CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT Mark Brendan Callaghan B.S., University of California, Davis, 2002 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in CRIMINAL JUSTICE at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2011 CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT A Thesis by Mark Brendan Callaghan Approved by: , Committee Chair David Swim, D.P.A , Second Reader Bruce Bikle, Ph.D Date ii Student: Mark Brendan Callaghan I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis , Graduate Coordinator Yvette Farmer, Ph.D Division of Criminal Justice iii _ Date Abstract of CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT by Mark Brendan Callaghan The autonomy of law enforcement has been addressed by the development of civilian oversight agencies/entities These agencies aim to provide accountability of law enforcement through civilian review of police policies, independent civilian investigations of citizen complaints against the police, and through civilian review of police investigations of citizen complaints Although civilian oversight of law enforcement has been developing since the late 1940s there has been little research on the topic There is little research on characteristics of specific oversight agencies and even less research on measuring the performance of civilian oversight This exploratory study aspired to learn about the structures and functions of four specific oversight agencies, and to compare these agencies using performance measures identified in existing literature The sources of data for this study are qualitative interviews The interviewees consist of five classifications of individuals associated with oversight agencies in some manner This study found that the varying structure and function of each oversight agency yielded both positive and negative results The political influences on oversight agencies and the authority of the oversight agencies were found to be sources of contention that impeded their missions The criticism in existing literature that civilians iv not have the necessary training and experience to hold police departments accountable was corroborated by the interviews Most importantly this study found that none of these oversight agencies actively employed measures to evaluate their own performance Furthermore, when this study applied performance measures identified in existing literature, it found the oversight agencies were deficient , Committee Chair David Swim, D.P.A _ Date v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES viii INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Need for the Study .2 Scope and Limitations of the Study Methodology Definitions Organization of the Study LITERATURE REVIEW .6 History of Police Corruption and Oversight An Overview of Civilian Oversight 19 Structure 21 Authority 23 Staff, Resources, and Budget 26 Opposition 29 Oversight Auditors 32 Organizational Change .35 Auditing Complaint Investigations 36 Criticism 37 Complaint Investigation 38 Complaints and Complainants 43 Complaint Settlement/Dispositions 45 Performance Measures .46 Complaint Rate 48 Sustainment Rate .50 Learning, Legitimacy, and Integrity Performance Measures 50 Other Performance Measures 54 Complaint Process 54 Satisfaction .56 Feedback 57 Training, Staffing, and Cost Effectiveness 57 Auditor Performance Measures .58 Community Outreach .58 Policy Review 59 Internal Affair Influence 60 Summary 61 vi DESIGN OF THE STUDY 62 ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 68 A Comparison of the Civilian Oversight Agencies 69 Performance Measures .86 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 95 Application to the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects .105 APPENDIX B 111 Interviewee Classifications (1-5) and Questions 111 APPENDIX C 119 Written Invitation Form .119 APPENDIX D 121 Written Consent Form 121 APPENDIX F .124 Interviews 124 REFERENCES 208 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Coding Analysis for Comparing the Oversight Agencies 86 Table 2: Coding Analysis for Performance Measures 94 viii Chapter INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Law enforcement, from its origin, has been a contentious necessary component of society The occupation of law enforcement, which holds society accountable to the laws it has chosen, has traditionally been accountable for itself This self accountability has historically led to incidents of both minor and gross police misconduct, and has been the focal point of heated debates between civil rights activists and law enforcement professionals A headlining 1981 report on police accountability by the US Commission on Civil Rights titled “Who is Guarding the Guardians?” encompassed the wide concern regarding police accountability Furthermore the enabling power and authority bestowed on the minority that is law enforcement in order for them to complete their duties has proved to be a catalyst for corruption This corruption has not and does not comprise all law enforcement personnel, but its existence can not be refuted The autonomy of law enforcement has been addressed by the development of civilian oversight agencies/entities The purpose of these agencies is to provide accountability to law enforcement through civilian review of police policies, independent civilian investigations of citizen complaints against the police, and through civilian review of police investigations of citizen complaints Although civilian oversight of law enforcement has been developing since the late 1940s there has been little research on the topic The existing research on civilian oversight has focused on the macro and addressed general topics such as the varying types of oversight, their purposes/goals, their varying authorities, and the obstacles they face There is even less research on measuring the performance of civilian oversight As discussed later, a major obstacle for measuring their performance is that no oversight mechanism is like another; there are no standardized structures and authorities of civilian oversight making each one different from the other Logically therefore, performance measures need to be identified on a case by case basis per oversight agency Purpose of the Study The purpose of this exploratory study is to amalgamate both these issues, the lack of concentration to specific conditions of particular civilian oversight agencies and the deficiency of identifying performance measures, by conducting a comparison of varying local (California) oversight agencies University of Nebraska professor Samuel Walker (2001) corroborates this study’s purpose by stating, “Although a number of oversight agencies have credible records of success, there is a serious lack of research on the activities and effectiveness of oversight agencies” and “ there is a lack of comparative research that would allow us to make meaningful comparisons between different types of agencies” (p 184) Prospectively this research will identify effective and ineffective structures, policies, and performance measures of these civilian oversight agencies through a comparison of them Need for the Study Civilian oversight, as evidenced by its continued existence and growth, has been established as a lasting component of law enforcement The need for further study ... Division of Criminal Justice iii _ Date Abstract of CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT by Mark Brendan Callaghan The autonomy of law enforcement has been addressed by the development of civilian. .. autonomy of law enforcement has been addressed by the development of civilian oversight agencies/entities The purpose of these agencies is to provide accountability to law enforcement through civilian. .. purpose of civilian oversight Livingston’s principles, which she stated at the eighth annual conference of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, are (1) holding officers