particular why their accountability is more important than other profession. Also the various methods of police accountability will be critically examined to determine their adequacy.

The issue of police accountability and deviance has been a concern dating back as

far as the eighteenth century in London. This is not surprising considering the amount of

power and discretion police officers have, and the level of trust that the public holds with

these civil servants. Accountability is perhaps most important with police officers because of their right to use coercive force when enforcing the law. Unlike other professions, police officers are constantly faced with opportunities for corruption, which is acting illegally for personal gain while working. Corruption can take many forms such as mooching for free food, coffee or discounts, taking bribes, stealing from crime scenes or committing perjury to convict a suspect. Even more serious is police brutality and physical abuses of power, which in reality are more common than most believe.

When looking at police deviance overall it bec

After an investigation a review committee has several options, they can find for a sustained complaint, in which they find that an inappropriate behavior occurred, and then sanction. They can find for an unsustained complaint in which they do not know if the behavior occurred. They can find for an unfounded compliant in which the alleged behavior did not occur, or finally for an exoneration in which the officer’s behavior was found to be justified and within procedure. Possible police sanctions include fines, verbal or written warnings, suspension, demotion, dismissal, and most commonly counseling. Common complaints are procedural complaints, verbal abuse and excessive force. The methods of accountability in place today are far from adequate as they do little more than act as a cover for credibility. On average most sanctions are minimal, and external commissions are limited to a maximum punishment of a sixty day suspension. Also in 1985 for example, 25% of Metro officers had complaints taken against them, and 94% had no sanctions imposed on them. Clearly the need for independent commissions staffed by civilians, as used with Manitoba police forces, would be an important step in adding a more reasonable level of accountability to police work. In addition these commissions would need more power than a 60 day suspension, and should be able to lobby for dismissal when the need arises. In summary, police accountability is seen as being more important than any other profession’s accountability because of their ability to use coercive

Some topics in this essay:
Police Accountability, Mounted Police, Division IAD, Police Force, police accountability, external review, police officers, accountability police, force enforcing, police deviance, rank file officers, internal external review, coercive deadly force, review process, deadly force enforcing, deadly force, investigation review, coercive deadly, force enforcing law,