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ONE AFTER another, almost 90 residents and activists testified at a virtual session of the Washington, DC, city council's judiciary committee on June 15th to oppose a 3.3% increase in [...]

The International Association of Chiefs of Police established 4 documents on police ethics which were included in an Ethics toolkit which was distributed to police departments in 2002. The documents are the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor, the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, The Law Enforcement Code of Conduct and the Canons of Ethics.

Civil asset forfeiture creates incentives for law enforcement to abuse the process because of the economic benefits that it provides. To reform the civil foreiture process, the economic incentives must be removed. Ways of reforming this system in California are examined.

The Washington Poast was both praised and criticized for its 2001 series on police shootings in Prince George's County, MD. The police department's problems with excessive force and efforts to control it are discussed.

Race relations and economic conditions in the South Central area of Los Angeles are improving very slowly since the trial of police officers accused excessive violence against African American Rodney King sparked riots in 1992. Chief of Police Bernard Parks has had mixed results controlling police misconduct and few of the promised redevelopment plants have materialized.

Strict selection procedures are followed in the Netherlands and the officers are expected to observe police norms strictly. The Police Act of the Netherlands gives the mayor the authority over the police force to handle complaints against police officials. He delegates authority to regional police chiefs for handling the issue. In Rotterdam, complaints can be filed verbally or in writing with the mayor, the public prosecutor, or the force manager for the regional chief of police. In case of dissatisfaction, a complainant can appeal to the mayor or the parliamentary commission.

An overview is presented on Citizens for Police Review (CPR), a group based in Knoxville, Tennessee, which emerged as a response to an increasing number of accounts of police brutality in that city. CPR identifies officers who have been involved in more than one incident, and investigating law rates of disciplinary action.

Law enforcement administrators need to focus on the selection procedure to reduce cases of police misconduct. Emphasis on comprehensive background investigation will facilitate informed hiring decisions. Disclosure of previous misconduct of the applicants will ward off individuals with dangerous behavioral problems. However, investigations into the past performance of the applicants must adhere to fair employment practices. Operating procedures regarding investigation and evaluation of subsequent information need to be uniform for all applicants.

The New York Police Department's (NYPD) integrity strategy aims at the prevention, detection, investigation, and control of police corruption and misconduct. It uses the policy of inclusion and external involvement to emphasize command accountability and to inspire high-performance. Efforts are also being made to build cases against corrupt officers and exonerate the innocent. NYPD is carrying out random tests to identify the offenders and establish the extent of corruption. The supervision and recruitment procedures have also been strengthened and modified.

Law enforcement agencies can be held liable for constitutional violations if they fail to incorporate proper use-of-force training into their curricula. Inconsistency in use-of-force training can also result in future liability. Field training officers should fully comprehend current use-of-force training since they are tasked primarily with implementing these policies. Common failures in a typical use-of-force training policy are discussed.

It took the unimpeachable 'eyewitness' account of a video camera to make the nation see and believe what Blacks--especially poor Blacks--have known all along: Some cops are a far cry [...]