Civilian review boards
Civilian review boards (CRBs) are bodies composed of community members that examine complaints against police officers, aiming to enhance transparency and accountability within law enforcement agencies. Established in response to public concerns regarding police misconduct, including corruption and brutality, CRBs serve as a mechanism for citizens to voice grievances and seek justice. Their importance grew notably during the 1960s and saw renewed interest in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly following high-profile cases of alleged police brutality in recent years. While CRBs typically do not have the authority to make final decisions, they provide findings and recommendations that are forwarded to relevant authorities and made accessible to the public, fostering a sense of community involvement in policing matters. This initiative is part of a broader movement towards community-oriented policing, which emphasizes collaboration between law enforcement and the neighborhoods they serve. As of the 2020s, approximately 125 cities in the United States have some form of civilian oversight of police, reflecting a growing trend to restore public confidence in law enforcement.
Civilian review boards
SIGNIFICANCE: Civilian review boards have been instituted in various cities as a way to restore public confidence in police departments, some of which had been tainted by corruption scandals and charges of police brutality.
One of the greatest potential threats to justice is corruption within law-enforcement organizations. Police corruption has been addressed historically through a variety of mechanisms, including internal affairs divisions, police commissions, political oversight agencies, and special investigatory bodies. Despite these mechanisms, complaints have persisted that charges of police corruption are sometimes ignored by governmental authorities. During the 1960s, experiments were conducted with civilian review boards (CRBs), groups of citizens from the community who would examine complaints against police officers and recommend further action. Police departments strongly opposed the establishment of these boards as a threat to police professionalism and morale. During the 1980s and 1990s, however, enthusiasm for CRBs increased, particularly in larger cities. A series of notorious cases of alleged police brutality against unarmed Black people in the 2010s and early 2020s stoked outrage in many communities and fueled the call for more civilian oversight.
CRBs seldom are empowered to make ultimate determinations on citizen complaints. Instead, their findings and recommendations are passed on to other authorities as well as made available to the general public. CRBs can be seen as a logical complement to the trend toward community-oriented policing, which was gaining popularity at the same time. According to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, about 125 US cities, many of them the larger population centers, had some form of civilian oversight of police in the 2020s.
Bibliography
National Research Council. Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2003.
Ostrom, Elinor, R. Parks, and Gordon Whitaker. Patterns of Metropolitan Policing. New York: Praeger, 1978.
“Police Oversight by Jurisdiction (USA).” National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, www.nacole.org/police‗oversight‗by‗jurisdiction‗usa. Accessed 24 June 2024.
Prosecuting Police Misconduct: Reflections on the Role of the U.S. Civil Rights Division. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 1998.
Skolnick, Jerome H., and James J. Fyfe. Above the Law: Police and Excessive Use of Force. New York: Free Press, 1993.