Police Oversight

Abstract

(from the chapter) Those living in cultures of peace should feel secure, and in current urban environments this security depends on adequate police protection (Mahoney and Pinedo 2007). Yet police may be involved in oppression, and a good, fair, noncorrupt police force depends on adequate civilian control. This is best achieved when the independent civilian oversight of law enforcement provides a way to address the violence experienced by those most likely to be subject to police action. Such independent oversight of policing is a growing worldwide movement aimed at addressing police involvement in both direct and structural violence. Psychologists and others with an interest in building cultures of peace may want to become involved in this field of police oversight and with those that monitor police behavior in local communities, for there is little doubt that civilian oversight of law enforcement would benefit from more contact with those who have studied peace, conflict, and violence. After presenting a general overview of the different models used to provide oversight, this chapter presents the description of the model used in Miami-Dade County. This progressive accountability process uses a type of restorative justice model as an alternative to more expensive adversarial and retributive models of independent oversight of policing. Even though the police oversight agency involved lacks subpoena authority, this model of external community fact-finding and dispute resolution has resulted in changes in policy and practice by the Miami-Dade Police Department. The chapter concludes with a description of international organizations in the field of oversight. Links to relevant resources and organizations are also provided for further information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).