Citizen Oversight Research Paper

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The Effectiveness of Citizen Oversight Chaundra Dickerson Dr. Russo January 27, 2013 CMRJ512 Police Administration The civilian oversight of law enforcement movement in the United States is expanding and evolving. In conjunction with human rights and human relations commissions, oversight organizations work to ensure that community members’ civil rights are respected, probing issues of disparate treatment, racial profiling, and excessive use of force in the law enforcement agencies they oversee. Oversight is becoming integrated into the fabric of our society and government; there is recognition that oversight is beneficial and here to stay (Attard, 2010). The reason behind there being a need for civilian oversight is because…show more content…
Though many citizen oversight practitioners and police administrators agree that citizen oversight can have a positive role in police accountability, there are a number of inherent flaws in the development, implementation, and operation of many citizen oversight systems. The failure of both citizen oversight practitioners and police executives to address these issues have contributed to the demise of many citizen oversight systems and the continued perception that police are incapable of policing themselves. These flaws include; loyalty, time management in reference to planning, impractical goals, and lack of community…show more content…
It is important to note that in one fundamental respect, all law enforcement agencies in the United States are subject to control and direction by citizens through their elected representatives. This represents the very essence of policing in a democratic society. Mayors, governors, and presidents appoint law enforcement chief executives and have a large say in directing law enforcement agencies under their control through the appointment of agency chief executives and the setting of basic policy. City councils, county boards, state legislatures, and Congress exercise control through the budgetary process (Walker 2005). The civilian oversight of law enforcement movement in the United States is expanding and evolving. Oversight is becoming integrated into the fabric of our society and government; there is recognition that oversight is beneficial and here to stay (Attard, 2010). The reason behind there being a need for civilian oversight is because of the apparent failure of the police to show accountability of actions to the public. Commonly, it is much easier to have something along the lines of misconduct to transpire and because of it being by the police it is overlooked or unaddressed. This may be a problem

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