Revisiting Who Is Guarding the Guardians?
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Revisiting Who Is Guarding the Guardians? A Report on Police Practices and Civil Rights in America Acknowledgments The Commission proceeding was organized and the report was written under the supervision of Acting General Counsel Edward A. Hailes, Jr. Project team leader Joseph Manalili* and attorney-advisors Kim Ball, Deborah Reid, Joyce Smith, and Audrey Wiggins performed preliminary research and planning for the proceeding. Additional assistance was provided by the Public Affairs Unit through its deputy chief Marcia Tyler and editor David Aronson. Further assistance was provided by Kimberly Alton, special assistant to the staff director. Clerical support was given by legal secretary Pamela Moye and administrative assistant Carolita Little of the Public Affairs Unit. Project team leader Joseph Manalili and attorney-advisors Deborah Reid, Jenny Kim Park, Joyce Smith, and Audrey Wiggins drafted the report. Attorney-advisors Kim Ball, Barbara de La Viez, Michael Foreman, Emma Gonzalez-Joy, and Bernard Quarterman conducted the legal sufficiency review. The report was prepared for publication by Dawn Sweet. The Commission acknowledges with gratitude the tremendous contributions of the selected experts to this important project. * No longer with the Commission 111 Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... ...... ........ ............. 1 Commission Reports ....... ... .. .. .. ........... ............................................. .. ........................ ......... 4 Briefing .................... ............................................................................................................. 5 2. Recruitment, Selection, and Training for Police Work ................................ .................... 6 Recruitment ............ ............................... .......... ........................ ............. ... ............................. 7 Selection ................................ ................................................................................................ 9 Training .................................................................................................... .......................... 10 Cultural Sensitivity ............................ ................................................................................ 11 People with Mental Disabilities ........................................ ............ .................................... 11 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Community ............................................... 13 Use of Force ...................... .................................................................................................. 13 Racial Profiling ......................................................... .......................................................... 15 Community Policing ............. ....... ....................................................................................... 20 Consent Decrees ................................................................................................................. 23 Promotion and Retention .......... ........................................................... .............................. 24 Conclusion. .. .... ........................ ............................................................................................ 24 Findings and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 24 3. Internal Regulation of Police Departments ...... .. .. ................ ...... ....................... .. ...... .. .... 28 Policies to Reduce Incidents of Unnecessary Deadly Force ................. ............................ 28 Statistics on the Use of Deadly Force ................................................................. ......... 28 Connecticut........ ....................................................................................................... 28 California ................. ............................................................................................. .... 28 Illinois .... ..................................................................... ......................................... ..... 28 Washington, D.C ...... ............................ ........................................................... ......... 29 Legal Standards ............................................................................................ ................ 29 Policies on the Use of Deadly Force ...................... ....................................................... 29 Factors That Influence Use of Deadly Force Policies and Incidents ......................... 30 Training ............ ............................................................................................................. 33 Routine Encounters between Police Officers and the Community ................ ................. 34 Stop, Question, and Frisk ............................................................................................. 34 Racial Profiling .............................................................................................................. 35 Internal Mechanisms to Monitor and Control Racial Profiling ............................ 38 Internal Investigations and Dispositions ................................................... ...................... 39 Mechanisms for Detecting Officer Misconduct ...................................................... ..... 39 Previous Reform Efforts ................................... ...... ................................................. 39 Current Approaches .................................................................. ............................... 40 Barriers to Effective Internal Investigations .............................................................. 41 Conclusion....................... ... ................................................................................................. 43 Findings and Recommendations ......................................................................... .............. 44 v 4. External Controls ............................... ............................................. ................................... 46 City Government ......................... ....................................................................................... 46 Reforms in City Government Oversight of Police Misconduct ........................... ........ 47 Barriers to Effective City Government Control of Police Misconduct.. .................... .48 State Prosecutions and Federal Oversight.. ..................................................................... 50 State Prosecutors ........................... ............................................................................... 50 Special Prosecutors ....................................................................................................... 50 Federal Government Oversight ................................................................................... 52 Civilia n Review Boards ...................................................................................................... 53 Previous Reform Efforts ............................................................................................... 54 Current Approaches and Policies ................................................................................. 55 Barriers to Effective Civilian Oversight.. ................... .. ............................................... 59 Conclusion..... ...................................................................................................................... 62 Findings and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 62 5. Remedies and Legal Developments ....................................................................... .... ..... 64 Civil Actions by Victims of Police Misconduct .................................................................. 64 Civil Remedies under State Law ......... ........................................................................ 64 Civil Remedies under Federal Law .............................................................................. 65 Criminal Prosecution of Police Misconduct ...................................................................... 67 Federal Civil Rights Enforcement. .................................................................................... 67 Pattern or Practice Lawsuits against Recalcitrant Police Departments .................. 67 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.. ................................................................................ 69 Withholding Federal Funding from Agencies That Engage in Discriminatory Practices .... ..................................................................................... 70 Collection of National Statistics on Police Misconduct .............................................. 70 Legislative Developments on Racial Profiling .................................................................. 71 Federal Legislative Developments ............................................................................... 71 State Legislative Developments ................................................................................... 72 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................