December 1998 Volume 67 Number 12 United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, DC 20535-0001 Louis J. Freeh Director Contributors' opinions and statements should not be Features considered an endorsement by the FBI for any policy, program, or service. The Attorney General has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in Citizen Complaints Handling and resolving complaints the transaction of the public influence community relations with police business required by law. Use of By Richard R. Johnson funds for printing this periodical departments. has been approved by the a Director of the Office of Management and Budget. INTERPOL Investigators around the globe use the The FBI Law Enforcement By John J. Imhoff and services of INTERPOL to coordinate Bulletin (ISSN-0014-5688) is information gathering. published monthly by the Stephen P. Cutler Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20535-0001 . Periodical postage paid at Washington, DC, and Moving and Touching Fourth Amendment considerations arise additional mailing offices. when officers move and touch luggage. Postmaster: Send address Stowed or Checked Luggage changes to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI By Jayme S. Walker Academy, Madison Building, Room 209, Quantico, VA 22135. Editor John E. Ott Managing Editor Kim Waggoner Departments Associate Editors Glen Bartolomei Cynthia L. Lewis Bunny S. Morris Art Director Brian K. Parnell 6 Police Practice 25 1998 Subject Index Assistant Art Director Realtor-Police Denise K. Bennett Partnership 28 1998 Author Index StaffAssistant Linda W. Szumilo 16 Manager's Bookshelf Internet Address Violence in the Workplace [email protected] Cover photo © Digital Stock Send article submissions to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Madison Building, Room 209, Quantico, VA 22135. ISSN 0014-5688 USPS 383-310 Citizen Complaints What the Police Should Know By RICHARD R. JOHNSON I . ~_ itizen complaints against The manner in which police de• complaints remain important issues police officers act as a ba• partments handle and resolve com• for police administrators. C rometer measuring the plaints influences community rela• community's satisfaction with the tions. Complaints reveal police Who Files Complaints? police service they receive. The activities that cause the most con• Studies conducted in Chicago, number and type ofcomplaints filed cern for community members. A St. Louis, and Philadelphia ob• against officers clearly indicate if community that perceives their con• served the types of individuals who problems exist. Citizen complaints cerns to law enforcement officials file complaints against the police. can serve as quality control for po• fall on deaf ears will negatively im• Although the complaints came from lice service because the citizens pact community support for the de• both sexes, many races, a variety of represent the customers who pur• partment. If the community feels ages, and all socioeconomic groups, chase police service with their tax that the police do not investigate a profile developed for the person dollars. Complaints demonstrate their complaints fairly or that biased most likely to complain about po• the need for improved training in judgments usually result, citizens lice conduct. Nonwhite males under certain areas, uncover problem em• will view the police as opponents the age of 30 filed approximately ployees, and identify areas ofpoten• instead of as partners. Under• three-quarters of the complaints tiallegal liability. standing and responding to citizen against the police. Over one-half of --------------------------------------______________________________ December 1998/1 Officers under age 30, with less " t h . f than 5 years of police experience ... e ma/onty ° and only a high school education complaints filed suffer the greatest risk for receiving against the police a complaint.4 These facts illustrate do not find the the importance of maturity to per• accused officer form the job functions of a law en• guilty. forcement officer. Generally less aggressive and more mature, older officers have learned to communicate with " people through years of life experi• ence. By trial and error, they have Mr. Johnson, a former Indiana state trooper, currently serves as an adjunct professor at Vincennes University in Indianapolis, Indiana. learned various ways to understand and effectively deal with various in• dividuals. Seasoned officers have gained experience negotiating in the complainants were divorced or that the complaints signify local various situations, and officers with single and unemployed or blue-col• problems for the department. How• over 5 years of police experience lar workers with at least one prior ever, because many jurisdictions have learned to handle people in arrest. In most cases, individuals share the same types of complain• stressful situations. In many in• who filed complaints lived in the ants, perhaps a nationwide dissatis• stances, when officers do not de• jurisdiction of the department com• faction with police service exists velop effective communication plained against.! Studies in Canada among this group. skills after 5 years, administrators found the same profile for individu• might terminate them, or they might als filing complaints against the po• Against Whom? voluntarily leave their career in law lice in that nation, as well. 2 Similar to the typical person enforcement. The young, unmarried, low-in• who complains about police con• Formal education in psychol• come, nonwhite male represents the duct, the average officer com• ogy, sociology, and communication profile of a citizen most likely to plained against has the most contact help college-educated officers complain against the police. This with the public. Officers assigned to avoid many complaints. Their ad• person generally has the most con• uniformed patrol duties received vanced education provides them tact with the criminal justice sys• the most complaints. In the studies with a better understanding of the tem, demonstrated by the fact that reviewed, the majority of officers world and their place in society. the majority of these complainants who had complaints filed against College campus life provides an ex• had prior arrests. A higher level of them were white males-the major• cellent environment to learn inter• contact with the police results in a ity of police officers in the nation. 3 personal communication skills and higher probability of unhappiness As women and members of ethnic experience cultural diversity. Offi• with the conduct of the police. minority groups increase in num• cers possessing police work experi• This fact underscores the im• bers within the police profession, ence, maturity, and higher educa• portance of community policing ef• complaints against these groups tion appear better equipped to forts targeted at improving relations probably will increase. handle stressful situations without with youth, racial minorities, and Even though all uniformed offending individuals. those individuals in lower socioeco• patrol officers have a high probabil• Research demonstrates that of• nomic groups. The fact that most ity of receiving a citizen com• ficers' chances of receiving a com• complainants live within the plaint, some officers' characteris• plaint may increase if they work department's jurisdiction shows tics slightly elevate this chance. with a partner. Several studies have 2/ FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin found that two-officer patrols re• otherwise innocent comment as a call dispatched from a citizen's re• ceive a complaint more often than rude remark. Officers need to port. A patrol officer uncovering one-officer units.5 This might stem understand people and situations in suspicious or criminal behavior ex• from a sense ofsecurity officers feel order to comprehend how citizens emplifies such situations. In these when working with constant will react to their statements. incidents, officers may not appear backup. An officer might talk tough About one-quarter of the com• as friendly as usual because they to a suspect with a partner present to plaints filed against police officers just witnessed illegal activity. The avoid appearing like a coward. If a dealt with excessive force issues.8 circumstances also do not provide citizen speaks aggressively to one These complaints included off-duty the officer with time to mentally of the officers, the partner may feel uses of force as well as on-duty ap• prepare for the encounter. In addi• the need to defend the officer's plications of force. Many off• tion, the unexpected appearance of reputation by snapping back at the duty uses of force involve criminal the police surprises the citizens and citizen. Of course, pairing officers acts, such as bar fights or domestic causes the resident to become together could double the chance battery situations. After excluding overly sensitive to any statements that someone in the unit will receive or actions from the police. This fac• a complaint. tor might create the high proportion of complaints against two-officer For What Reason? units. Because ofthe added sense of Studies conducted in Florida, Officers assigned to safety and the extra pair ofscanning Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, "uniformed patrol eyes, more on-site situations might and Washington revealed citizens duties received the involve two-officer units. complain most about the police A large percentage of com• officer's verbal conduct. In each most complaints.