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79
incident there was no way of evaluating whether pretext stops were biased because
the department did not document traffic stops. The possibility of abusing pretext
stops and thus engaging in racial profiling was real according to senior staff in the
RPD. Investigators determined that more training about pretext stops was necessary
and a system that records every traffic stop, including the purpose of the stop, and
the race and gender of the person stopped, was essential (25-27). A reporting system
for traffic stops would allow for careful evaluation of stops to determine whether
they reflect bias or are associated with any type of abuse.
Another significant finding of the inquiry into the Riverside Police
Department was the absence of a modern problem-oriented community policing
effort.43 Community policing is a prevailing philosophy in contemporary law
enforcement. The strategy has proven effective at preventing crime, reducing the
fear of crime, and most importantly improving police-community relations. Starting
in 1993, Riverside Police Chief Ken Fortier developed a community policing
program. According to Thacher’s 1998 study of the RPD’s use of community
policing grant funding, Fortier “was able to lay the foundations for community
policing in the city by spearheading a system of area commands charged with
solving community problems” (2).
43 According to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) of the U.S. Department
of Justice, community policing or problem-oriented policing (I use the terms interchangeably)
“focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of
traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and
partnerships. The community policing model balances reactive responses to calls for service with
proactive problem-solving centered on the causes of crime and disorder. Community policing
requires police and citizens to join together as partners in the course of both identifying and
effectively addressing these issues” (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 2008).
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 91 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 79 incident there was no way of evaluating whether pretext stops were biased because the department did not document traffic stops. The possibility of abusing pretext stops and thus engaging in racial profiling was real according to senior staff in the RPD. Investigators determined that more training about pretext stops was necessary and a system that records every traffic stop, including the purpose of the stop, and the race and gender of the person stopped, was essential (25-27). A reporting system for traffic stops would allow for careful evaluation of stops to determine whether they reflect bias or are associated with any type of abuse. Another significant finding of the inquiry into the Riverside Police Department was the absence of a modern problem-oriented community policing effort.43 Community policing is a prevailing philosophy in contemporary law enforcement. The strategy has proven effective at preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime, and most importantly improving police-community relations. Starting in 1993, Riverside Police Chief Ken Fortier developed a community policing program. According to Thacher’s 1998 study of the RPD’s use of community policing grant funding, Fortier “was able to lay the foundations for community policing in the city by spearheading a system of area commands charged with solving community problems” (2). 43 According to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) of the U.S. Department of Justice, community policing or problem-oriented policing (I use the terms interchangeably) “focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships. The community policing model balances reactive responses to calls for service with proactive problem-solving centered on the causes of crime and disorder. Community policing requires police and citizens to join together as partners in the course of both identifying and effectively addressing these issues” (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 2008). |
