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96
worries and help deliver the message that the reform program would be a
partnership. In his conversations with leaders in Riverside, Police Chief Russ Leach
acknowledged that the AG’s Office had evidence that substantiated the need for
reform. He reassured those in the community who were concerned about a consent
decree by explaining, “The proposed settlement is really nothing to be afraid of. The
timelines are doable” (O’Neill Hill and Pitchford 2001a, A1).
Lockyer’s visit to Riverside on February 13, 2001, was effective at
convincing many in the community that a court-enforceable settlement was
necessary. Many observers assumed the Riverside Police Officers’ Association
would oppose the decree, yet they remained neutral. Indeed, the Association’s
President, Jay Theuer, who attended the negotiation meetings, stated that the RPD
and City would benefit from the agreement. Additionally, civil rights leaders like the
Rev. Jesse Wilson continued to support a consent decree, believing that oversight
would ensure reforms would last. Wilson, who served as chair of the Tyisha Miller
Steering Committee, said “A consent decree by any other name is still as sweet as
long as it brings the needed changes. There’s just too many people, especially in city
government, who are denying or downplaying the extent of the problem” (A1). The
impact of the state’s persuasion campaign was best measured by a Press Enterprise
editorial, “To Continue the Progress,” published after Lockyer’s visit:
there is an insistence on a five-year, judicially endorsed agreement. . . .
Riverside has run through a series of police chiefs, shifts in the police union,
and has seen earlier reform efforts sputter and stall. . . . Bill Lockyer doesn’t
want to put Riversiders in the dock. He made that abundantly clear during
his Riverside roundabout. He doesn’t want to be forced into a starkly
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 108 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 96 worries and help deliver the message that the reform program would be a partnership. In his conversations with leaders in Riverside, Police Chief Russ Leach acknowledged that the AG’s Office had evidence that substantiated the need for reform. He reassured those in the community who were concerned about a consent decree by explaining, “The proposed settlement is really nothing to be afraid of. The timelines are doable” (O’Neill Hill and Pitchford 2001a, A1). Lockyer’s visit to Riverside on February 13, 2001, was effective at convincing many in the community that a court-enforceable settlement was necessary. Many observers assumed the Riverside Police Officers’ Association would oppose the decree, yet they remained neutral. Indeed, the Association’s President, Jay Theuer, who attended the negotiation meetings, stated that the RPD and City would benefit from the agreement. Additionally, civil rights leaders like the Rev. Jesse Wilson continued to support a consent decree, believing that oversight would ensure reforms would last. Wilson, who served as chair of the Tyisha Miller Steering Committee, said “A consent decree by any other name is still as sweet as long as it brings the needed changes. There’s just too many people, especially in city government, who are denying or downplaying the extent of the problem” (A1). The impact of the state’s persuasion campaign was best measured by a Press Enterprise editorial, “To Continue the Progress,” published after Lockyer’s visit: there is an insistence on a five-year, judicially endorsed agreement. . . . Riverside has run through a series of police chiefs, shifts in the police union, and has seen earlier reform efforts sputter and stall. . . . Bill Lockyer doesn’t want to put Riversiders in the dock. He made that abundantly clear during his Riverside roundabout. He doesn’t want to be forced into a starkly |
