Police Review Boards: Military Oversight And The LAPD
Civilian Oversight and the LAPD
Prior to 1958, the idea of a civilian review board overseeing complaints against the police was unheard of. In that year however, Mayor Richard Dilworth of Philadelphia created such a body, called the “Police Review Board.” The board’s purpose was to “… receive, hear, and determine complaints by any person or organization of alleged misconduct to private citizens by personnel of the Philadelphia Police Department” (Naegele, 1965, p. 1).
The Philadelphia experiment quickly prompted the adoption of similar review boards in other cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Since that time, the “civilian oversight” movement has not lost any momentum. Indeed, over one hundred different oversight …show more content…
Conversely, forty years ago when the notion of civilian oversight was initially proposed, the IACP was one of its most vehement opponents. In a critique of a Harvard Law Review article regarding police review boards, the IACP wrote, “[citizen oversight] is so violative of sound administrative concept as to be untenable. Any attempt of private groups to superimpose a police review board lends itself to the impairment of government through vigilantism, harassment, and usurpation of the legally constituted law enforcement personnel” (Naegele, 1965, p. …show more content…
Consequently, the aim of this paper is to consider the role of civilian oversight in policing, examine its effectiveness, and the inherent problems associated with investigating oversight agencies, in particular how “sustain rates” affect citizen oversight agencies.
Civilian Oversight
While there is no denying that the conversation over citizen oversight is worthwhile, before any discussion can take place, we must first define what “civilian oversight”1 is.
Although oversight allows various means of civilian involvement (as noted by Samuel Walker), “most civilian oversight mechanisms have been particularly concerned with complaints against the police” (2001). In fact, the legal definition of civilian oversight is, “a municipal body composed of civilian representatives charged with the investigation of complaints by members of the public concerning misconduct by police officers” (Legal Dictionary Online, 2011).
As with most legal definitions however, interpretation is key. In this instance, in regards to police policy formation, what does “citizens charged with the investigation” mean? In other words, what is the role of citizen oversight?
Role of Oversight in
Prior to 1958, the idea of a civilian review board overseeing complaints against the police was unheard of. In that year however, Mayor Richard Dilworth of Philadelphia created such a body, called the “Police Review Board.” The board’s purpose was to “… receive, hear, and determine complaints by any person or organization of alleged misconduct to private citizens by personnel of the Philadelphia Police Department” (Naegele, 1965, p. 1).
The Philadelphia experiment quickly prompted the adoption of similar review boards in other cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Since that time, the “civilian oversight” movement has not lost any momentum. Indeed, over one hundred different oversight …show more content…
Conversely, forty years ago when the notion of civilian oversight was initially proposed, the IACP was one of its most vehement opponents. In a critique of a Harvard Law Review article regarding police review boards, the IACP wrote, “[citizen oversight] is so violative of sound administrative concept as to be untenable. Any attempt of private groups to superimpose a police review board lends itself to the impairment of government through vigilantism, harassment, and usurpation of the legally constituted law enforcement personnel” (Naegele, 1965, p. …show more content…
Consequently, the aim of this paper is to consider the role of civilian oversight in policing, examine its effectiveness, and the inherent problems associated with investigating oversight agencies, in particular how “sustain rates” affect citizen oversight agencies.
Civilian Oversight
While there is no denying that the conversation over citizen oversight is worthwhile, before any discussion can take place, we must first define what “civilian oversight”1 is.
Although oversight allows various means of civilian involvement (as noted by Samuel Walker), “most civilian oversight mechanisms have been particularly concerned with complaints against the police” (2001). In fact, the legal definition of civilian oversight is, “a municipal body composed of civilian representatives charged with the investigation of complaints by members of the public concerning misconduct by police officers” (Legal Dictionary Online, 2011).
As with most legal definitions however, interpretation is key. In this instance, in regards to police policy formation, what does “citizens charged with the investigation” mean? In other words, what is the role of citizen oversight?
Role of Oversight in