Citizen oversight is now an established feature of the institutional landscape of American policing. This book addresses the issues critical to citizen oversight agencies. It begins with a history of citizen oversight and then discusses the alternative models -- the citizen review board and the police auditor.

There has been a considerable increase in the number of procedures involving citizen oversight of police implemented by cities and counties in the 1990s. However, many of these procedures have had a troubled history involving serious—even bitter—conflict among the involved parties. Citizen Review of Police: Approaches and Implementation is designed to help jurisdictions that may decide to establish—or wish to improve—an oversight system to avoid or eliminate these battles. At the same time, the publication can help oversight planners understand and choose among the many options available for structuring a citizen review procedure. Finally, current oversight staff and volunteers may find it useful to review the publication as a way of learning more about the field. To provide this assistance, Citizen Review of Police describes the operations of nine very different systems of citizen oversight. However, the publication does not promote any particular type of citizen review—or citizen review in general. Rather, the report is intended to help local government executives and legislators, as well as police and sheriff's department administrators, union leaders, and local citizen groups and public interest organizations, learn about the advantages, drawbacks, and limitations of a variety of oversight systems and components.

Common Sense about Police Review is the first comparative study to consider both civilian and internal police review processes. Using survey research of police attitudes and citizen complaints compiled over fifteen years from police departments across the nation, Douglas W. Perez analyzes past and current review systems as a way to develop criteria for comparing three archetypal systems of police review: internal, external (civilian), and hybrid forms of the two. High media visibility of several events--the 1988 police riot in New York City's Tompkins Square, the 1991 videotaped beating of Rodney King, and the 1992 beating death of Malice Green by Detroit police detectives--has brought police review back into the public arena; not since civil rights demonstrators clashed with police in the 1960s has officer accountability been so hotly debated. Crucial to any monitoring system are guidelines, which Perez stresses must insist on rigorous investigations of alleged police abuses, outline strict limitations of police action, strive to bridge gaps between police officers and citizens, and exonerate officers who are found to have acted properly and legally. With these standards, the author asserts, a balance between self-sanctioning and enforced regulation can be achieved. Examining fairness, objectivity, and thoroughness in review systems throughout the country, Perez offers a model for the "ideal" police review system. Included are valuable discussions of both the causes of police attitudes and behavior and the misconceptions and expectations that can contribute to a pervasive public image of police malpractice. Perez provides helpful reflections on the role of politicians and administrators in implementing and maintaining police accountability. Author note: Douglas W. Perez, Professor of Political Science at Trinity and Champlain Colleges, has authored several dozen studies on the police. From 1970 to 1975, Perez was a deputy sheriff in Contra Costa County, California.

Exploring the complex and controversial topic of civilian oversight of police, this book analyzes the issues and debates entailed by civilian oversight by using worldwide perspectives, in-depth case studies, and a wealth of survey data. Integrating and summarizing decades of research from many locations around the globe, Civilian Oversight of Polic

Exploring the complex and controversial topic of civilian oversight of police, this book analyzes the issues and debates entailed by civilian oversight by using worldwide perspectives, in-depth case studies, and a wealth of survey data. It integrates and summarizes decades of research from many locations around the globe to present a best practices model for managing police conduct. It also describes the impact of oversight agencies on police policy, including innovative means by which agencies can work with police departments to improve police conduct.