Citizen Oversight
Public oversight of police has been around since before the 1960's and has generally been met with resistance. The argument from Law Enforcement was that citizens are not qualified to give critiques on police operations due to their lack of intimate knowledge of police policies and procedures. The general attitude of Law Enforcement agencies is that "the involvement of the public would do more harm than good".
In April of 1970 New York City mayor, John Lindsey, established the Knapp Commission to investigate police corruption within the NYPD involving patrolman Frank Serpico and Sergeant David Durk. The Knapp Commission was made up of a panel of five with Whitman Knapp as chairman. The commission found widespread corruption resulting in criminal indictments, replacement of police commissioner, and recommendations for future operations - including a change in police attitudes toward the public.
In 1992 New York City mayor, David Dinkins, appointed Milton Mollen as head of "The City of New York Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department " also known as the Mollen Commission. In December of 1993 the New York Times reported that " the mayoral panel asserted that the New York City Police Department had failed at every level to uproot corruption and had instead tolerated a culture that fostered misconduct and concealed lawlessness by police officers".
In July 1994 the Mollen Commission released it's report including the conclusion that " Today's corruption is not the corruption of Knapp Commission days. Corruption then was largely a corruption of accommodation, of criminals and police officers giving and taking bribes, buying and selling protection. Corruption was, in it's essence, consensual. Today's corruption is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality ".
Since that time, Citizen Review Boards have proliferated in the U.S. and are now supported as an integral part of effective law enforcement. About 80% of large cities in the U.S. have citizen oversight, but one must wonder about their effectiveness to change police attitudes toward the public .
To help find a citizen review board in your area, use the link below to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement's list of agencies in the U.S..
www.nacole.org/police_oversight_by_jurisdiction_usa
In April of 1970 New York City mayor, John Lindsey, established the Knapp Commission to investigate police corruption within the NYPD involving patrolman Frank Serpico and Sergeant David Durk. The Knapp Commission was made up of a panel of five with Whitman Knapp as chairman. The commission found widespread corruption resulting in criminal indictments, replacement of police commissioner, and recommendations for future operations - including a change in police attitudes toward the public.
In 1992 New York City mayor, David Dinkins, appointed Milton Mollen as head of "The City of New York Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department " also known as the Mollen Commission. In December of 1993 the New York Times reported that " the mayoral panel asserted that the New York City Police Department had failed at every level to uproot corruption and had instead tolerated a culture that fostered misconduct and concealed lawlessness by police officers".
In July 1994 the Mollen Commission released it's report including the conclusion that " Today's corruption is not the corruption of Knapp Commission days. Corruption then was largely a corruption of accommodation, of criminals and police officers giving and taking bribes, buying and selling protection. Corruption was, in it's essence, consensual. Today's corruption is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality ".
Since that time, Citizen Review Boards have proliferated in the U.S. and are now supported as an integral part of effective law enforcement. About 80% of large cities in the U.S. have citizen oversight, but one must wonder about their effectiveness to change police attitudes toward the public .
To help find a citizen review board in your area, use the link below to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement's list of agencies in the U.S..
www.nacole.org/police_oversight_by_jurisdiction_usa