Blue Ribbon Investigations: A Comparative Analysis

A Comparative Analysis of Blue Ribbon Investigations
Blue Ribbon Investigations are examinations into organizations conducted by a panel “made up of people who have special knowledge or abilities or individuals selected for quality, reputation or authority” (). Blue Ribbon Investigations have been conducted to investigate misconduct in various criminal justice agencies and organizations. Police departments have historically been subjected to Blue Ribbon Investigations, most notably the Christopher Commission. In more recent years, the Portland Police Departmentand the San Francisco Police Department have undergone Blue Ribbon Investigations. Both of the departments underwent investigations that addressed issues of race and racial discrimination.
In 1999 a Gallup poll of citizens found that 59 percent of Americans believed that “race-based profiling was widespread” (). In an additional study, Weitzer and Tuch found that 80 percent of African Americans believed that racial profiling was prevalent in their own city and 90 percent believed that racial profiling was widespread within the United States. Additionally, 59 percent of Hispanics believed that racial profiling occurred in their city, and 77 percent believed that racial profiling was widespread within the United States. These perceptions are damaging to the police profession and addressing the issue heals wounds and builds trust within their communities. While the Blue Ribbon Investigation was not conducted due to specific allegations brought against the Portland Police Department, the investigative team assumed that Portland is “no different from other cities in the United States, where the perception that police unfairly target people of color is common and has been documented” (). Therefore this investigation was a proactive examination of the Portland Police Departmentto determine if racial profiling was occurring, either confirming or denying citizen’s beliefs that racial profiling was a widespread issue within the United
Senate sub-committee testimony and personal testimony as well as analyzed articles. By doing this, each member then had background on racial profiling, which allows them to be knowledgeable when investigating the Portland Police Department. The panel examined the Portland Police Department’s limited data on civilian encounters. As the panel examined this data they also shared personal and professional experiences related to racial profiling. While sharing their personal stories, the panel expressed racial profiling’s effects on their lives. After this examination during several meetings the panel concluded that the “vast majority of Portland police officers do not engage in racial profiling, but is was agreed that to some extent racial profiling does exist.” The panel hopes to determine the rate at which racial profiling exists through further data collection and outreach to the