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151
Principles that Fostered Successful Reform in the RPD
There are several factors that shaped the reform in the Riverside Police
Department: (1) leadership, particularly from Police Chief Leach, the Mayor and the
City Council; (2) the role of the community and media; and (3) the efforts and
expertise of the AG’s Office and its consultant.
The most important was leadership. The City and AG’s Office had effective
and committed people working to solve the problems of the RPD. The leadership of
Police Chief Russ Leach was critical. His presence at the negotiating table during
the discussion on the settlement agreement was instrumental in getting a deal done.
He told the City that the police department had problems that needed to be addressed
and that they should not be afraid of a consent decree. Leach realized that the
judgment could serve as a mechanism for needed change. Indeed, it would facilitate
his work by ensuring that he would receive the necessary support and resources to
implement the reforms.
Leach also dispelled any notions held by officers or others that the RPD was
free of problems. He brought to heel those who failed to heed his blunt assessment
of the RPD. Officer and managerial accountability was consistently stressed and
expected. Managers were expected to perform and they were held responsible for
the performance and conduct of their officers. Further, the Chief realized that the
AG’s Office was not the enemy. The AG’s Office could and would do everything in
its power to support the effort. They were just as personally invested in seeing the
reforms come to fruition as he was. Because the Chief and the AG’s Office had 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 163 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 151 Principles that Fostered Successful Reform in the RPD There are several factors that shaped the reform in the Riverside Police Department: (1) leadership, particularly from Police Chief Leach, the Mayor and the City Council; (2) the role of the community and media; and (3) the efforts and expertise of the AG’s Office and its consultant. The most important was leadership. The City and AG’s Office had effective and committed people working to solve the problems of the RPD. The leadership of Police Chief Russ Leach was critical. His presence at the negotiating table during the discussion on the settlement agreement was instrumental in getting a deal done. He told the City that the police department had problems that needed to be addressed and that they should not be afraid of a consent decree. Leach realized that the judgment could serve as a mechanism for needed change. Indeed, it would facilitate his work by ensuring that he would receive the necessary support and resources to implement the reforms. Leach also dispelled any notions held by officers or others that the RPD was free of problems. He brought to heel those who failed to heed his blunt assessment of the RPD. Officer and managerial accountability was consistently stressed and expected. Managers were expected to perform and they were held responsible for the performance and conduct of their officers. Further, the Chief realized that the AG’s Office was not the enemy. The AG’s Office could and would do everything in its power to support the effort. They were just as personally invested in seeing the reforms come to fruition as he was. Because the Chief and the AG’s Office had the |
