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132
Early Warning/Intervention System64
Samuel Walker has written that “[t]he dirty little secret in policing is not just
that some officers repeatedly engage in misconduct but that other officers know who
they are” (2005, 100). A small number of police officers are responsible for most
incidents of misconduct (100-106). For example, in the aftermath of the Rodney
King beating, the Christopher Commission reported that LAPD leaders knew who
the problem officers were in the department. Former LAPD Assistant Chief Jesse
Brewer told the Commission “[w]e know who the bad guys are. Reputations become
well known, especially to the sergeants and then of course to lieutenants and the
captains” (Christopher Commission Report 1991, ix). The Commission found:
Of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive
force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had
only one or two allegations. But 183 had four or more allegations, 44 had six
or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations. Of nearly
6,000 officers identified as involved in use of force reports from January
1987 to March 1991, more than 4,000 had fewer than five reports each, but
63 officers had 20 or more reports each. (ix-x)
They also found that three officers had a significant and serious pattern of
questionable behavior when personnel data were merged.
One officer had 13 allegations of excessive force and improper tactics, five
other complaint allegations, 28 use of force reports, and one shooting.
Another had six excessive force/improper tactics allegations, 19 other
complaint allegations, 10 use of force reports, and three shootings. A third
officer had seven excessive force/improper tactics allegations, seven other
complaint allegations, 27 use of force reports, and one shooting. (x)
64 The RPD’s system is called an Early Warning System. As Walker (2005) has explained, the term
early warning was used when these systems were initially developed, but the term suggests the
negative implication that the system is set up for discipline (103-104). The term early intervention
connotes stepping in to help correct or improve performance. I use the term early intervention
system. Also, see note 53.
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 144 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 132 Early Warning/Intervention System64 Samuel Walker has written that “[t]he dirty little secret in policing is not just that some officers repeatedly engage in misconduct but that other officers know who they are” (2005, 100). A small number of police officers are responsible for most incidents of misconduct (100-106). For example, in the aftermath of the Rodney King beating, the Christopher Commission reported that LAPD leaders knew who the problem officers were in the department. Former LAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer told the Commission “[w]e know who the bad guys are. Reputations become well known, especially to the sergeants and then of course to lieutenants and the captains” (Christopher Commission Report 1991, ix). The Commission found: Of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 had four or more allegations, 44 had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations. Of nearly 6,000 officers identified as involved in use of force reports from January 1987 to March 1991, more than 4,000 had fewer than five reports each, but 63 officers had 20 or more reports each. (ix-x) They also found that three officers had a significant and serious pattern of questionable behavior when personnel data were merged. One officer had 13 allegations of excessive force and improper tactics, five other complaint allegations, 28 use of force reports, and one shooting. Another had six excessive force/improper tactics allegations, 19 other complaint allegations, 10 use of force reports, and three shootings. A third officer had seven excessive force/improper tactics allegations, seven other complaint allegations, 27 use of force reports, and one shooting. (x) 64 The RPD’s system is called an Early Warning System. As Walker (2005) has explained, the term early warning was used when these systems were initially developed, but the term suggests the negative implication that the system is set up for discipline (103-104). The term early intervention connotes stepping in to help correct or improve performance. I use the term early intervention system. Also, see note 53. |
