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4
confidence in the police, the most visible symbol of government, is central to public
perception of government fairness and performance.
No other agent of government exercises more individual discretion than the
police officer. Law enforcement officers make decisions every day that affect the
quality of people’s lives and the vitality of their liberty. An officer is legally
authorized to use force, even lethal force if necessary, to protect the community and
its people. Society depends on officers to use good judgment when performing their
responsibilities, and they are expected to be fair, honest and professional. They must
respect the dignity of all the individuals they serve, treating all people equitably, and
upholding the highest standards of integrity. In short, police must treat people
“properly, legally, and morally” (Bayley 1994, 79).
Numerous examples of police corruption, excessive use of force, brutality
and torture suggest that considerable reform is necessary to secure police
accountability. Misconduct by police weakens the public’s confidence in law
enforcement. Reports of police misconduct are often broadcast instantaneously by
the media and also appear on the Internet. One of the most high profile and extreme
examples of police abuse includes the videotaped beating of Rodney King by police
officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, which precipitated one of the most
devastating episodes of civil unrest in the history of the United States. This unrest in
Los Angeles left 56 people dead, more than 2,300 people injured, more than 1,100
buildings destroyed, and over $1 billion in damages (Gray 2007; Gutierrez et al.
2002). Equally horrific was the torture of Abner Louima in a police precinct
Object Description
| Title | Policing accountability: an empirical investigation of state-sponsored police reform in Riverside, California |
| Author | Gomez, Jose Adolfo |
| Author email | jagclash@yahoo.com; jgomez@treasurer.ca.gov |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-01 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Restricted until 13 Oct. 2010. |
| Date published | 2010-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Newland, Chester A. Wong, Janelle S. |
| Abstract | The police have the ability to detain, arrest, and use force when necessary. Police accountability is thus of paramount concern to the public. Numerous examples of police misconduct, including cases of excessive force, brutality, and corruption, appear regularly via the news media. These incidents often evidence systemic organizational problems in law enforcement agencies. Scholars have observed that attempts at police reform have placed too much emphasis on individuals behaving badly, rather than on the systemic problems of the police department.; Beginning in the second half of the 1990s, federal and state Attorneys General began employing institutional reform litigation, in the form of consent decrees, to reform law enforcement agencies and enhance police accountability. The consent decrees were crafted to address systemic organizational dysfunction in local police departments. The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) conducted most of these reform interventions. However, a notable exception was the settlement agreement between the Attorney General of the State of California and the City of Riverside, California.; There has been little research on the efficacy of these efforts to rehabilitate law enforcement agencies. This analysis is a case study of the effectiveness of the institutional reform intervention by the California Attorney General into the Riverside Police Department (RPD). The detailed examination revealed that the intervention produced constructive changes in the way the RPD conducts its business. The RPD became more professional, effective, transparent and accountable as it implemented the provisions of the consent decree, demonstrating that institutional reform litigation can result in meaningful police reform. The shadow of the law was ever present, encouraging an ethos of cooperation and exerting pressure for meaningful organizational change. The Riverside experience suggests that a facilitative oversight style produces constructive collaboration between the parties, improving the likelihood of durable police reform. Moreover, consent decrees to correct systemic police misconduct should not be the exclusive purview of the USDOJ. State Attorneys General can effectively initiate police reform and in some cases state intervention is a more appropriate alternative. |
| Keyword | institutional reform; police reform; police accountability; state attorney's general; police misconduct; organizational change; consent decrees |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Riverside |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Coverage date | 1993/2008 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1664 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Gomez, Jose Adolfo |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Gomez-2358 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Gomez-2358.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 16 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 4 confidence in the police, the most visible symbol of government, is central to public perception of government fairness and performance. No other agent of government exercises more individual discretion than the police officer. Law enforcement officers make decisions every day that affect the quality of people’s lives and the vitality of their liberty. An officer is legally authorized to use force, even lethal force if necessary, to protect the community and its people. Society depends on officers to use good judgment when performing their responsibilities, and they are expected to be fair, honest and professional. They must respect the dignity of all the individuals they serve, treating all people equitably, and upholding the highest standards of integrity. In short, police must treat people “properly, legally, and morally” (Bayley 1994, 79). Numerous examples of police corruption, excessive use of force, brutality and torture suggest that considerable reform is necessary to secure police accountability. Misconduct by police weakens the public’s confidence in law enforcement. Reports of police misconduct are often broadcast instantaneously by the media and also appear on the Internet. One of the most high profile and extreme examples of police abuse includes the videotaped beating of Rodney King by police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, which precipitated one of the most devastating episodes of civil unrest in the history of the United States. This unrest in Los Angeles left 56 people dead, more than 2,300 people injured, more than 1,100 buildings destroyed, and over $1 billion in damages (Gray 2007; Gutierrez et al. 2002). Equally horrific was the torture of Abner Louima in a police precinct |
