Civilian Police Commission - A Deterrent of Police Misconduct

• NCJ Number: 89757
• Journal: University of Detroit Journal of Urban Law Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1981) Pages: 5-62
• Author(s): E J Littlejohn
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 58 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. This article is the third of a three-article study of law and police misconduct. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of the Science of Law to Columbia University.

Annotation

A civilian police commission with direct authority over internal operations, such as Detroit's Board of Police Commissioners (BAC), is more effective than citizen review boards and fosters greater police accountability.

Abstract

Citizen review boards, heavily advocated during the 1960's, did not work well because they lacked power with the police department. Their review function, which began only after police policies, disciplinary practices, or other internal matters. Detroit's BPC demonstrates that a civilian commission can control a police department's internal complaint program and also conduct investigations independently. The BPC, in addition to managing a citizen complaint system and monitoring departmental discipline with its own staff, has supervisory responsibility for the entire Detroit Police Department. Any independent administrative body similar to the BPC, by focusing on the problems of police misconduct and citizen complaints, has unique opportunities for deterring misconduct, for promoting supervisor accountability, and for resolving fairly both citizen dissatisfactions and police concerns over complaint investigations. A table illustrates citizen complaint procedures for other cities. A total of 429 footnotes are supplied.