NCJ Number
84276
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
In addition to direct control exerted by civilian executives, checks on American police involve both the legislative and judicial branches of government.
Abstract
Legislatures define and limit police powers by enacting written laws. The courts control police conduct in several ways. First, local trial courts judge the legitimacy of police actions in all cases brought before them. Second, these same courts may initiate criminal prosecutions against police officers who have committed criminal offenses in the course of their duties. Third, civil courts may entertain suits against police departments or individual officers alleged to have committed wrongs in using their law enforcement powers. Fourth, appeals courts may subject police actions to the test of constitutional reasonableness and may enunciate principles that limit the manner in which police may attempt to enforce the laws in the future. Because the police are an executive agency, however, legislatures and courts affect State and local police comparatively slightly. It is the executive -- the mayor or the mayor's designate, the police chief -- to whom police officers are most accountable. Executive administrative hearings have proven to be the most decisive in the enforcement of policy for police conduct. It is also the executive, rather than the individual police officer, who is most likely to be held accountable by the courts and legislature for the failure of officers to observe the limits of their powers.