Complaint Procedures - Variations on the Theme of Civilian Participation

• NCJ Number: 88693
• Journal: Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1982) Pages: 398-407
• Author(s): R J Terrill
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After reviewing typical arguments against civilian involvement in police complaint processing, this article describes civilian involvement in the complaint process for the Chicago, Kansas City, Berkeley, and Detroit police departments.

Abstract

Some typical arguments against civilian involvement in police complaint processing are that (1) this would demoralize the police, (2) interfere with the authority of the chief, (3) involve citizens whose employment and interests are unrelated to police work, (4) include persons likely to be biased against the police, and (5) produce interference with police operations. These arguments are too simplistic and cannot be unequivocally established through empirical investigation. A number of police departments have made sincere efforts to use civilians in the complaint process in an effort to improve police-community relations. In Chicago, the Office of Professional Standards, which is part of the police superintendent's personal staff, is composed of three lawyers who report directly to the superintendent and administer a staff of civilian investigators. This office is not the sole investigator of complaints but shares this responsibility with the Internal Affairs Division. Kansas City established the Office of Citizen Complaints in 1970, with the civilian staff being primarily responsible for coordinating the complaint process. It receives all complaints either directly or by referral from the police department. The Berkeley Police Department (California) provides for citizen appeal from an inhouse complaint review to a civilian commission. In Detroit, a civilian complaint review commission is composed of five persons appointed by the mayor following approval by the city council. This commission receives and resolves any complaint on the operation of the police department. More study and analysis is needed to determine if the aforementioned review mechanisms have a positive impact on police-community relations and improve the operations of the departments. Seventeen footnotes and 52 references are provided.