Introduction:
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) presides over one of the most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Policing Oakland is a challenging task by any measure and there have been many allegations that officers have employed inappropriate policing tactics. (Guardian article). After a gang of rogue police officers in the 1990s was accused of framing and beating suspects, the department was placed on a court-ordered monitor by a district judge. As part of a Negotiated Settlement Agreement, OPD is required to complete a list of “tasks”. The department has received other independent recommendations for reforms. There was a clear lack of accountability in the departments past, which created the impetus for reform. For the purposes of this paper, accountability entails establishing expectations, verifying performance, assessing blame, and sorting responsibility (Romzek 241). In this paper I ask, “Will accountability related reforms be institutionalized?” I evaluate the need for these reforms and use two applicable tasks to analyze reform success. I argue accountability-based reforms has penetrated the police culture and will be institutionalized because of internal support and decentralization, which improve collaboration and present an opportunity to engage with the community.
I will break my paper into three parts. In the first section, I will explore a case example of the problems of police accountability in Oakland, and argue that there is a need for change. Second, I will look at two tasks – tasks #24 and #34, which I chose to evaluate the departments’ efforts to make reforms that are aligned with the accountability-based police structure. Next, I will look at cross pressures and organizational change principles (Fe...
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...erarchical structure that divides up leadership by geography and addresses the needs of the community more efficiently.
Conclusion:
Overall, the prospects of accountability-based reforms taking hold and becoming institutionalized are fairly good. Based on the Fernandez and Rainey framework for organizational change we see that the two steps chosen to assess accountability-based reforms in the OPD show that reforms have internal support because it improves collaboration between top managers and lower level officers by creating more manageable districts that have one go-to person that has all the responsibility. The two accountability-related tasks I chose to examine also show signs that the requirements by the court-ordered monitor show either partial or full compliancy, pointing to an upward trajectory of the institutionalization of accountability-based reforms.
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
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
Smith, G., “Citizen Oversight of Independent Police Services: Bifurcated Accountability, Regulation Creep, and Lesson Learning”, Regulation and Governance, Vol. 3, 2009, pp. 421-441
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Pfiffner, J. P. (2004). Traditional Public Administration versus The New Public Management:Accountability versus Efficiency. Unied States: George Mason University.