History Of Civilian Review Boards

1158 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance for law enforcement to adhere to ethics

The existence of the civilian review board dates back around the 1920s, started in the United Stated as an aid to police departments in conducting external reviews after investigations by the department internal affairs. Civilian review boards has the authority only review and recommend discipline if needed, they have no authority to investigate. Civilian review boards can either find the innocence or guilt of an officer after the initial investigation of the police department has been conducted. Citizens seeking justice within their community, involving an officer of the law enforcement due to his or her unethical behavior or misconduct utilizes this option. They may feel as if the police department failed to thoroughly investigate there …show more content…

There has been a need to oversee the unethical behaviors and misconduct from officers of the law by the civilian review board. According the Prenzler(2000), in the United Stated, the Knapp Commission in New York is recognized as one of the first inquiries to significantly break the cycle of reform and corruptions (p. 660). The civilian review boards were created as a response to the negative outcry of the citizens within the communities after questionable actions taken by police officers were conducted. According to (Ferdik et al., 2013), the backlash against citizen oversight by police unions, police officials, and the associations, including The International Associations of Chiefs of Police (IACP), continued to limit the viability of citizen review boards (p. 106). As a result, civilian review boards have set limitations and regulations to follow regarding unethical actions by law enforcement officers. Some boards hold investigation power, some hold subpoena powers, and others simply review finding of the internal affairs investigations. Condon(1995) stated, take a look at the people that are running the police departments now, you would notice to the person in charge in the internal affairs bureau came from within the department(Condon, 1995). This may be the answer as to why the civilian review board has been rejected within agencies; some …show more content…

Officers are known as public servants, they are held at higher standards than everyday citizens. According to Wyatt-Nichol & Franks(2009) when officers behave unethically, it is a violation of public trust and damages the image of law enforcement everywhere (p. 40). Officer should receive in-death training of cases that make headlines within the newspapers or media. For example, the Freddie Gray or Eric Garner case could be used in scenarios with the steps taken to avoid any ethical dilemmas they could possibly run into. Updated training should be conducted every 6 months for ethics alone in addition to the yearly training that’s already in place. The civilian review board can recommend more training of officers that engage in unethical behavior or misconduct. Intense training, followed through with morals is important factors to avoiding the civilian review board and their process in reviewing investigations against officers. When all training officers receive has been overlooked and failed to comply. Police officers should be held accountable for their actions, through training officers learn to understand their position and need within the community. Although training is offered yearly and on an as need basics, officers are held to a high standard within their community. Some tend to lose sight of their mission of daily duties which are to maintain order and

Show More
Related

  • The Baltimore Police State: Police Corruption In Baltimore, Baltimore

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many people who are blind to police corruption and there are many who aren’t. As stated before police corruption has been going on for several years, and continues to go on. Officers with high ranks most of the time are the leaders of this action. Somewhere down the line all the bad they have done while wearing that uniform, will catch up with them. Most of the time the subculture will be the cause of an officers actions.

    Read More

  • Civilian Oversight Model

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the civilian oversight model, the two different worlds have joined, some agreeing and others disagreeing with the involvement. We have the police who disagree, and the public who agrees with the ability to get involved with the overseeing of police misconduct. I believe the civilian oversight model is a great method that was developed because it allows for civilians and officers to work hand in hand together to overcome a situation. Although law enforcement agencies are against the model there are ways to ensure a better opinion of the model. The training of oversight staff and volunteers can make sure that adequate individuals are chosen to hold position in the model. Oversight systems can require that a department supervisor attend hearings, and be called to answer questions about the department’s policies (Finn). Altogether, the law enforcement department and the public are moving towards a better correlation together with the civilian oversight model in

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Knapp Commission

    211 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Knapp commission led by Walter Knapp was used to investigate police Corruption. It was formed in the 70's after police officer Frank Serpico and sergeant David Durk reveled corrupt police officers and practices to the NY Times. While seeing that the department should be condemned for allowing corruption to become ramped it noted 2 types of corrupt officers. "Grass-eaters," who were the majority of police officers in that department. They took bribes and allowed amblers, prostitutes, and other criminals to avoid arrest. (unknown, 1994). They also described a second level as "meat-eaters." Who are rare, they are more aggressive and look for opportunities for financial gain. (Dempsey & Frost, 2016). They also agreed the corruption was so vast

    Read More

  • Ethical Violations In Law Enforcement Case Study

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is not only beneficial for the individual officer but the department as well. Ethics training should cover critical issues such as honesty in official reports, temptation to embellish courtroom testimony, proliferation of drugs with money available to corrupt the police, lowered standards, professionalism, respect, corruption, public trust, morals/personal values, abuse of force/abuse of authority and off-duty issues and behavior. It is important that this training is not limited to the training academy or the new officer. This type of training should be ongoing and it is especially important that specific groups within a department have access to training tailored to their specific needs. These specific groups include recruits, field training officers, in-service police officers, supervisory personnel, executive personnel, civilian personnel and specialized units. Training curriculum should include decision-making models, use of case studies, discussion of specific values, and an examination of ethical thinking outside of law enforcement. Training should use adult learning principles and be interactive and engaging rather than simply a lecture

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Law Enforcement

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Corrupt people are in every workplace, including law enforcement. The amount of officers who do their job correctly is a significantly bigger number than the number of corrupt officers actually committing these wrong doings. Glennon, the company owner of Calibre Press, a company that trains officers stated, “We pull people out of wrecked cars, we hold people’s hands when they’re dying, we talk to 5-year-olds when they get raped, and one cop puts a chokehold on somebody and all of a sudden we’re all racist killers” (Wise and Moeller). Officers do not use violent force just because they have the power and weapons to do

    Read More

  • Addressing Police Corruption and Misconduct in the US

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Police corruption, misconduct, and brutality in the United States have been issues since the creation of watch system in the United States (Grant& Terry, 2012). New policy and training is now in place and the corruption, misconduct, and brutality has gone down since the beginning of policing. This is a huge issue that impacts all police organizations in the United States. The extent of police corruption, misconduct, and brutality is hard to track in the United States. A lot of these crimes go unreported, tossed aside, or the officer responsible gets little or no punishment. This is huge issue in the United States criminal justice system.

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Civilian Review Board

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many police opposed the thought of having a civilian review board. They believed that people who aren’t police officers are not competent to evaluate the actions of police officers. Also they felt as if it is a violation of the authoritative independence. Many officers also believe that in a case of an act of crime between two races (white officer to a minority), there would be a bias (C. de Guzman, M.). In an African-American neighborhood the civil review board would be against an act of a white officer using forceful tactics against an African-American. They believe the board would be biased. Many police are afraid of this outcome because they’re aware that it’s a possible chance they would be penalized for their act. Also another con would be if the policed lied through his statement and had his/her witness lie to protect their job. Then they would solely have to work off of the sufficient evidence like videos or other victim statements to help the victim. However, without a civilian review board many actions will go unnoticed. That creates more crime against authoritative figures and civilians. Having civilian review crime boards is a way of conducting general deterrence. Excessive use of police force can be a crime or it can lead to a crime like the Eric Garner case who ended up dying. Other police officers would take notice that certain actions they take can result in consequences and they would choose to

    Read More

  • Police Corruption and Misconduct

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    One may ask themselves, if law enforcement officers are working to protect the public, why would they commit corruption like they do? As it is described above, corruption is a big part in the law enforcement sector of society. The entire concept is quite complex although it may seem self explanatory to many people. Learning the many types of corruption and misconduct is only the beginning, then, to understand why the officers commit the conduct for which they do. With all this, it becomes apparent to the certain measures that need to be taken to rid society and police departments of the conduct that is constantly present.

    Read More

  • Roles and Challenges in the Canadian Criminal Justice System

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Police officers have a substantial amount of responsibilities that are required to be upheld on an everyday basis. They are said to be the “front-line soldiers” in the criminal justice system (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2) meaning they’re the first in the government to have face-to-face communication with the potential offender. “To Protect & Serve” is a broad motto that sums up the duties of a good police officer. Their role begins when a report to the police is made, actions or suspicions of a crime is present, and/or following an investigation made by the law enforcement (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2). Typical tasks officers are engaged in are: to preserve the peace, prevent crime, enforce the law, investigate crimes, lay charges, etc (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, de Lint, 2007, p. 105) but there is more to what is generally mentioned by the public, online sources, articles, books, and even the police themselves. Officers not only conduct a criminal investigation, but they also decide whether or not to proceed with obtaining an arrest which is a serious step in the justice process (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2 & 4). Authors of The Canadian Criminal Justice System (2007, p. 4) states that because it is impossible to convict every single person who has broken...

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of The Lack Of Training Police Officers

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    What happens when officers forget their role and responsibilities? They abuse their power and go beyond their duties crossing lines that should not be crossed for instance in Saratoga New York a police officer tries to conduct and illegal vehicle search, when the civilian refuses, the officer slaps him and takes the keys. This type of conduct should not be tolerated and officers should constantly be reminded of the consequences of such actions. One thing in particular that can be observed is that in most videos the officers are not alone yet the other officers knowing their partner are wrong do not intervene, this pattern shows that the officers are not being trained properly. Proper training can easily avoid such conflicts for example in the case of Saratoga New York another officer could have deescalated the situation by letting his partner know that what he is doing is illegal, this simple action could had avoided a lot of problems. The majority of police officers do an excellent job but is the few that do not do a good job the ones ruining the image and reputation of the force, reminding officers of their duties and paying attention to their actions can make a difference in job performance while helping keep good community

    Read More

  • Police Misconduct and Corruption

    2505 Words  | 6 Pages

    Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to by society. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.

    Read More

  • Knapp Commission Failure

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    ***Generally, growing up it was always thought that we could trust the police and law enforcement because it was there job to protect and serve the community to make sure that everyone including officers of the law follows the law. In the 1970 in New York City police corruption was the norm within the police department almost everyone was doing it for whatever reason. Some for money, some for power, or some for personal reason, for whatever reason for accepting bribes it was wrong. Anytime that power and positions are used to get personal gains it is wrong, which is basically what was happening in New York City Police Department. The Knapp Commission was a five member board that was named after is Chairman Whitman Knapp it was board that was created in order

    Read More

  • The Internal Affairs Department And The Internal Affairs Department

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    When an officer acts irresponsibly or violates policy, what happens to them? Who conducts these investigations? Are these officers held accountable and if so, how? Yes, police officers are to uphold the law and policies of the department and the internal affairs division takes care of these cases. If officers are reported to have committed any criminal acts, then an investigation ensues in the internal affairs division. Investigators who work in the internal affairs division are required to investigate any suspected wrongdoing within the department. (Dempsey, Frost, & Carter, 2014) states that these cases are “the most important cases to eliminate”, however, that can only take place if those involved can make admissions that these corruption cases are an issue (p.247). They will need documentation of any these cases as well as to examine

    Read More

  • Police Corruption

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Police corruption is a nationwide problem that has been going on for many years. Not only is corruption a problem on our own U.S. soil, but police practices of corruption go as far east as Europe and Asia. Many studies, polls and examinations were taken to find out how exactly what the general publics’ opinions of the police are. Officers receive a lot of scrutiny over this issue, but for good reason.

    Read More

  • How To Reduce Police Corruption

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a police officer requires high level of ethics and standards. Corruption within an agency can affect a community, state, and even a nation. Corruption may seem inevitable but using proper screening, extensive and continuous training and holding officers responsible can deter officers from becoming corrupt.

    Read More

More about History Of Civilian Review Boards

Open Document