Police Accountability and Oversight Flashcards
What are several ways that police officers are held accountable?
- Political accountability
- Legal accountability
- Accountability to administrative agencies
- Direct public accountability
- Accountability to the community
- Special ad hoc accountability
- Cell phones
Governance of Police
- Police Acts
- RCMP Act/Provincial/Territorial Police Acts
- Policing Standards
- Police Boards & Commissions
What do Police Acts do?
Provide legislative framework for police services and principles
What are the 3 Oversight Models?
Dependent: Police investigating police
Interdependent: Police & civilians investigating police (hybrid model)
Independent: Civilians investigating police (little to no police involvement)
Two types of oversight of police in BC?
Internal and external
Internal oversight
Internal professional standards section and tasked with investigating other police services
External oversight
Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC/Hybrid model) and Independent Investigations Office (IIO/Independent model)
Difference between OPCC and IIO?
OPCC handles complaints about municipal police misconduct
IIO handles police involved deaths and use of force resulting in serious bodily harm
Where does the IIO have jurisdiction?
All of BC’s police agencies including municipal and RCMP
Where does the IIO get their authority?
From the BC Police Act, which requires police to notify them of all relevant incidents
What are the 3 types of complaints against police?
Service and policy
Public trust
Internal discipline (related to officer conduct against colleagues)
Oversight of the RCMP
RCMP External Review Committee and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC)
Role of the RCMP External Review Committe
Hears appeals from RCMP members who have been disciplined
Role of CRCC
Independent federal agency that receives and reviews complaints made by citizens about the conduct of RCMP officers
Role of Police Commissions
Hear appeals from officers, investigates how police services are delivered, and receives complaints from the public
Role of Police Boards
Receive complaints about policies and procedures, training, response to assistance, and resource allocation
Forms of misconduct
Profit motivated crimes
Off-duty crimes against persons
Off-duty public order crimes
Drug crime
On-duty abuse
Obstruction of justice
Failure to perform
Conduct related probationary
Economic corruption
Acting on economic opportunities created by one’s authority for personal gain
Abuse of authority
Involves officers’ misuse of their power and authority
Three types of abuse of authority
Physical abuse
Psychological abuse
Legal abuse
Forms of physical abuse
Excessive force, physical harassment, retaliation
Forms of psychological abuse
Disrespect, harassments, intimidation, and deception in interrogation
Legal Abuses
Unlawful searches and seizures, manufacturing evidence, perjury, planting and hiding evidence
Sexual misconduct
Sexual extortion by police officers
Noble Cause Corruption
Mindset that the ends justify the means
3 types of explanations for police corruption
The rotten apple
The rotten barrel
The rotten orchard
The rotten apple
The officer alone is deviant, and that it was simply a mistake to hire him or her
The rotten barrel
Small groups develop a micro-culture where there seems to be a pattern of corruption especially within special units
The rotten orchard
When a culture of misconduct pervades an organization that include internal and external issues i.e., workplace harassment and police brutality
