NCJ Number
72469
Date Published
1978
Length
539 pages
Annotation
Exploring the issue of police accountability, the dissertation discusses the problems involved and the limits of regulation, and examines five types of review systems currently in operation.
Abstract
Examination of the problems involved in police accountability focuses on how the American culture and the police subculture affect police behavior and citizen attitudes toward the police. American values and lifestyles are shown to influence the nature of police/citizen interactions and thus to limit the ability of any review system to deter future conflict between police and citizenry. The nature of the police world is seen to affect accountability systems and to isolate police from the citizens. Consideration is given to the many limitations which operate to inhibit police regulation, including nonadministrative limitations such as civil litigation, legislative controls, and grand juries; administrative limitations such as organizational secrecy, expert knowledge, and professional solidarity; and legal limitations such as codified and case law protections for police accused of misconduct. A study of five types of review systems in operation--informal complaint process, internal review, civilian review, a hybrid system that combines internal and citizen review, and ombudsman review--compares and evaluates them in terms of systemic integrity, behavior contol, community perceived legitimacy, and counterproductivity. Finally, the implications of the study for police organizations, police review systems, and for students of organizations of administrative accountability are explored. A methodological note, footnotes, and a bibliographical essay, are included. Two appendixes provide three tables of comparative data and a complainant questionnaire.