NCJ Number
143160
Date Published
1968
Length
254 pages
Annotation
Based on the author's experience as chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board of the New York City Police Department, this volume examines police responsibilities and attitudes, police misconduct and other problems in police- citizen interactions, and the issues involved in the conflict over the board.
Abstract
The discussion explains the constant physical hazards and stresses of police work and the diverse reactions of middle-class persons and impoverished urban minorities to the use of police power. It also focuses on the relationship of the police station house to the neighborhood it serves, traditional citizen ambivalence to the role of the police in society, and the difficulties in objectively determining police performance. The economic, psychological, and historical reasons for civil disturbances are also examined, with emphasis on how many of them would not have become riots if they had been handled with understanding and restraint. Suggestions are also offered for measures that law enforcement agencies can take to ensure the protection of basic human rights. Appended figures, tables, and biographies of the members of the Review Board