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126
profiling exists, they do substantiate logical and acceptable reasons for some level of
disparity” (Gaines 2006b, 43).
Many of the RPD police reforms were intended to militate against practices
such as racial profiling. One would assume that if the practice were taking place, it
would be curtailed by the changes implemented by the department. Reforms such as
a modified complaint procedure, improved training, better supervision, greater
accountability, and the use of audio and video recorders to monitor officer
interactions with the public would likely minimize or at least discourage the practice.
The collection and reporting of the data in and of itself was a significant
reform. Before the judgment, the RPD did not document traffic stop information.
The AG’s monitor indicated that many members of the community viewed the
collection and analysis of traffic stops by the RPD favorably. The data and the
reports allowed for greater transparency into the RPD, which was a significant
weakness of the RPD before the decree (Brann 2006, 8-9; Brann 2008; Verdugo
2008). The RPD continues to collect traffic stop data, one of only a few police
agencies in the State of California to do so.
Reforms Targeting Use-of-Force Policies and Excessive Force
Another mechanism for ensuring accountability that was embedded in the
consent decree involved the RPD’s response to excessive force incidents. Excessive
use of force is one of the most horrible forms of police misconduct and therefore
must be eliminated. Indeed, the use of force by Riverside police officers in the
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 138 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 126 profiling exists, they do substantiate logical and acceptable reasons for some level of disparity” (Gaines 2006b, 43). Many of the RPD police reforms were intended to militate against practices such as racial profiling. One would assume that if the practice were taking place, it would be curtailed by the changes implemented by the department. Reforms such as a modified complaint procedure, improved training, better supervision, greater accountability, and the use of audio and video recorders to monitor officer interactions with the public would likely minimize or at least discourage the practice. The collection and reporting of the data in and of itself was a significant reform. Before the judgment, the RPD did not document traffic stop information. The AG’s monitor indicated that many members of the community viewed the collection and analysis of traffic stops by the RPD favorably. The data and the reports allowed for greater transparency into the RPD, which was a significant weakness of the RPD before the decree (Brann 2006, 8-9; Brann 2008; Verdugo 2008). The RPD continues to collect traffic stop data, one of only a few police agencies in the State of California to do so. Reforms Targeting Use-of-Force Policies and Excessive Force Another mechanism for ensuring accountability that was embedded in the consent decree involved the RPD’s response to excessive force incidents. Excessive use of force is one of the most horrible forms of police misconduct and therefore must be eliminated. Indeed, the use of force by Riverside police officers in the |
