are provided with significant powers, strictly governed by the law, to detain, search and use force against individuals. The community expects these powers to be used lawfully and that police officers will be accountable for their actions. The community's trust and confidence in the police is reinforced by the effective, 'independent and objective' oversight of its complaints handling, which contributes to the accountability of police in a democratic society.iii However, there has been considerable, and continuing, debate about how that independent oversight of police ought to be institutionalised and exercised. iv A key issue in this debate is how to strike an appropriate balance between police responsibility for managing the conduct of their members and an external agency's oversight and investigation of complaints about police. In examining this issue, the Committee has explored the relevant research, evaluated the evidence it has received and sought to learn from interstate and international experience as well as best practice principles. Details: Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer, 2018. 432p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2018 at: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/IBACC/report/IBACC_58-06_Text_WEB.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/IBACC/report/IBACC_58-06_Text_WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 151432 Keywords: Complaints Against the Police Police AccountabilityPolice Corruption Police Integrity Police Misconduct |
Author: Redgrave, Harvey Title: Examining the case for justice devolution Summary: What is meant by 'justice devolution'? Why is it needed and what difference will it actually make to people's lives? In a world of rising demand and shrinking budgets, justice devolution is firmly on the agenda and there is growing interest in and support for the idea of a more localised justice system. Harvey Redgrave's report for the think tank GovernUp argues that it no longer makes sense for government to continue tinkering around the edges, attempting top-down reform of individual criminal justice agencies from above. Instead, local leaders should be empowered to join up services from the bottom up - in order to deal with the root cause of crime - rather than managing its consequences and to ensure services can be built around the needs of victims. Details: London: Crest Advisory, 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2018 at: http://crestadvisory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/governup-harvey-redgrave-justice-devolution-report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://crestadvisory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/governup-harvey-redgrave-justice-devolution-report.pdf Shelf Number: 151603 Keywords: Criminal Justice AdministrationCriminal Justice ReformCriminal Justice SystemDecentralizationPolice AccountabilityPolice Performance |
Author: Hyland, Shelley Title: Body-Worn Cameras in Law Enforcement Agencies, 2016 Summary: Presents data on body-worn camera (BWCs) use and non-use in general-purpose law enforcement agencies for 2016. Data from agencies with BWCs include number acquired, deployment, policy coverage, access to footage, and obstacles to use. For agencies without BWCs, data include alternate types of recording devices, primary reasons for not obtaining BWCs, and consideration of BWCs in the next 12 months. Highlights: - In 2016, 47 percent of general-purpose law enforcement agencies in the United States had acquired body-worn cameras (BWCs). - The main reasons (about 80 percent each) that local police and sheriffs' offices had acquired BWCs were to improve officer safety, increase evidence quality, reduce civilian complaints, and reduce agency liability. - Among agencies that had acquired BWCs, 60 percent of local police departments and 49 percent of sheriffs' offices had fully deployed their BWCs. - About 86 percent of general-purpose law enforcement agencies that had acquired BWCs had a formal BWC policy. Details: Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2018 at: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bwclea16.pdf Year: 208 Country: United States URL: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6426 Shelf Number: 153890 Keywords: Body-Worn Camera PolicyBody-Worn CamerasCivilian ComplaintsLaw Enforcement Agency LiabilityLaw Enforcement Technology Officer SafetyPolice AccountabilityPolice Surveillance Police-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Peters, Mark G. Title: An Investigation of NYPD's New Force Reporting System Summary: The ability to accurately track and report on officer‐involved force incidents is critical to effectively managing a police department and maintaining the public's trust in law enforcement. In October 2015, however, the New York City Department of Investigation's (DOI) Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD (OIG‐NYPD) determined that the New York City Police Department (NYPD or the Department) was unable to identify and track such incidents. Among DOI's 15 recommendations to NYPD was the need for a separate, uniform use‐of‐force reporting form that allows NYPD to capture and track all officer uses of force and injuries that occur in the course of a police encounter. NYPD agreed in its response to the 2015 Report that such a tracking system was necessary and stated its plan to build one. In June 2016, the Department replaced its existing use‐of‐force policies, Patrol Guide Series 212, with a new set of use‐of‐force procedures, Patrol Guide Series 221. A new form - the Threat, Resistance, and Injury Worksheet (T.R.I.)was introduced to NYPD system‐wide as the foundation of the new force‐reporting protocols. NYPD designed the new form to record certain uses of force by and against police officers as well as any injuries occurring during the course of a police action or while an individual is in police custody. Considering the importance of the new T.R.I. use‐of‐force reporting system, DOI investigated NYPD's compliance with the new policy, focusing on whether officers were completing T.R.I. forms when they used reportable force during an arrest. Following the examination of over 30,000 pages of NYPD documents and interviews with both the NYPD bureau overseeing the T.R.I. program and precinct supervisors responsible for executing the program in the field, DOI arrived at the following findings: - Despite a Weak Start in 2016, NYPD was Largely in Compliance in 2017 with Respect to Certain T.R.I. Metrics. NYPD arrest reports contain drop-down boxes in which officers can select "Yes/No" on whether they used force; a "Yes" would require the officer to also complete a T.R.I. During September - November 2016, officers failed to complete a T.R.I. in 36.2% of cases in which they had reported "Force Used: Yes" on an arrest report. A sample of nine precincts between May July 2017, however, showed notable improvement; officers failed to complete T.R.I.s in only 10% of such cases. - Continuing Problems with T.R.I. Compliance: T.R.I.s Not Always Completed When Documents Signal That Reportable Force Was Used. DOI identified arrest reports with a resisting arrest charge in which the arresting officer selected "Force Used: No" on the arrest report drop-down box but the narrative suggests that the officer may have used force. DOI also identified Medical Treatment of Prisoner forms in which the officer's narrative description strongly suggests or clearly indicates that the officer used force on a member of the public, yet no T.R.I. was completed. NYPD does not have sufficient controls in place to identify these other uses of force - which are indeed harder to detect and to ensure that T.R.I.s are completed when required. Such cases would not be captured in an audit that focuses solely on arrest reports where officers say "Force Used: Yes" in a drop-down box. However, because force used is not formally documented in these instances, the completion of T.R.I. forms is even more important. - Continuing Problems with Force Reporting on Arrest Reports. In at least 30% of the arrest reports with resisting arrest charges in the 2016 study period (and 55.9% in a 2017 sample), officers stated that "No" force was used but still filed a T.R.I. affirming that the officer indeed used reportable force during the incident. This means that officers are underreporting force on arrest reports and, as a result, certain statistics in NYPD's recent Annual Use‐of‐Force Report do not accurately reflect the universe of force incidents. - Supervisory Failures in the T.R.I. Program. In addition to broader, technological solutions that are helping NYPD achieve better force reporting, supervisors play a vital role in ensuring T.R.I. compliance. DOI identified several supervisory failures in the T.R.I. program that NYPD must address. These include the failure to record T.R.I. information in command logs, to complete required steps when investigating a force incident, and to submit quarterly T.R.I. reports to the NYPD First Deputy Commissioner, as indicated in Patrol Guide Series 221. - Continued Concerns in the Field. Candid interviews with NYPD precinct commanders revealed the growing need for deadlines on T.R.I. forms (currently there are none), additional training for officers, a narrative section on the T.R.I. forms where officers can further document the incident (currently there is none), and a more effective hotline for supervisors to call when T.R.I. questions emerge. - Opportunities for More Detailed and More Transparent Reporting. Enhancing accountability and public trust requires that NYPD publish accurate and useful data on officer use of force. While NYPD's recent Annual Use‐of‐Force report provides useful base‐line data on general uses of force, the report does not satisfy all legal reporting requirements. NYPD can do more to ensure that the public has a fuller understanding of force incidents involving police officers. Comprehensive force reporting will ultimately bolster NYPD's efforts at community engagement by providing reliable and relevant data that will better inform the public discussion about officer use of force. Details: New York City, NY: Department of Investigation, 2018. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/press-releases/2018/feb/08Use_of_Force_Report_020618.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doi/oignypd/reports.page Shelf Number: 154213 Keywords: Law EnforcementOfficer-Involved ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice DepartmentsPolice OfficerPolice ReportsTransparencyUse of Force |
Author: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Title: Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices Summary: The relationship between law enforcement and many communities in the U.S. is fraught and challenging, particularly for those who experience violent crimes coupled with intensive police presence and surveillance. A number of recent developments suggest a renewed commitment to resolving this issue. For the first time in decades, the country has witnessed ubiquitous and sustained protests by young people, communities of color, and other impacted populations in cities all across the country. Further, in hope of fostering better community-police relationships, many law enforcement and city officials around the country have started implementing reform strategies to allay communities' concerns about actual or perceived unfair and unequal policing. Reform advocates often acknowledge the positive steps that some jurisdictions are undertaking, but reported cases of excessive force remain a national concern. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of both law enforcement and the communities they serve, whose rights are protected under the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. While allegations that some police force is excessive, unjustified, and discriminatory continue and proliferate, current data regarding police use of force is insufficient to determine if instances are occurring more frequently. The public continues to hear competing narratives by law enforcement and community members, and the hard reality is that available national and local data is flawed and inadequate. A central contributing factor is the absence of mandatory federal reporting and standardized reporting guidelines. Former FBI Director James Comey stated that: Not long after riots broke out in Ferguson [in 2014], I asked my staff to tell me how many people shot by police were African-American in this country. I wanted to see trends. I wanted to see information. They couldn't give it to me, and it wasn't their fault. Demographic data regarding officer-involved shootings is not consistently reported to us . . . [b]ecause reporting is voluntary, our data is incomplete and therefore, in the aggregate, unreliable. Until recently, data on officer-involved shootings were extremely rare; moreover, the data that are available is most frequently compiled by grassroots organizations, nonprofits, or media sources.5 Data are not only lacking regarding fatal police shootings, but data regarding all use of force are scant and incomplete: Data on lower level uses of force, which happen more frequently than officer-involved shootings, are virtually non-existent. This is due, in part, to the fact that most police precincts don't explicitly collect data on use of force, and in part, to the fact that even when the data is hidden in plain view within police narrative accounts of interactions with civilians, it is exceedingly difficult to extract. Without accurate data on police use of force, allegations by community members and actions by law enforcement not only sow distrust among communities and the police, making policing more dangerous, but also jeopardize public safety. Research consistently shows that positive relationships between community members and law enforcement are essential for safer communities. Citizens are more likely to aid in crime reduction and partner with police if they believe that law enforcement are engaging in equitable treatment and are impartial towards all. Communities are calling for greater transparency and accountability on the part of the police. Similarly, law enforcement officials are calling for better data on current practices, and instituting policies aimed at reducing bias and improving community relationships. All citizens in every community in this country live subject to police enforcement practices, and therefore benefit from effective, constitutionally sound police practices. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) investigated rates of police use of force; questioned whether rates and instantiations of that use of force violate the civil rights of persons of color, persons with disabilities, LGBT communities, and low-income persons; and evaluated promising or proven policies and practices worth replicating to minimize unnecessary use of force and the perception and reality of discrimination in police use of force. The Commission held a briefing on April 20, 2015, on police practices and the use of deadly force in the U.S. The panels consisted of community leaders and police reform advocates, law enforcement and court officials, scholars, and legal experts. These experts convened to discuss the longstanding and emergent causes of the recent police-involved fatal shootings of people of color and other disadvantaged populations. Since 2015, several of the Commission's state advisory committees have also investigated police practices, and testimony and findings from their briefings are incorporated throughout the report. No single solution stands out as an immediate fix to the complex problem of police unauthorized use of force. After examining the literature and data available regarding police use of force in Chapters 1-3, the Commission highlights the following findings and recommendations, discussed in full in Chapter 4: Highlighted Findings: Police officers have the difficult and admirable job of providing crucial services to the communities they protect and serve. Their job sometimes puts them in harm's way and may require the use of force. Accordingly, police officers must operate with the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. Every community resident should be able to live, work, and travel confident in an expectation that interactions with police officers will be fair, operate consistent with constitutional norms, and be guided by public safety free from bias or discrimination. Unfortunately, today, too many communities are not confident in that expectation and do not trust fair police-community interactions. Communities have demanded reforms to foster better community-police relations and to prevent unjustified and excessive police uses of force. Accurate and comprehensive data regarding police uses of force is generally not available to police departments or the American public. No comprehensive national database exists that captures rates of police use of force. The best available evidence reflects high rates of use of force nationally, and increased likelihood of police use of force against people of color, people with disabilities, LGBT people, people with mental health concerns, people with low incomes, and those at the intersections of these groups. Lack of training and lack of funding for training leave officers and the public at risk. Critical training areas include tactical training, de-escalation techniques, understanding cultural differences and anti-bias mechanisms, as well as strategies for encounters with individuals with physical and mental disabilities. Repeated and highly publicized incidents of police use of force against persons of color and people with disabilities, combined with a lack of accurate data, lack of transparency about policies and practices in place governing use of force, and lack of accountability for noncompliance foster a perception that police use of force in communities of color and the disability community is unchecked, unlawful, and unsafe. Details: Washington, DC: The Commission, 2018. 230p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Report: Accessed January 23, 2019 at: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/11-15-Police-Force.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/11-15-Police-Force.pdf Shelf Number: 154381 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice Decision MakingPolice MisconductPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relationships |
Author: New York University School of Law, Policing Project Title: Report to the NYPD Summarizing Public Feedback on its Proposed Body-Worn Camera Policy Summary: In the coming months, the New York Police Department (NYPD) will launch a 1,000-camera pilot body-worn camera program, as required by the federal district court in the Floyd v. City of New York stop-and-frisk litigation. To ensure that its program responds to the interests and concerns of the communities it serves, the NYPD asked the Policing Project to assist the department in soliciting public input regarding its proposed body-worn camera policy. This report summarizes the public feedback received. Beginning on June 29, 2016, the Policing Project posted the NYPD's proposed policy online, along with a brief policy fact sheet highlighting its main points. Individuals and organizations were invited to share their feedback in one of two ways: by taking a brief questionnaire, or by submitting more detailed written comments. All of the materials - which were translated into seven languages in addition to English - were available at www.nypdbodycameras.org. The comment period ran for 40 days, concluding on August 7. The Policing Project received just over 30,000 questionnaire responses - 25,126 of which were from individuals who identified themselves as living, working, or attending school in New York. (We did not include in our analysis the nearly 5,000 responses we received from individuals who presumably were from outside of New York City.) We also received 50 sets of written comments from individuals and organizations. We describe at length below the feedback we received, but in summary: - Body-Worn Camera Program: Respondents overwhelmingly were in favor of body-worn cameras, and expressed the hope that use of the cameras would improve police-community relations, enhance officer and public safety, and improve the conduct of both officers and members of the public during police-citizen encounters. - Activation: Respondents generally were of the view that officers should be required to record a greater number of interactions than currently is called for in the NYPD's draft policy. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that officers should be required to record all interactions with members of the public, and just over eighty percent favored recording whenever an officer approaches someone as part of the investigation of criminal activity. - Notification: A large majority of respondents said that officers should be required to notify people when cameras are recording, both in public and when entering a private residence. However, most of these respondents supported delaying that notification until officers felt it was safe to provide it. - Officer Review: More than two thirds of respondents said that officers should not be permitted to review their own body-camera footage until they have filled out a report describing the incidents - particularly when an officer is involved in a use of force. Throughout the report we use "Floyd litigation" to refer to three related cases - Floyd v. City of New York, Ligon v. City of New York, and Davis v. City of New York. The latter two cases challenged the NYPD's criminal trespass enforcement practices in New York City Public Housing as well as buildings enrolled in the Trespass Affidavit Program (TAP). - Public Access: Respondents urged the NYPD to establish a clear and streamlined process by which the subject of a body-worn camera recording could ask to see the footage. Respondents also favored releasing body-worn camera footage of high-profile incidents involving officers and members of the public either immediately, or after an internal investigation is complete. As we explain in the next section of the report, the solicitation of public comment on police department policies is in its infancy in the United States. The process described here - which occurred over a very short period of time, in the country's largest city - could not have been accomplished without substantial efforts by the NYPD, the plaintiffs' lawyers in the Floyd litigation, and numerous public officials and community groups. These efforts were entirely commendable, and resulted in substantial input from tens of thousands of New Yorkers. Details: New York: Policing Project, New York University School of Law, 2016. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 1, 2019 at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58a33e881b631bc60d4f8b31/t/59ce7edfb0786914ba448d82/1506705121578/Report+to+the+NYPD+Summarizing+Public+Feedback+on+BWC+Policy.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.policingproject.org/dispatches/2017/9/21/nypd-asks-policing-project-to-gather-public-input-on-body-cameras Shelf Number: 154767 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasNew York Police DepartmentPolice AccountabilityPolice SurveillancePolice-Community RelationsPublic OpinionStop-and-Frisk Litigation |
Author: Wetchler, Everett Title: Fact Sheet: Officer-Involved Shootings and Custodial Deaths in Texas Summary: Since 2005, there have been 8,730 deaths of civilians in the custody of Texas law enforcement. In the past decade, officer-involved shootings in Texas have been on the rise. Data obtained from the Texas Office of the Attorney General shows that since Sept. 1, 2015, there have been 466 civilians shot by Texas law enforcement, and 78 officers have been shot. Officers involved in shootings skew younger and male than the general population of Texas law enforcement officers. Overall, most deaths that occur in Texas law enforcement custody are due to natural causes, but that nearly half of all deaths of inmates housed alone in a jail cell are suicides. Details: Austin, Texas: Texas Justice Initiative, 2018. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2019 at: http://texasjusticeinitiative.org/publications/ Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2UBGXA_5YSv6TdcTZLrGe2X3zUBU3QR/view Shelf Number: 154986 Keywords: Deaths in CustodyJailOfficer Involved FatalitiesOfficer Involved ShootingsPolice Accountability Police BrutalityPolice ShootingsPolice Use of Deadly ForcePolice Use of Force Police-Citizen Encounters Suicide |
Author: New York University School of Law, Policing Project Title: Report to the Los Angeles Police Commission Summarizing Public Feedback on LAPD Video Release Policies Summary: The Los Angeles Police Commission ("Commission" or "Police Commission") serves as the "board of directors" for the Los Angeles Police Department ("LAPD" or "Department"), with the authority to establish polices for the LAPD and oversee its operations. The Commission is reviewing the LAPD's policy on releasing video footage of "critical incidents," including any incident in which an officer fires his or her gun or a person dies in police custody. As part of that process, the Commission asked the Policing Project at New York University School of Law ("Policing Project") to help gather feedback on whether, when, and how, video footage of critical incidents should be made publicly available. This report summarizes the feedback received. Members of the general public and LAPD personnel were invited to provide feedback in several ways: by completing a brief questionnaire, submitting more detailed written comments, attending community forums, and participating in officer focus groups. The questionnaire, and other materials, including a video release policy FAQ, were available in English and Spanish at www.LAPDVideo.org. The questionnaire and comment period ran for 46 days, from March 23 through May 7. The questionnaire asked demographic questions including the respondents' race, age, and income, as well as whether the respondent was a member of law enforcement. There were not sharp divergences among respondents along demographic lines. The one exception-evident both in the questionnaire responses and in other sources of input - was that significant disagreement emerged in general between law enforcement and members of the general public. We note these differences where pertinent. The Policing Project ultimately received 3,199 questionnaire responses from individuals who lived, worked, or attended school in Los Angeles, including 532 responses from individuals self-identifying as law enforcement officers. The Policing Project also received 20 sets of written comments from individuals and organizations, representing the views of 27 organizations in total. Additional feedback was provided at 5 community forums and 8 officer focus groups. The ACLU of Southern California submitted a petition on the subject with the signatures of 1,773 individuals. Some key themes emerged from the process, which we elaborate upon briefly below and in great detail in the report that follows. In general, both officers and members of the public agreed that video should be released to the public, for reasons of transparency, accountability, and trust. However, the public favored releasing video within a relatively shorter release time (30-60 days), and generally preferred that release be automatic as opposed to decided on a case-by-case basis. It is not that members of the public failed to appreciate that various factors might mitigate for or against a decision to release video in a particular case. Rather, the public evinced a lack of confidence or trust in existing public institutions to make the correct decision on a case-by-case approach. (In addition, some members of the public expressed the view that many of the factors that were identified as counseling against release could be addressed by speeding up the pace of investigations or taking other ameliorative measures.) LAPD officers and officials, for their part, tended to have somewhat more faith in public institutions, and to believe that release should not occur until the LA Police Commission reaches a decision as to the propriety of the officer's conduct (often up to a year at present), or the District Attorney decides whether any criminal charges will be filed (in some instances as long as two years after the incident). Still, LAPD officers joined the public in expressing concern about "politics" affecting the decision whether to release video coverage. Details: New York: Author, 2017. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2019 at: http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/public%20feedback%20project%20lapd%20video%20release.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/public%20feedback%20project%20lapd%20video%20release.pdf Shelf Number: 155377 Keywords: Criminal EvidencePolice AccountabilityPolice EvidencePolice LegitimacyPolice Policies and ProceduresPolice SurveillancePolice VideosPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Los Angeles Police Commission. Office of the Inspector General Title: Review of Gang Enforcement Detail Stops Summary: At the request of the Board of Police Commissioners ("BOPC" or "Commission"), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) completed a review of vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle stops conducted by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD or Department) officers assigned to Gang Enforcement Details (GEDs). This represents the first of two reports that focus on proactive - or discretionary - stops by LAPD officers. The duties of officers assigned to GED revolve primarily around crime suppression and other proactive policing strategies, rather than responding to calls for service. The same may be said with regard to officers assigned to Metropolitan Division line platoons, whose discretionary stops of individuals will be the focus of the OIG's forthcoming second report in this series. This review specifically examined stops that included at least one black, Hispanic, or white male in order to allow for a comparison among these groups. In conducting these reviews, the OIG's goal is to assess - based on the available information - the extent to which officers have a reasonable basis for the initial detention or contact with each person, as well as for each subsequent search or seizure conducted during a stop, and to evaluate officers' articulation of that reasonable basis. Although this is not the first time that the OIG has examined stops of individuals by officers, it differs from previous reviews in that this is the first instance for which each officer has been equipped with body-worn video. It also represents the first instance for which officers were required by California law to document the actions taken during each contact, as well as their justification for each detention and search. As such, the OIG had significantly more information with which to conduct its review than was available in previous reports. A. Summary of Findings -- Based on its review of a sample of 91 stops conducted by GED officers, encompassing 150 people contacted in total, the OIG determined that most of the detentions - about 85 percent - appeared reasonable and legally justified. This was particularly true of vehicle stops, for which officers generally documented verifiable traffic or vehicle code violations as the reason for the stop. The OIG identified three stop incidents, however, that included at least one detention that appeared unreasonable based on the available information. The OIG also had concerns about the voluntary nature of three incidents that were documented as consensual encounters, each of which involved a search of one or more people and/or their property. In an additional eight cases, the OIG could not fully assess the reasonableness of the stop, generally due to limited available information about the facts underlying the detention(s). The OIG also assessed whether each stop included one or more searches, ranging from a patdown of a person's outer clothing to a search of a person's vehicle or property, and whether those searches appeared justified by the information provided. The OIG determined that approximately 41 percent of the 91 stops reviewed did not involve any type of search. Another 23 percent of stops involved one or more searches that appeared to be appropriate or reasonable under the circumstances, and in four percent of the stops the OIG could not verify or make a determination based on the information available. In the remaining 32 percent of stops, the OIG identified an issue with one or more of the searches conducted. Some of the issues identified by the OIG involved cases in which the officers documented that the searched person had consented, but for which the associated video did not capture any apparent statement or indication of affirmative consent by that person. In other cases, the written justifications for searches provided by the involved officer did not appear to meet the appropriate legal standard or were missing altogether. The OIG additionally noted a concern with respect to a small number of searches conducted on the basis of a person's probation status, but for which there was no apparent attempt to determine whether the person had search conditions as a part of that status. As detailed in the report, the OIG also noted a small number of other policy or procedural issues, ranging from accuracy of the stop data to proper activation of video cameras. Some of these issues, such as a lack of an explanation of the reason for a detention, or a failure to provide a business card, were related to the "procedural justice" aspect of the stop. The concept of procedural justice, which refers to how a person is treated during an encounter, was adopted by the Commission as a guiding value for the Department in May 2017, and it is an emerging focus area for OIG and Department reviews of officers' contacts with the public. While the OIG found that officers were generally polite and courteous in the stops reviewed for this report, it also found that there was room for improvement in officers' communication about the actions they were taking. Details: Los Angeles: Author, 2019. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2019 at: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b2dd23_7a94219ec43340a484805c8be17f8bfa.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b2dd23_7a94219ec43340a484805c8be17f8bfa.pdf Shelf Number: 155405 Keywords: Discretionary Stops Gang Enforcement Gangs Police AccountabilityPolice Discretion Proactive Policing Stop and Search Youth Gangs |