Political Interference Versus Political Accountability in Municipal Policing (From Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice, P 120-143, 1985, Erika S Fairchild and Vincent J Webb, eds. - See NCJ-99577)

• NCJ Number: 99583
• Author(s): D Guyot
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study develops criteria for distinguishing between a local government's establishment of political accountability for the police and local government's interference in police management; these criteria are applied to government-police relations in Troy, N.Y., in the 1970's and early 1980's.

Abstract

The proposed criteria indicate that a government policy directive to a police department constitutes political accountability to the extent that it is legal, draws attention to the problem without imposing a soulution, is not grossly inefficient, is equitable by some standard, and does not defy fiscal accountability. The less a policy directive meets these criteria, the greater the political interference with the police. These criteria are applied to an examination of accountability and interference in the operation of three mechanisms for controlling municipal police in Troy, N.Y.: the selection of the police manager, the election of city officials, and city council directives. Generalizations are developed to explain the predominance of political interference over political accountability in government-police relations in Troy over the period studied. A table labels specific city council policies as acts of accountability or interference. Fourteen references are listed.