Federal Intervention in American Police Departments

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments PDF Author: Stephen Rushin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108500935
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
For much of American history, the federal government has played a limited role in local police regulation. That all changed in 1994, when Congress passed a little known statute that permitted the US Attorney General to reform troubled police departments. Since then, many of the nation's largest police departments - including those in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Washington, DC, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Albuquerque - have been subject to federal oversight. But until recently, we've known little about how this federal process works. Drawing on original interviews, court documents, statistical data, and media reports, this book provides the first comprehensive account of federal intervention in American police departments. It shows that, under the right circumstances, federal intervention is uniquely effective at combating misconduct in police departments. However, federal intervention is far from perfect. This book concludes by arguing that Congress should expand and improve federal oversight of policing.

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments PDF Author: Stephen Rushin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108500935
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 311

Get Book

Book Description
For much of American history, the federal government has played a limited role in local police regulation. That all changed in 1994, when Congress passed a little known statute that permitted the US Attorney General to reform troubled police departments. Since then, many of the nation's largest police departments - including those in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Washington, DC, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Albuquerque - have been subject to federal oversight. But until recently, we've known little about how this federal process works. Drawing on original interviews, court documents, statistical data, and media reports, this book provides the first comprehensive account of federal intervention in American police departments. It shows that, under the right circumstances, federal intervention is uniquely effective at combating misconduct in police departments. However, federal intervention is far from perfect. This book concludes by arguing that Congress should expand and improve federal oversight of policing.

Federal Intervention in Local Policing

Federal Intervention in Local Policing PDF Author: Robert C. Davis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781457844799
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
In 1994, Congress gave the Civil Rights Div. of the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) the authority to file civil law suits against states and municipalities in the face of a “pattern or practice” of illegal or unconstitutional police actions. Since then, DOJ has investigated police practices in jurisdictions from N.Y. to Calif. In some cases, DOJ filed lawsuits, but these cases were settled by consent decrees or a memorandum of agreement or understanding. These generally outline a specific series of reforms that the police department must implement, and most provide for a federal monitor to oversee compliance. Monitors are expected to complete their assignments within a few years and to leave the local police force capable of monitoring itself and responding effectively to any future officer misconduct. Lessons learned from the early experiences of federal monitoring of local police agencies can offer other jurisdictions models of how to work efficiently with their monitors or help them understand how to bring about police reform without federal intervention. This report examines how the Pittsburgh, PA, Bureau of Police responded to the consent decree and the extent to which changes made under the decree have been institutionalized. Figures and tables. This is a print on demand report.

The Future of Police Reform

The Future of Police Reform PDF Author: Samuel Walker
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479826049
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The first thorough study of the Justice Department’s pattern or practice program, examining how it works and how court-imposed consent decrees implement needed reforms American society grapples with an enduring crisis in policing which is inextricably intertwined with the nation’s deeply rooted racial issues. While there have been great strides in policing over the past five decades, the United States continues to wrestle with serious crime and strained relations between law enforcement and African American communities. In this comprehensive analysis, Samuel Walker, a leading figure in the study of criminal justice, focuses on the pivotal federal effort behind police reform—the US Justice Department’s pattern or practice program. Created by Congress in 1994, this program gives the Justice Department the authority to investigate police departments that display patterns of unconstitutional practices, initiate civil suits, and secure court-enforced consent decrees that mandate reform. Walker meticulously examines the reforms dictated by these consent decrees, delves into the challenges of their implementation, and evaluates the progress made by various departments in enhancing police services. Despite various obstacles, the program has proven successful. The Future of Police Reform also considers the broader societal, political, and legal issues that profoundly influence reform efforts, such as an entrenched police subculture hindering change, the formidable power of police unions, and a lack of full support from local political leaders. In conclusion, Walker celebrates reform efforts across the country and foresees a network of local and state centers of activity fostering continued optimism for the future of police reform in the US. A collective effort holds the promise of genuine and lasting change.

Federal Intervention in Local Policing

Federal Intervention in Local Policing PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Consent decrees
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The New World of Police Accountability

The New World of Police Accountability PDF Author: Samuel E. Walker
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1483324648
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The subject of police accountability includes some of the most important developments in American policing: the control of officer-involved shootings and use of force; citizen complaints and the best procedures for handling them; federal 'pattern or practice' litigation against police departments; allegations of race discrimination; early intervention systems to monitor officer behavior; and police self-monitoring efforts. The Second Edition of The New World of Police Accountability covers these subjects and more with a sharp and critical perspective. It provides readers with a comprehensive description of the most recent developments and an analysis of what works, what reforms are promising, and what has proven unsuccessful. The book offers detailed coverage of critical incident reporting; pattern analysis of critical incidents; early intervention systems; internal and external review of citizen complaints; and federal consent decrees.

When Police Use Force

When Police Use Force PDF Author: Craig Boylstein
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781626376991
Category : Police administration
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description


The Impact of Affirmative Action and Civil Service on American Police Personnel Systems

The Impact of Affirmative Action and Civil Service on American Police Personnel Systems PDF Author: Hubert G. Locke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Affirmative action programs
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
The impact of civil service and affirmative action programs on minority employment in the law enforcement setting is addressed in this monograph. Each stage of the federal government's program to insure equal employment opportunity from nondiscrimination through affirmative action has been accompanied by acrimonious public debate, focusing particularly on affirmative action, which is designed to develop guidelines, timetables, and other measurable indexes by which employers can be held accountable for their progress, or lack of it, in implementing national policy. The principal burden of finding answers to the complex issues surrounding minority employment has fallen to the courts. Numerous judicial decisions, with enormous implications for police agencies, have been translated into procedural regulations covering the measures, techniques, criteria, and processes that may be used for employment decisions and employment selection. Several employment practices which may create problems in the area of employment discrimination are included. Whether due to enlightened police leadership, community pressures, political circumstances, civil service intervention, or a combination of all these factors, the racial characteristics of American policing have begun to change substantially over the past decade. Ten years ago, approximately 4 percent of the sworn police personnel in the nation were racial minorities; today, that figure has risen to 10 percent. Findings of the public service administration show that one of the most important factors in changing the nature and quality of policing is the courage and commitment of police leadership. To the extent that increasing minority and female participation in the ranks of sworn police officers is a crucial part of this change process, there is the added finding that such efforts are not enhanced by a reliance on the regulatory role of civil service. Several suggestions for institutionalizing this change process are noted.

United States Attorneys' Manual

United States Attorneys' Manual PDF Author: United States. Department of Justice
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Justice, Administration of
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Police Theory in America

Police Theory in America PDF Author: Robert C. Wadman
Publisher: Charles C Thomas Publisher
ISBN: 0398085684
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
measurement of effective policing is based on a quick response to crime that has already been committed, the value of crime prevention has become an afterthought in America's police departments." "The middle chapters outline these issues and identify the strategies to improve police community relationships and adjust the measurements for effective policing. The concluding chapters identify strategies designed to facilitate police department organizational change. Using terms from the discipline of economics, a "micro" strategy and a "macro" strategy are outlined. A new theory of policing concludes the book." "The book is intended primarily as a textbook for criminal justice students, but it will also prove useful to police departments, police academies, city managers, and elected officials responsible for police administration and community safety." --Book Jacket.

Policing Immigrants

Policing Immigrants PDF Author: Doris Marie Provine
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022636321X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The United States deported nearly two million illegal immigrants during the first five years of the Obama presidency—more than during any previous administration. President Obama stands accused by activists of being “deporter in chief.” Yet despite efforts to rebuild what many see as a broken system, the president has not yet been able to convince Congress to pass new immigration legislation, and his record remains rooted in a political landscape that was created long before his election. Deportation numbers have actually been on the rise since 1996, when two federal statutes sought to delegate a portion of the responsibilities for immigration enforcement to local authorities. Policing Immigrants traces the transition of immigration enforcement from a traditionally federal power exercised primarily near the US borders to a patchwork system of local policing that extends throughout the country’s interior. Since federal authorities set local law enforcement to the task of bringing suspected illegal immigrants to the federal government’s attention, local responses have varied. While some localities have resisted the work, others have aggressively sought out unauthorized immigrants, often seeking to further their own objectives by putting their own stamp on immigration policing. Tellingly, how a community responds can best be predicted not by conditions like crime rates or the state of the local economy but rather by the level of conservatism among local voters. What has resulted, the authors argue, is a system that is neither just nor effective—one that threatens the core crime-fighting mission of policing by promoting racial profiling, creating fear in immigrant communities, and undermining the critical community-based function of local policing.