U.S. Department of Justice 

Community Relations Service 

Principles of Good Policing: 

Avoiding Violence Between Police 

and Citizens 

(Revised September 2003) 

www.usdoj.gov/crs 
About the Community Relations Service 

The Community Relations Service (CRS), a unique component of the U.S. Department of 

Justice, seeks to prevent or resolve community conflicts and tensions arising from 

actions, policies, and practices perceived to be discriminatory on the basis of race, color, 

or national origin. CRS provides services, including conciliation, mediation, and 

technical assistance, directly to people and their communities to help them resolve 

conflicts that tear at the fabric of an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse society. 

CRS does not take sides among disputing parties and, in promoting the principles and 

ideals of nondiscrimination, applies skills that allow parties to come to their own 

agreement. In performing this mission, CRS deploys highly skilled professional 

conciliators, who are able to assist people of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. 

Police-citizen conflict accounts for a major portion of the disputes to which CRS 

responds. The agency provides a wide range of conciliation and technical assistance to 

help prevent or resolve disagreements over alleged police use of excessive force and 

other policing issues. CRS carries out most of its activities informally, but will conduct 

formal negotiations if the disputing parties believe that approach offers the best 

opportunity for reaching a mutually satisfactory settlement of their differences. 

www.usdoj.gov/crs 
U.S. Department of Justice 

Community Relations Service 

Principles of Good Policing: 

Avoiding Violence Between Police 

and Citizens 

(Revised September 2003) 
Foreword 

Over the years, the Community Relations Service (CRS) of the U.S. Department of 

Justice has assisted police departments and communities all over the country in coming to 

grips with the difficult task of maintaining law and order in a complex and changing 

multicultural society. Frequently, these efforts have involved minority citizens’ 

complaints about police behavior, use of force, and hate groups. 

In the following pages of this third edition, the staff of the Community Relations Service, 

together with knowledgeable law enforcement executives, have set out guiding principles 

that should govern police work in the community. 

The underlying assumption is that a police force and the community it serves must reach 

consensus on the values that guide that police force. Those values, while implicit in our 

Constitution, must embrace as clearly as possible the protection of individual life and 

liberty, and, at the same time, the measures necessary to maintain a peaceful and stable 

society. To accomplish this, a police executive must be familiar not only with his or her 

own police culture, but with the community culture as well, which is no easy task in 

neighborhoods experiencing major demographic changes. 

The Community Relations Service’s involvement in police-citizen violence stems 

directly from the CRS mandate to assist in community conflicts that threaten peaceful 

race relations in communities. Among the causes of such disputes, none is more volatile 

than allegations of unwarranted police use of deadly force against minority citizens. Even 

a perception that police follow this practice is cause for concern, because the negative 

impact on police-citizen relations will be the same. 

These issues have been a central concern for CRS since its inception. However, the 

agency stepped up its programming in this area during the late 1970s when its caseload 

began to increase. A number of national leaders cited police-citizen violence as a serious 

problem, and several independent studies indicated that minorities were 

disproportionately the victims of police use of deadly force. In 1991, the Rodney King 

beating in Los Angeles, videotaped by a citizen, was cause for many departments and 

communities to re-examine police values and practices, again resulting in a major 

increase in CRS casework in this area. More recently there have been fatal shootings of 

African-Americans by Caucasian police officers, including the deaths of Tyisha Miller in 

Riverside, California in 1998; Amadou Diallo in New York City in 2000; and Timothy 

Thomas in Cincinnati in 2001. 

In 1979, CRS organized one of the first major national conferences to examine the deadly 

force issue and the safety of police officers. The League of United Latin American 

Citizens and the National Urban League cosponsored the conference. It involved some of 

the Nation’s top police executives, national civil rights leaders, criminal justice 

researchers, local community leaders, and rank-and-file police officers in extensive 

discussions about the use-of-force issue. Those discussions laid the groundwork for 
unprecedented cooperation on action programs by conference participants when they 

returned to their home cities. 

For more than 25 years, CRS has made the development and implementation of 

innovative approaches to the deadly force problem—and dissemination of information 

through other conferences, training workshops, and publications—a major focus of its 

efforts. As one part of that effort in the mid-1980s, the agency invited four of the 

Nation’s outstanding law enforcement professionals to join in examining the police 

function with an eye toward identifying techniques, tactics, and approaches that should 

help to minimize violent police encounters with citizens. Those professionals were Frank 

Amoroso, chief of police of Portland, Maine; Lee P. Brown, chief of police of Houston, 

Texas; Charles Rodriguez, professor of criminal justice at Southwest Texas University, 

and chief of police of San Antonio, Texas; and Darrel W. Stephens, chief of police of 

Newport News, Virginia. This group and CRS’s own staff developed the 

recommendations and suggestions that were presented in the first printing of this 

publication. 

This publication is a 2003 revision of the 1993 edition. It maintains the strong emphasis 

on police values and their affect on officer behavior and on the community served by a 

department. New and expanded sections in the text and appendices have been included 

on: 

• Community Policing 

• Changing Demograpics and Immigrant Patterns 

• Hate Crimes 

• Principles of Community Policing 

• Policing in the Post-September 11 Environment 

• Responding to Incidents Involving Allegations of Excessive Use of Force 

It perhaps should be pointed out that CRS is well aware that citizens bear some of the 

responsibility for the nature of relations with the police. In fact, CRS has frequently 

addressed steps that citizens and police can take cooperatively to reduce community 

racial tension in its field services and publications. The interest here, in this publication, 

is in focusing exclusively on the police function, because of its predominant importance 

in the overall equation of police-citizen relations. 

Finally, while this publication is directed primarily towards law enforcement, it is also 

CRS’s intent to encourage law enforcement executives to use its contents to explore their 

relationship with representatives of the communities in which they work. In the 

Community Relations Service, we have always appreciated the benefits of a preventive 

response versus a reactive one. Police executives will find this publication helpful in 

devising techniques to avoid racial conflict and disharmony in the communities they 

serve. 
Preface 

The relationship between the American public and law enforcement, particularly its 

violent nature, has been under continual re-examination. Police-citizen violence and 

related concerns are prime topics of conversation wherever law enforcement 

professionals gather to discuss problems. Many police departments have made reviewing 

their use of force a top priority. And major civil rights organizations have made a priority 

of responding to police use of deadly force. 

The dimensions of this issue are also reflected in the amount of research and analyses 

devoted to it by criminal justice researchers and scholarly journals. In addition, even a 

casual reading of the Nation’s newspapers often yields accounts of confrontations 

between police and citizens over the use of deadly force in situations where racial and 

ethnic tensions create additional complications or difficulties. Television news programs 

sometimes provide dramatic supporting videos, graphically depicting the resulting 

tensions in a community. 

Why has the relationship between law enforcement and citizens come under such 

scrutiny? One reason is the significant number of killings by and of police officers in 

recent years. A second factor is changes affecting municipal and civil liability, which 

have put cities and employees of local governments under greater legal jeopardy where 

use of force is applied. 

Another important factor is a succession of court rulings placing more restrictions on 

police use of firearms, including the 1985 Supreme Court decision in Tennessee v. 

Garner, 471 U.S. 1, which invalidated parts of many states’ rules for shooting at fleeing 

felons. Still another reason is the increasing primacy given to preserving life as a value 

underlying the concept of policing. There is also a movement to modernize and improve 

police work from within the profession itself, partly in reaction to the above incidents but 

also as a general response to larger changes in U.S. society. 

Two premises underlie the approaches to policing discussed in this publication. One is 

that the police, by virtue of the authority that society vests in them, have overarching 

responsibility for the outcome of encounters with citizens. This in no way ignores the fact 

that the police must deal with such groups as criminals, persons under the influence of 

alcohol and drugs, law-abiding citizens, and persons with mental impairment. The second 

and main premise is that good policing must take into consideration two equally 

important factors: the values on which a police department operates, as well as the 

practices it follows. 

In addition to adopting a set of values, it is equally important that police departments 

clearly and publicly state those values. This sets forth a department’s philosophy of 

policing and its commitment to high standards for all to know and understand. To be 

significant, these values must be known to all members of the community as well as all 

members of the police department. In addition, a department’s values must incorporate 

citizens’ expectations, desires, and preferences. A department’s policies and practices 
flow from its values. Without clear values, it is unlikely that practices will be as well 

focused as they should. 

Law enforcement practices constitute the second major focus of Principles of Good 

Policing, taking into account major areas of police responsibility that can produce 

incidents that escalate into violence. In isolating these situations, the publication suggests 

how procedures, tactics, and techniques might be modified—or new approaches 

implemented—to reduce the number of instances in which potentially problematic policecitizen encounters become problems in reality. This publication contains principles, 

practices, and philosophy that are applicable for law enforcement of all jurisdictions. 

While the terms “police officer,” “officer,” “law enforcement,” and “department,” are 

used throughout this publication, they are not intended to exclude the many other kinds of 

law enforcement agencies and their personnel, such as sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, marshals, 

deputy marshals, rangers, agents, special agents, and investigators who make up the 

larger law enforcement family that can benefit from this publication. 

This publication also takes into account that there are no philosophies or practices that 

will anticipate the entire range of human behavior that officers might encounter in the 

course of police work. It is also understood that, ultimately, the police officer’s judgment 

will be the deciding factor in most cases. However, enough relevant experience and 

information exist that officers can be given practical guidance which, in many instances, 

will help to avoid situations escalating to violence. 

Much recent effort to reduce police-citizen violence has focused exclusively on imposing 

tighter restrictions on police use of firearms. Appropriate firearms restraint is critically 

important, and the Community Relations Service (CRS) actively provides technical 

assistance to police departments when they review and revise their firearms and use of 

force policies. However, many departments have found it more useful to pursue a number 

of administrative innovations as a package of protections to officers, citizens, and crime 

suspects alike. That, essentially, is the approach this publication takes. 

It should also be emphasized that the safety of police officers is recognized as a 

fundamental concern. No responsible citizen expects a police officer to risk his or her life 

unnecessarily or foolishly. And no police chief worthy of the responsibility would adopt 

policies or practices that expose officers to undue risk. Reverence for all human life and 

safeguarding the guarantees of the Constitution and laws of the United States are also 

important values in policing. 

CRS’s interest is in promoting the adoption of policies and practices that afford 

maximum protection to officers and citizens. The content of this publication, in the final 

analysis, is based on the principle that good policing involves a partnership between 

police and citizens. Police cannot carry out their responsibility acting alone. And it must 

also be emphasized that no police department that permits its officers to use unnecessary 

force against citizens can hope to gain their support. 

Only when sound values, mutual respect, and trust are shared—among all groups that 

make up the community—can the police-citizen partnership work as it should. The 
recommendations, suggestions, and observations in Principles of Good Policing are 

offered to help achieve that bond between citizens and the police. 

Law enforcement agencies have responsibility for the outcome of encounters with citizens, and good 

policing involves the values upon which a department bases its operations. 
Original Task Force 

Community Relations Service Staff 

John G. Perez 

Regional Director 

Dallas, Texas 

Chairman 

Martin A. Walsh 

Regional Director 

Boston, Massachusetts 

Vice Chairman 

Atkins W. Warren 

National Administration of Justice Specialist 

Washington, D.C. 

Gus Taylor 

Senior Conciliator 

Dallas, Texas 

Dennis Wynn 

Media Affairs Officer 

Washington, D.C. 

Law Enforcement Representatives 

Frank E. Amoroso 

Chief of Police 

Portland, Maine 

Lee P. Brown 

Chief of Police 
Houston, Texas 

Charles M. Rodriguez 

Professor of Criminal Justice 

Southwest Texas University 

San Marcos, Texas 

Darrel W. Stephens 

Executive Director 

Police Executive Research Forum 

Washington, D.C. 
2003 Publication Revision Committee 

Community Relations Service Staff 

Frank Amoroso 

New England Regional Director 

Boston, Massachusetts 

Daryl S. Borgquist 

Media Affairs Officer 

National Office 

Washington, D.C. 

Jonathan Chace 

Associate Director 

National Office 

Washington, D.C. 

George E. Henderson 

National Office 

Attorney 

Washington, D.C. 

Timothy Johnson 

Program Analyst for Administration of Justice 

National Office 

Washington, D.C. 

Ben Lieu 

Conciliation Specialist 

Mid-Atlantic Regional Office 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

Martin A. Walsh 

Regional Director 

New England Regional Office 

Boston, Massachusetts 

Atkins W. Warren 

Regional Director 

Central Regional Office 

Kansas City, Missouri 

1993 Publication Revision Committee 

Community Relations Service Staff 

Robert Lamb, Jr., Chairman 

Northwest Regional Director 

Seattle, Washington 

Thomas L. Battles 

Conciliation Specialist 

Miami Field Office 

Miami, Florida 

Daryl S. Borgquist 

Media Affairs Officer 

National Office 

Washington, D.C. 

George E. Henderson 

Attorney 

National Office 
Washington, D.C. 

Julian Klugman 

Western Regional Director 

San Francisco, California 

Scarlet Parham 

Alerts Desk Officer 

National Office 

Washington, D.C. 

John G. Perez 

Special Assistant to the Director 

Dallas, Texas 

Martin A. Walsh 

New England Regional Director 

Boston, Massachusetts 

Atkins W. Warren 

Central Regional Director 

Kansas City, Missouri 
Table of Contents 

Foreword..............................................................................................................................iii

Preface .................................................................................................................................. v

Original Task Force ............................................................................................................ vii

2003 Publication Revision Committee ..............................................................................viii

1993 Publication Revision Committee ..............................................................................viii

Values for Good Policing...................................................................................................... 1

The Role of Police.......................................................................................................... 1

The Police Culture.......................................................................................................... 2

Developing a Set of Values ............................................................................................ 3

Contemporary Issues in Policing .......................................................................................... 7

Changing Demographics and Immigration Patterns....................................................... 8

Policing in the Post-September 11 Environment ........................................................... 8

Police Culture/Police Society....................................................................................... 10

Recruitment and Selection............................................................................................ 11

Training ........................................................................................................................ 14

Policy and Accountability ............................................................................................ 16

Effective Police Leadership ................................................................................................ 23

The Socialization of Police Officers............................................................................. 24

Administrative Mechanisms to Impact Department Operations .................................. 25

Guidance Through Positive and Negative Reinforcement ........................................... 26

Community Education.................................................................................................. 27

Procedures for Effective Policing ....................................................................................... 29

Principles of Community Policing ............................................................................... 29

Police-Community Partnership .................................................................................... 31

Using Community Resources....................................................................................... 32

Police Accessibility ...................................................................................................... 32

Managing Potentially Violent Circumstances .............................................................. 33

A Conflict Management Approach .............................................................................. 33

Negotiation Versus Confrontation................................................................................ 34

Areas of Special Concern ............................................................................................. 35

Responding to Incidents Involving Allegations of Excessive Use of Force:

A Checklist to Guide Police Executives.................................................................. 38

Checklist for Effective Policing ................................................................................... 44

Concluding Statement......................................................................................................... 45

Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 47

Appendices.......................................................................................................................... 53

A. Role of Police .......................................................................................................... 55
B. Community Policing................................................................................................ 81

C. Bias-Based Policing............................................................................................... 115

D. Use of Force and Alternatives ............................................................................... 125

E. Citizen Complaints and Other Redress Systems.................................................... 161

F. Municipal Liability................................................................................................. 215

G. Public Information................................................................................................. 221

H. Hate and Bias-Motivated Crimes .......................................................................... 229

I. Areas of Special Concern........................................................................................ 287 

CRS Offices ...................................................................................................................... 305

CRS Customer Service Standards..............................................................Inside Back Cover 
Values for Good Policing 

The primary purpose of this publication is to assist law enforcement agencies in reducing 

the incidence of violence between police officers and citizens. From the perspective of 

the police executive, the successful accomplishment of that objective should have two 

major benefits. First, it should enhance the safety of police officers. Second, it should 

foster an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect between the police and the 

people they serve. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a basis for assessing a police 

department to determine, first of all, if its culture is conducive to reducing violent 

confrontations between the police and citizens. Equally important, this chapter provides a 

frame of reference which can be used by any police chief to develop policy, make 

decisions, implement programs, and, ultimately guide the manner in which the 

department delivers police services to the community. 

The Role of Police 

The role of policing has been dynamic since it became a profession in 1829 under Sir 

Robert Peel in London, England. The relationship between police and citizens in 

American society is generally understood as a progression from the political era, when 

police were introduced in American cities in the 1840s to the early 1900s; to the reform 

era, stretching across the middle part of the 20th century from the 1930s to the 1970s; and 

then to the community era of modern policing since the 1970s.1 Williams and Murphy 

point out the lack of involvement of minorities in policing throughout these different eras. 

Communities of color were largely powerless during the political era and thus not able to 

influence police strategy. During the reform era, police strategy was determined largely 

on the basis of law, although communities of color were generally unprotected.2 In 

today’s community era of policing, one of the tenets is the requirement for a cohesive 

community working in partnership with a responsive police department. Williams and 

Murphy state that this precondition does not prevail in many minority neighborhoods. 

The Community Relations Service (CRS) of the U.S. Department of Justice has 

cosponsored a number of forums and worked closely with racial and ethnic police 

organizations, including the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, 

National Asian Peace Officers Association, National Black Police Officers Association, 

National Latino Peace Officers Association, National Native American Law Enforcement 

Association, and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. These 

forums focused on the relationship between minority citizens and police. Williams and 

Murphy emphasize just how serious the discussion about the contemporary role of 

policing in America is: 

...the history of American police strategies cannot be separated from the history of the 

Nation as a whole. Unfortunately, our police, and all of our other institutions, must 

contend with many bitter legacies from that larger history. No paradigm—and no 

society—can be judged satisfactory until those legacies have been confronted directly. 
The Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department (July 

9, 1991) also bluntly states in its foreword that violence between police and citizens is not 

something from an era of policing that is behind us: 

Police violence is not a local problem. Recognizing its national character, police chiefs 

from 10 major cities convened soon after the Rodney King incident and emphasized that 

“the problem of excessive force in American policing is real. 

The Police Culture 

The “culture” of a police department reflects what that department believes in as an 

organization. These beliefs are reflected in the department’s recruiting and selection 

practices, policies and procedures, training and development, and ultimately, in the 

actions of its officers in law enforcement situations. Clearly, all police departments have 

a culture. The key question is whether that culture has been carefully developed or simply 

allowed to develop without benefit of thought or guidance. There are police agencies, for 

example, where police use of force is viewed as abnormal. Thus, when it is used, the 

event receives a great deal of administrative attention. Such a response reflects the culture 

of that department: the use of force is viewed and responded to as an atypical occurrence. 

Contrast such a department with one which does not view the use of force as abnormal. 

In the latter case, there may be inadequate or poorly understood policies providing 

officers with guidelines regarding the use of force. There probably is no administrative 

procedure for investigating incidents where force is used. And, most importantly, the 

culture of the department is such that officers come to view the use of force as an 

acceptable way of resolving conflict. 

Over the past few years, there has been significant progress in improving policecommunity relationships. Yet, the major problem creating friction between the police and 

the community today—especially in communities of color—is police use of deadly force. 

This is an age-old problem of which only in recent years has the public become aware. 

The fact that this problem existed for such a long time before receiving widespread 

attention can again be related to the culture of the police. 

Until the Tennessee v. Garner decision in 1985, few if any police departments had 

developed their firearms policy around a value system that reflected reverence for human 

life. Rather, those agencies which did have written policies (and many did not) reflected 

the prevailing police culture in those policies. The prevailing culture centered on 

enforcement of the law. Thus, the official policies of most police agencies allowed 

officers to fire warning shots, to shoot fleeing felons, or to use deadly force in other 

circumstances reflected less than the highest value for human life. 

It is clear that the culture of a police department, to a large degree, determines the 

organization’s effectiveness. That culture determines the way officers view not only their 

role, but also the people they serve. The key concern is the nature of that culture and 

whether it reflects a system of beliefs conducive to the nonviolent resolution of conflict. 
How do you establish a positive departmental culture? In answering this question, it is 

important to emphasize again that all departments have a culture. It is also important to 

recognize that the culture of a police department, once established, is difficult to change. 

Organizational change within a police agency does not occur in a revolutionary fashion. 

Rather, it is evolutionary. 

Developing a Set of Values 

The beginning point in establishing a departmental culture is to develop a set of values. 

Values serve a variety of purposes, including: 

• Set forth a department’s philosophy of policing 

• State in clear terms what a department believes in 

• Articulate in broad terms the overall goals of the department 

• Reflect the community’s expectations of the department 

• Serve as a basis for developing policies and procedures 

• Serve as the parameters for organizational flexibility 

• Provide the basis for operational strategies 

• Provide the framework for officer performance 

• Serve as a framework from which the department can be evaluated 

In developing a set of values for a police department, it is not necessary to come up with 

a lengthy list. Rather, there should be a few values which, when taken together, represent 

what the organization considers important. For example, if it is the objective of the 

department to create a culture that is service oriented, then that should be reflected in its 

set of values. In other words the importance of values is qualitative, not quantitative. 

Finally, an essential role of the police chief is to ensure that the values of the department 

are well articulated throughout the organization. To accomplish this, the chief as leader 

must ensure that there is a system to facilitate effective communication of the values. 

This includes recognizing and using the organization’s informal structure. This is 

important because, in addition to the formal structure, values are transmitted through its 

informal process as well as its myths, legends, metaphors, and the chief’s own 

personality. 

Each police department should develop a set of policing values that reflects its own 

community. Fortunately, there is a general set of policing values that can serve as a 

framework for any department to build upon to meet local needs. Developing a set of 

organizational values is not difficult. A police executive should first clearly explain what 

values are to those in uniform. Then the executive should ask each member of the 

department to list what he or she considers the five most important values for the 

department. The findings of such an exercise will represent a consensus on the values 

department members hold most dear—an excellent starting point for creating a set of 

departmental values. What follows is the previously mentioned general set of values of 

good policing, which can be the springboard for a department’s own formulation: 
The police department must preserve and advance the principles of democracy. All 

societies must have a system for maintaining order. Police officers in this country, 

however, must not only know how to maintain order, but must do so in a manner 

consistent with our democratic form of government. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the 

police to enforce the law and deliver a variety of other services in a manner that not only 

preserves, but also extends precious American values. It is in this context that the police 

become the living expression of the meaning and potential of a democratic form of 

government. The police must not only respect, but also protect the rights guaranteed to 

each citizen by the Constitution. To the extent each officer considers his or her 

responsibility to include protection of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all 

individuals, the police become the most important employees in the vast structure of 

government. 

The police department places its highest value on the preservation of human life. 

Above all, the police department must believe that human life is our most precious 

resource. Therefore, the department, in all aspects of its operations, will place its highest 

priority on the protection of life. This belief must be manifested in at least two ways. 

First, the allocation of resources and the response to demands for service must give top 

priority to those situations that threaten life. Second, even though society authorizes the 

police to use deadly force, the use of such force must not only be justified under the law, 

but must also be consistent with the philosophy of rational and humane social control. 

The police department believes that the prevention of crime is its number one 

operational priority. The department’s primary mission must be the prevention of 

crime. Logic makes it clear that it is better to prevent a crime than to put the resources of 

the department into motion after a crime has been committed. Such an operational 

response should result in an improved quality of life for citizens, and a reduction in the 

fear that is generated by both the reality and perception of crime. 

The police department will involve the community in the delivery of its services. It is 

clear that the police cannot be successful in achieving their mission without the support 

and involvement of the people they serve. Crime is not solely a police problem, and it 

should not be considered as such. Rather, crime must be responded to as a community 

problem. Thus, it is important for the police department to involve the community in its 

operations. This sharing of responsibility involves providing a mechanism for the 

community to collaborate with the police both in the identification of community 

problems and determining the most appropriate strategies for resolving them. It is 

counterproductive for the police to isolate themselves from the community and not allow 

citizens the opportunity to work with them. 

The police department believes it must be accountable to the community it serves. 

The police department also is not an entity unto itself. Rather, it is a part of government 

and exists only for the purpose of serving the public to which it must be accountable. An 

important element of accountability is openness. Secrecy in police work is not only 

undesirable but unwarranted. Accountability means being responsive to the problems and 

needs of citizens. It also means managing police resources in the most cost-effective 
manner. It must be remembered that the power to police comes from the consent of those 

being policed. 

The police department is committed to professionalism in all aspects of its 

operations. The role of the professional organization is to serve its clients. The police 

department must view its role as serving the citizens of the community. A professional 

organization also adheres to a code of ethics. The police department must be guided by 

the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.3 A profession polices itself. The police department 

must ensure that it maintains a system designed to promote the highest level of discipline 

among its members. 

The police department will maintain the highest standards of integrity. The society 

invests in its police the highest level of trust. The police, in turn, enter into a contractual 

arrangement with society to uphold that trust. The police must always be mindful of this 

contractual arrangement and never violate that trust. Each member of the police 

department must recognize that he or she is held to a higher standard than the private 

citizen. They must recognize that, in addition to representing the department, they also 

represent the law enforcement profession and government. They are the personifications 

of the law. Their conduct, both on and off duty, must be beyond reproach. There must not 

be even a perception in the public’s mind that the department’s ethics are open to 

question. 

Recognizing that society is undergoing massive changes, police agencies are confronted 

with a great challenge. The essence of that challenge is to be able to respond to problems 

created by social change, while at the same time providing the stability that holds a 

society together during a period of uncertainty. 

By setting forth a clear set of values, articulating what it believes in, the police 

department has a foundation to guide itself. Such a foundation also allows for 

organizational flexibility. In addition, a set of values provides the community with a 

means of assessing its police department without having to become involved in technical 

operations. Value statements serve as the linkage between the ongoing operations of a 

police department and the community’s ability not only to participate, but also to 

understand the reason for police department strategies. It is within this context that the 

recommendations and suggestions in the following pages are presented. 

Contemporary Issues in Policing 

Close observers have seen a number of changes in policing. Many changes have come in 

the form of programs developed to address a specific issue or problem and supported 

with funding from outside of police departments. These programs include communityoriented policing, school resource officers, police-community programs such as Midnight 

Basketball, and drug and gang reduction programs. While most of these contemporary 

programs made positive contributions to the police organization or the community, they 

often did not survive after outside funding stopped because they were implemented 
alongside what the police department was already doing and were never integrated into 

day-to-day operations. 

Moreover, many of these programs were implemented without full understanding of the 

factors involved in the issue or problem they were designed to address. The exponential 

growth of public and private funding created a whole new profession of grant writing for 

local government and law enforcement. Interest and competition for the grants were 

keen; in fact, in many cases, the success of some law enforcement executives was 

measured by local officials on their success in competing for outside funding. And while 

many organizations became proficient at writing successful grant proposals and some 

positive results were achieved through programs such as McGruff and D.A.R.E. which 

became very popular in the community, there were other problems that did not lend 

themselves so easily to specially funded programs: officer recruitment and selection, 

community demographic and diversity changes, immigration-related policing problems, 

cross-cultural communication, and bias-based policing. Counter-terrorism was recently 

added to this list. The problem of police-citizen violence, although it receives 

considerable media and community attention and generates genuine community tension, 

is one that does not readily lend itself to solution through a specially funded program. 

Police management software can now be obtained to track individual officer activity 

including tickets written, complaints, accidents, incidents, assignments, and other custom 

factors to help alert the law enforcement executive to problem officers. However, the 

solution does not lie in technology alone. Encouraging positive values and an enlightened 

philosophy of policing hold some of the greatest promise for addressing many 

contemporary issues in policing. 

When violence occurs between police and citizens, the situation may be complex. 

Violence often occurs in a setting where the police officer or citizen may receive 

considerable support for a violent act. From the law enforcement standpoint, there may 

be a solid legal basis for the police officer’s use of force, including deadly force. 

Attempts to minimize violent encounters between the police and community must focus 

on the police, since their likelihood of exercising control over potentially violent 

interactions is much greater. But even when the effort to control violence focuses on the 

police, the complexity of the situation brings a wide range of issues and situations to 

consider which confront law enforcement officers every day. 

Changing Demographics and Immigration Patterns 

Delivery of policing services in multicultural communities is now common. Immigration 

has been the major driver of growth in many areas of the country. Asian immigrants have 

accounted for 43 percent of this growth since 1970, greatly increasing the presence of 

languages, cultural values, experiences, and lifestyles with which many other Americans 

have had little contact. Hispanic immigration and migration has reached every State in 

the country, resulting in new cross-cultural exchanges in many communities. The social 

fabric of many communities is in transition. Multiculturalism is already a reality in many 

communities and institutions. The extraordinary infusion of newcomers can heighten risk 

factors for conflict because of the underdevelopment of social organization within the 

newly arrived population and the inexperience of existing governmental and community 
resources working with them. The movement of existing American-born racial and ethnic 

populations towards an increasingly suburban and rural pattern includes heightened 

vulnerability to racial incidents and conflict between police and citizens. Organized racial 

or ethnic gangs or gang-like groups may form to prey upon newer residents of other races 

and ethnic groups in an attempt to force them to move and to prevent others from moving 

to suburban or rural communities. 

For these reasons understanding and recognizing changing community cultural and ethnic 

diversity is important to contemporary law enforcement efforts. Cultural characteristics 

such as language, customs and traditions are key elements which affect the relationship 

between immigrant populations and police. The challenge for the law enforcement 

executive is to recognize community and cultural diversity by effectively responding to 

the law enforcement and community needs of culturally diverse groups. In trying to 

accomplish this mission law enforcement executives have successfully utilized such 

strategies as recruiting officers from the immigrant community, cultural diversity 

training, community involvement, establishing community advisory committees, and 

educating the immigrant population on the fundamentals of the U.S. criminal justice 

system. Expanding or establishing community organizations to bridge relationships 

between racial and ethnic groups and between law enforcement and the community may 

be an important step towards improving community relations. Law enforcement 

executives and police officers would be well served by a high degree of involvement with 

community organizations, so that members of the police department are clearly seen as 

members of the community. 

Policing in the Post-September 11 Environment 

There is no better application of the principles of good policing than in the postSeptember 11 environment. In the face of the dramatic terrorist attacks against the United 

States, the vast majority of America’s communities responded with restraint, tolerance, 

and good will. At the forefront of these efforts have been police chiefs and other law 

enforcement executives, who captured the spirit of police-community cooperation. This 

has been no small challenge, given the divisions, fears, and other internal stresses which 

arose during this unprecedented emergency. 

Police chiefs and other local officials recognized that this was a time for policecommunity cooperation and collaboration, a time to minimize any divisions and 

distractions from the common national priority of combating terrorism. Homeland 

security requires communities of cooperation and citizens of goodwill. A climate of 

personal safety and protection requires increased trust of governmental institutions and 

agencies, especially law enforcement. Important information is more likely to be 

volunteered to authorities. Suspicious and unusual activity will be reported, and 

investigations can proceed. Further, public trust and confidence reduce community 

tensions, especially between groups that may feel unprotected and suspected by 

government institutions. 

The aftermath of September 11 became an opportunity for police departments and other 

government agencies, including CRS, to deepen their relationships with Arab-American, 
Sikh, and Muslim communities. While these communities were fairly well established, 

there had been little occasion for outreach and educational activities before September 

11. Since September 11, CRS has conducted hundreds of public forums, dialogues, and 

other events designed to build bridges between police departments and these 

communities. 

What were some of the elements which helped to create the positive relations, especially 

between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve? 

• Tone-setting messages by public officials ranging from the Nation’s highest 

public officials to town mayors and police chiefs helped to create an atmosphere 

of moderation and restraint. Their public cautions against misdirected behavior 

towards fellow citizens and pledges to vigorously prosecute of any attacks against 

individuals or groups went a long way towards establishing expectations of 

fairness and justice. 

• Prompt and sensitive attention by government and law enforcement officials 

to racial and ethnic attacks and incidents helped to create trust and confidence in 

public officials and institutions. When incidents and hate crimes were reported, 

most law enforcement agencies reacted with dispatch, sensitivity, and 

thoroughness. 

• Improved cooperation and coordination among Federal, regional, and local 

policing and other law enforcement agencies helped bridge jurisdictional tensions 

and prevent conflicts. Since September 11, investigative agencies have enjoyed 

unparalleled cooperation, combining resources and experience in their 

investigative and prosecutorial efforts. 

• Intensive training by police and government agencies in Arab, Muslim, and 

Sikh issues helped to head off cross-cultural conflicts, misunderstandings, and 

tensions. Law enforcement agencies recognized that they needed to deepen their 

understanding of these cultures, and many secured training to help officers to be 

sensitive to the particular cross-cultural dimensions of police work. 

• Outreach by police departments to Arab-American, Muslim, and Sikh 

communities provided police and leaders from these communities an opportunity 

to develop cooperative working relationships. Effective policing involved 

deliberate efforts by police chiefs to extend their connections to these 

communities by visits, calls, and public forums to listen, learn of concerns, and 

reassure members of these communities that their concerns are taken seriously. 

Police Culture/Police Society 

Regarding the competing forces pulling at the police officer, Jerome Skolnik writes: 

The combination of danger and authority found in the task of the policeman unavoidably 

combine to frustrate procedural regularity. If it were possible to structure social roles with 

specific qualities, it would be wise to propose that these two should never, for the sake of 

the rule of law, be permitted to coexist. Danger typically yields self-defensive conduct, 
conduct that must strain to be impulsive because danger arouses fear and anxiety so 

easily. Authority under such conditions becomes a resource to reduce perceived threats 

rather than a series of reflective judgments arrived at calmly. The ability to be discreet, in 

the sense discussed above, is also affected. As a result, procedural requirements take on a 

“frilly” character, or at least tend to be reduced to a secondary position in the face of 

circumstances seen as threatening.4 

Skolnik’s description of this aspect of the police officer’s role provides some measure of 

understanding of how violence might occur in encounters with citizens. It also provides a 

basis for the formation of “police culture” or the police society. While most occupational 

groups develop their own identity, the police identity seems to be much stronger because 

of the nature of the work. There is a belief that one cannot understand the difficulty of the 

work without having done it. 

As a result, when a community questions the actions of the police—as can be expected 

when a police officer uses a firearm—the law enforcement profession has a tendency to 

close ranks and defend the officer at all costs. The development of this “police society” 

begins with academy training (or even before in the recruiting and selection process) and 

continues until the individual becomes an accepted part of the fraternity. An example of 

how this socialization process might take place appears in Jonathan Rubinstein’s City 

Police: 

A rookie patrolman was sitting in the roll call room waiting for his tour to begin when his 

wagon partner left a small group to come and sit next to him. It was the first time anyone 

had spoken to him before roll call in the two weeks he had been in the district. “Hey, 

Tony, I been meanin’ to ask you, where’d you get that little stick you carry?” “It’s what 

they issued us at the academy,” the rookie replied. “No kiddin. Take my advice and get 

rid of it. Go down to Coteman’s and get yourself one of them new plastic sticks. They’re 

good and solid, not a toothpick.” The rookie fidgeted, kept his eyes on the floor, and 

quietly replied, “I don’t want to be that way.”5 

Although reluctant, the rookie bought one of the new nightsticks the next day. The 

socialization process is generally more subtle, and assignment procedures may well 

contribute to the police society. Many departments, for example, rotate patrol officers’ 

shifts weekly, which makes association with people other than police officers extremely 

difficult. 

In addition to assignment patterns, the job itself tends to cause social isolation. After a 

period of time as a police officer, it is not uncommon for an officer to begin avoiding 

contacts with old friends, even when scheduling permits, because of the tendency to hear 

stories about traffic tickets and other negative encounters people may have had with the 

police. The result is the creation of an environment where an officer withdraws further 

and further from the community. He or she moves towards the protective shell of the 

police world where colleagues understand the nuances of the work. 

From the standpoint of addressing the problem of police-community violence, the “police 

society” is critical. The reinforcement of narrow views by limiting contact only to other 

officers has an impact on the creation and perpetuation of violent encounters with 

citizens. The “police society” also severely hampers efforts to investigate complaints of 
excessive force. The police profession must reach a point where violence is discouraged 

at the peer level. When violence does occur, police officers themselves must be involved 

in providing information to the investigative process impartially and with integrity. At the 

same time, there are also positive aspects to a close-knit work group, and care must be 

taken to ensure these positive aspects are not harmed when attempting to deal with the 

negative ones. 

Recruitment and Selection 

Bringing the right type of people into law enforcement is another major aspect of any 

effort to improve the police profession and address the violence issue. Most discussions 

of police reform have touched on the importance of recruitment and selection as a longterm strategy for improvement. Although this may be obvious, they are difficult problems 

in and of themselves and, in addition, also a source of conflict between the police and the 

community. 

The source of conflict is disagreement over what type of person is best able to handle the 

responsibilities of a police officer. One continuing debate is the amount and type of 

education appropriate for a police officer. Another debate involves the police agency’s 

racial make-up. While there is general agreement on the need for a police department to 

reflect the make-up of the community it serves, there is considerable disagreement on 

how that balance should be attained. The courts have put to rest some of the physical 

requirements thought to be important for the police for so many years. But the question of 

the psychological make-up of an officer—and how it should be measured—has yet to be 

resolved. 

Although there is a wide range of opinion on what type of person is best suited to handle 

the rigors of the job, three factors are considered vital in terms of violence between the 

police and community. These factors should be incorporated into the overall process of 

recruiting and selecting police officers: 

• The department should have a ratio of employees of color and national origin that 

reflects the diversity of the community it serves. 

• Continued emphasis should be placed on bringing into law enforcement people 

reflecting a variety of college disciplines. 

• Individuals should be psychologically suited to handle the requirements of the 

job. 

Recruitment. Once an agency decides what type of individual it wants as an officer, it 

needs to develop a recruitment plan. Many departments limit their recruiting efforts to 

local newspaper advertisements when positions are open. This method will usually 

produce a pool of applicants. However, the type of individual sought may not respond to 

newspaper advertisements. 

It is not unusual to hear in police circles that selection criteria are extremely rigid and that 

only 1 or 2 out of 10 applicants will survive the entire process and be offered a position. 

One could also make a convincing argument that recruitment efforts are not very 
effective if 8 or 9 of 10 applicants cannot survive the recruiting process. Perhaps the 

effort devoted to processing applicants unsuited to becoming police officers could be 

redirected to recruiting the right type of applicant. The point here is that the recruiting 

method should be carefully designed to attract the type of applicant desired. 

Law enforcement agencies use a variety of approaches to recruit applicants. Some send 

recruiting teams to “career days” on college campuses, while others send recruiters to 

various cities to look for experienced police officers. Still others concentrate recruiting 

resources on their immediate geographic area. Many departments have made use of the 

local news media through feature stories, public service announcements, and Internet job 

postings. Some have also used business and corporate assistance to develop brochures 

that provide accurate information about what the department offers. An agency may need 

to circulate its recruitment announcements using a number of methods, such sending 

them to a diverse group of community leaders, setting up a table at community meetings, 

shopping malls, schools, colleges, and community gathering places. 

A factor that has an immense impact, but is often not addressed effectively in recruiting 

plans is the influence of existing members of the police organization. Negative attitudes 

of individual officers about their job and the department may cause potential applicants to 

look elsewhere for employment. On the other hand, positive attitudes may exist for the 

wrong reasons—for example, because the department has an image as a place for 

“macho,” TV-style cops. 

Therefore, it is important that the recruiting plan and its underlying rationale be shared 

with all employees, so they have a clear understanding of the department’s objectives. 

Employees can serve as excellent recruiters if they know these objectives and appreciate 

the critical importance of their jobs. Employees can also better discuss some of those 

issues often put forth as impediments to attracting high quality applicants. For example, 

they can speak directly to issues such as low pay and the difficulties of shift work. They 

are in the best position to talk about positive as well as negative aspects of a police 

career. 

The objective of a recruiting program should be to attract a large enough pool of 

desirable applicants to fill department vacancies. This does not mean that the only 

measure of the recruiting effort should be the number of people who complete 

employment applications. If a department needs a higher ratio of employees from 

different racial and ethnic groups to reflect the community, and the only people 

completing applications are not from desired groups or do not meet basic requirements, 

then the objective is obviously not being met. The recruiting plan must contain relevant 

and measurable objectives that are monitored to ensure every effort is being made to meet 

them. 

Selection. After an individual has expressed an interest in becoming a police officer, 

most departments begin a process that involves a series of steps designed to aid in 

making the selection decision. The selection process continues to receive a great deal of 

attention. Arbitrary selection standards that were common in the past have been 

eliminated by courts and other actions. Further research should be conducted by the 
human resources department of a police department to establish a sound selection 

process. 

The close examination of this process has underscored its importance. It has also helped 

focus attention on developing a better understanding of the police officer’s job and on 

including steps that measure whether a candidate has the potential for meeting those 

requirements. Even with these improvements, a number of selection issues have 

continued to generate considerable controversy. Two of these, educational requirements 

and psychological screening, are measures believed to have potential for reducing 

violence between the police and community. However, these alternatives obviously 

would take years to change the make-up of a department. In many departments, 

psychological screening and educational requirements cannot be imposed upon 

individuals currently employed. 

Educational issues have been a long-standing topic of discussion in law enforcement 

circles. As early as 1931, the Wickersham Commission report noted the need for higher 

levels of education.

6 The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the 

Administration of Justice recommended in its Police task force report that officers should 

have a minimum of two years of college and supervisors and administrators should have 

four years.7 The National Commission on Police Standards and Goals established a 

standard in its Police report, published in 1973, that by 1983 a basic entry-level 

requirement should be a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.8 It 

is now thought that a diversity of degrees is preferable to only criminal justice degrees to 

avoid similarity of thinking among officers and to avoid limiting the broad experience 

required for an effective law enforcement agency. 

These reports were followed by many other calls for similar requirements, but the reality 

has been that few departments have actually made any changes in entry-level educational 

requirements. A 1985 report published by the Police Executive Research Forum, The 

American Law Enforcement Chief Executive: A Management Profile, noted: “In 1976 the 

Police Chief Executive Committee recommended the immediate institution of a four-year 

college degree for new chief executives of all agencies with 75 or more full-time 

employees. Nearly ten years later, almost 50-percent of those officials still do not possess 

a baccalaureate degree.”9 

If it is not possible to make much progress at the top, the entry-level standards will be 

extremely slow to change. It is not within the scope of this publication to set forth all of 

the arguments for vigorously pursuing the upgrading of entry-level requirements. 

Regardless, many believe that an entry-level requirement of a bachelors’ degree would go 

a long way towards addressing a number of problems in law enforcement, including 

violence between police and the community. 

The psychological fitness of police officers is also of major importance in addressing the 

violence issue. A police officer has considerable discretion in the manner in which dayto-day responsibilities are fulfilled. This discretion extends to the use of force. One 

method to improve the prediction of whether an individual is able to handle police 

responsibilities is psychological evaluation. Although many departments do not use 
psychological screening in the selection process, the Commission on Accreditation for 

Law Enforcement Agencies has established the following as a mandatory standard for all 

agencies: 

32.6.6 An emotional stability and psychological fitness examination of each candidate is 

conducted, prior to appointment to probationary status, using valid, useful, and 

nondiscriminatory procedures. 

Commentary: Law enforcement work is highly stressful and places officers in 

positions and situations of heavy responsibility. Psychiatric and psychological 

assessments are needed to screen out candidates who might not be able to carry out their 

responsibilities or endure the stress of the working conditions.10 

The importance that the Commission on Accreditation has placed on this area by making 

it a mandatory standard is obvious. If an agency does not currently use this tool in the 

selection process, it will take a number of years for its adoption to have an effect on the 

organization, but it would be a positive step towards minimizing future problems. 

Training 

Training can have a significant impact on all aspects of police service delivery and is of 

critical importance in the control of police-community violence. A Police Foundation 

study on the use of deadly force published in 1977 noted: “In the course of this study 

police chiefs and administrators were asked what steps they would consider most likely 

to bring about a reduction in unnecessary shootings by police officers. The most common 

response was to recommend a tight firearms policy coupled with an effective training 

program.”11 

While one can generally agree with this response, findings in the 1982 International 

Association of Chiefs of Police report, A Balance of Forces, also need to be considered: 

• In-service crisis intervention training as opposed to preservice training was 

associated with a low justifiable homicide rate by police. 

• Agencies with simulator, stress, and physical exertion firearms training 

experience a higher justifiable homicide rate by police than agencies without such 

training. 

• Marksmanship awards given to officers for proficiency in firearms training are 

associated with a high justifiable homicide rate by the police. 

• In-service training in the principles of “officer survival” is correlated with a high 

justifiable homicide rate by the police.12 

These findings clearly suggest that when it comes to training police officers, both the type 

of training and the approach to training police officers must be carefully examined. In 

examining this area, Herman Goldstein makes several pertinent observations on police 

entry-level training in Policing a Free Society: 

• The success of training is commonly measured in terms of the number of hours of 

classroom work. Eight weeks is considered 100 percent improvement over four weeks... 
• ...those who have analyzed the status of recruit training have found much that is 

wrong...the programs are structured to convey only one point of view on controversial 

matters in a manner intended to avoid open discussion. 

• ...there is an unreal quality in the training program in the emphasis placed on military 

protocol, in their narrow concept of the police function, and in their according-to-thebook teaching of police operations. 

• ...they tend to portray the police officer’s job as a rigid one, largely dictated by law, 

ignoring the tremendous amount of discretion officers are required to exercise. 

• ...training programs fail to achieve the minimal goal of orienting a new employee to his 

job...failure to equip officers to understand the built-in stresses of their job...officers are 

left to discover on their own the binds in which society places them... 

• If recruit training is inadequate, in-service training is more so.13 

In Goldstein’s observations one begins to understand some of the limitations of 

automatically turning to training to solve all problems. Perhaps it also suggests why some 

training programs may be associated with a higher rate of police justifiable homicides. A 

more recent observation in this area is made by Scharf and Binder in The Badge and the 

Bullet: 

Our analysis suggests a framework in which to analyze training related to police deadly 

force. Few training programs have attempted to conceptualize the varied and complex 

competencies necessary to implement a responsible deadly force policy. Most 

training...focuses upon one or possibly two isolated competencies. Shooting simulators 

attempt to train police officers to quickly identify threats against them. Some crisis 

intervention training approaches focus almost exclusively upon the verbal skills useful in 

dealing with a limited range of disputes. If training is to be effective in reducing the 

aggregate number of police shootings, it must focus on multiple psychological 

dimensions, emphasizing those capacities that might influence police behavior in a wide 

range of armed confrontations. Also, such training should be conducted in environments 

simulating the complex, and often bewildering, conditions in which deadly force episodes 

usually take place. From our observations, this approach to shooting training is rare in 

police departments.14 

Scharf and Binder’s observations indicate a need to rethink the approach to firearms 

training and, at the same time, reinforce Goldstein’s observations almost 10 years earlier 

on training in general. Both observations, however, seem to suggest that the advantages 

to be gained from training will not be realized until programs go beyond teaching a single 

response to complex situations. The focus should be on training and developing a 

“thinking police officer” who analyzes situations and responds in the appropriate manner 

based upon a value system such as this publication proposes. 

This is obviously a much different approach to training than has been used in law 

enforcement. It requires consideration of a total situation as opposed to focusing solely on 

the final “shoot/don’t shoot” decision. This does not mean that many of the components 

of current training programs should be dropped. They need to be tied together into a 

decision-making framework that causes officers to make decisions in earlier stages of 

responding to a call or handling an incident. This would minimize the risk of a situation 

evolving to a point where the use of firearms is required to protect someone’s life. 
In support of a new approach to police training, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 

Department psychologists Marcia C. Mills and John G. Stratton reported findings in the 

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin in February 1982 that “The nature of academy training 

and type of services actually provided are often discrepant. Seventy to 90 percent of 

police training is devoted to crime control, laws, and police procedures, while frequently 

70 to 90 percent of subsequent job duties are devoted to interpersonal communication and 

interaction.” 

Policy and Accountability 

Policy is a guide to the thinking and actions of those responsible for making decisions. Its 

essence is discretion. And policy serves as a guide to exercising that discretion. The 

development of policies to guide the use of discretion by police officers is key to the 

effective management of police organizations. It is also critical to the control of violence 

between the police and community. 

A primary consideration of policy development, then, is to build accountability into 

police operations. As stated in the opening chapter on values, the principle of police 

agency accountability to the citizens it serves is fundamental to the relationship. Police 

departments which that adopted values that uphold professionalism and integrity have 

consistently established policies that recognize the importance of accountability systems 

that build citizens’ trust in police agency programs and personnel. 

The importance of policy development has also been underscored by the Commission on 

Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Most of the commission’s standards 

require a written directive to provide proof of compliance with those standards. Almost 

all of the agencies that have been accredited, or are in the process of self-assessment, 

have commented on how the documentation of their policies and procedures has been 

improved. There are three policy areas of particular significance with respect to police 

violence concerns: policies dealing with firearms, citizen complaints, and public 

information. 

Use of Force and Alternatives. The appropriate use of force and the use of the least 

amount of force in effecting arrests are essential values which characterize a department 

that respects the sanctity of life. Officers and departments that fail to train in and 

demonstrate the use of appropriate force, not only create the potential for heightened 

racial conflict, but also raise high municipal liability risks for their communities. Officers 

who are skilled in conflict resolution will find ways to avoid higher levels of 

confrontation. Where conflict cannot be avoided, less than lethal force can be employed 

by law enforcement personnel in accord with changing community values. 

Citizen Complaints and Other Redress Systems. Even the best police department will 

receive complaints, and the absence of an effective complaint procedure has figured 

prominently in many cities troubled by allegations of excessive force. In fact, “Citizen 

complaints about police behavior, particularly the excessive use of force, is one part of 

the larger problem of relations between the police and racial and ethnic minority 

communities,” according to Samuel Walker and Betsy Wright Kreisel.15 As a result, 
police executives generally recognize the need for a trustworthy vehicle for citizens to 

seek redress of grievances involving alleged police misconduct.

16 Most police chiefs 

know that when a department conveys to the public that it accepts complaints and is 

willing to aggressively examine allegations of abuse, police officers can expect to win the 

citizens’ confidence needed to do their job more effectively. The department’s complaint 

procedure should be set forth in writing regardless of the size of the community or the 

department.17 

The best way to ensure that police officers conduct themselves properly in the 

performance of their duties is to set reasonable policies and then establish effective 

procedures for internal review and sanctions. But, as indicated above, the system for 

handling citizen complaints must be one in which all citizens have confidence. Nor can 

the principle be ignored that the police department is a public service agency which 

ultimately must be accountable to the citizens. An increasing number of cities in which 

citizens have lost confidence in the internal review process have tried various 

configurations of civilian oversight mechanisms or civilian overview boards with mixed 

results. A number of arguments are made both in favor of and against these mechanisms. 

For example, some observers hold that the police cannot objectively review themselves, 

that civilian review strengthens public confidence in the department, and that it ensures 

that police officers do not abuse the law. “Official data on citizen complaints consistently 

show that racial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented among persons alleging police 

misconduct,” according to Walker and Kreisel. This has resulted in a situation in which 

“the perceived failure of internal police complaint procedures has led civil rights groups 

to demand the creation of external, or citizen complaint review procedures,” Walker and 

Kreisel conclude.18 On the other hand, critics of civilian oversight or review maintain that 

civilians lack the knowledge and experience to evaluate the police, that such oversight 

inhibits officers’ use of force when it is warranted, and that such mechanisms are 

redundant, because police themselves review complaints against officers. 

When municipal officials attempt to establish a civilian oversight mechanism, police 

executives should anticipate strong resistance from rank and file officers. In fact, even 

some of the most progressive police officials do not favor civilian oversight mechanisms. 

While they agree that there is a need for public accountability, these officials point out 

that oversight groups are not panaceas and have had only mixed success. They also 

suggest that emotions aroused by establishment of civilian oversight mechanisms may 

themselves lead to insurmountable problems. Citizens who are chosen to serve can be 

briefed by police officials on policy, practices, and procedures and help them become 

more acquainted with the department’s operations so that they can serve better. 

There are four basic types of oversight systems: 

• Type 1. Citizens investigate allegations of police misconduct and recommend 

findings to the chief or sheriff. 

• Type 2. Police officers investigate allegations and develop findings; citizens then 

review the findings and recommend that the chief or sheriff approve or reject the 

findings. 
• Type 3. Complainants may appeal findings made by the police or sheriff’s 

department to citizens, who review them and then recommend their own findings 

to the chief or sheriff. 

• Type 4. An auditor investigates the process by which the police or sheriff’s 

department accepts and investigates complaints and reports on the thoroughness 

and fairness of the process to the department and the public.19 

Those establishing civilian oversight mechanisms, regardless of type or format, must 

address six issues when designing a charter: 

1. How much access to information will the public be given regarding the 

complaint and the process? 

2. Will conciliation between the complainant and the officer be attempted? 

3. Does the oversight agency or the police executive determine discipline for 

officers? 

4. What are the rights of officers during the process? 

5. Who receives complaints, and who investigates complaints? 

6. Will police officers be included or excluded as members of the oversight 

board?20 

Municipal Liability. The U.S. Supreme Court in Monell v. Department of Social 

Services of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978), concluded that local governing 

bodies/municipalities can be held liable when a plaintiff alleges and proves “that official 

policy is responsible for a deprivation of rights protected by the constitution.” Since that 

1978 decision, a number of courts have imposed liability on police supervisors and 

municipalities that do not take care to guard against officer misconduct and do not 

provide adequate training for their police officers (see City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris 489 

U.S. 378 (1989)). In an article by Professors Daane and Hendricks titled “Liability for 

Failure to Adequately Train,” they state, “Not only does a good training program increase 

the effectiveness and safety of police officers, it may also reduce the potential for liability 

of the officers, the supervisors and the agency. This potential for liability may range from 

cases involving use of force and deadly force, the failure to provide medical care, to those 

involving arrest procedure.”21 These authors further state, “...it is imperative that police 

officers be provided with excellent training; [and that] good police management through 

training helps to reduce liable incidents for the officer, the chief and the municipality.” 

(See full article in Appendix F-1.) 

Public Information. An area of policy that goes hand-in-hand with police accountability 

and police-community relations is the law enforcement agency’s approach to release of 

public information. Clearly, the news media serve as a major source of information about 

the police and their activities. As such, the media play a key role in developing citizens’ 

views of the police. Given this important function of the media, it is difficult to 

understand why so many police agencies fail to develop a public information policy and a 

relationship with the media based on mutual respect and trust. 
This is especially important in the area of police-community violence. Media coverage of 

incidents involving the use of force is often the only information the community has to 

form an opinion about the appropriateness of police action. There is a tension between 

informing the public about an incident and getting the facts on that incident. The 

department should have procedures for identifying who can make public statements, 

along with procedures for verifying information before it is released to the public. 

Silence on certain aspects of the investigation may be viewed as stonewalling, when in 

fact, the department simply does not have the information. The department that explains 

why certain information is not yet available and makes assurances that, when it does 

materialize, it will be disseminated to the extent permitted by law, will be regarded as 

responsive to the community’s concerns. In the absence of information from official 

sources, the news media are forced to prepare the story based on information gained only 

from bystanders and unofficial agency sources, an approach that may result in less than 

accurate reporting of the incident. The stage is then set for friction between the police and 

media. Misinformed community members may also form erroneous perceptions of the 

police and their actions. 

Police officials must provide sufficient information and detail to accurately explain an 

incident. At the same time, they need to be careful not to jeopardize an investigation or 

the department’s position. This is a difficult expectation of the police, but it is not 

impossible to deal with both needs. The task is much less difficult with a clearly 

articulated public information policy. (See sample public information policy in Appendix 

G-1.) 

Racial Profiling and Bias-Based Policing. Law enforcement profiling is inappropriate 

when race or some other sociological factor, such as gender, sexual orientation, or 

religion is used as the sole criterion for taking law enforcement actions. Profiling that 

singles out members of the community for no reason other than their race is 

discriminatory and provides no legitimate basis for police action and has serious 

consequences. “Whether intentional or unintentional, the application of bias in policing 

tilts the scales of justice and results in unequal treatment under the law,” writes Ronald L. 

Davis, the author of a study on bias-based policing for the National Organization of 

Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).22 Allegations of racial profiling and other 

bias-based policing activities, particularly traffic stops and random searches, have 

become national issues, as the escalating coverage in the media shows. There has also 

been legislative proposals at the state and national level addressing racial profiling, along 

with lawsuits brought by civil rights organizations and the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Racial profiling erodes the necessary trust between law enforcement officials and the 

communities they serve. There is also the collateral damage of police recruitment of 

minorities being made more difficult and minorities becoming less willing to participate 

in the criminal justice process. The use of objective factors indicating potential criminal 

activity as a basis for making traffic stops may be a legitimate and effective law 

enforcement tool. However, inappropriate profiling impairs law enforcement’s abilities. 

Furthermore, the use of race as the sole criterion for making traffic stops is legally and 
morally wrong. Discriminatory traffic stops divide communities and make police and 

prosecutors’ jobs more difficult. 

One way to address this issue is with a defined set of department values that are the basis 

of the department’s policies, and practices. Law enforcement officials have to monitor 

and manage the discretion exercised by their officers to ensure their actions are guided by 

values and principles that gives preeminence to the civil rights of citizens. 

As Davis writes in the NOBLE study: 

Racial profiling imposes on the basic freedoms granted in a democratic society. For many 

in the minority community, racial profiling is an old phenomenon with a new name. A 

common response to racial profiling is the development of policies that declare racial 

profiling illegal, limit officer discretion in the area of traffic stops, and mandate training 

in cultural diversity. 

These measures are a necessary first step, but alone they cannot reduce bias in 

an organization. Symptoms will resurface and appear in other areas, such as walking 

stops, the use of force, police misconduct, minority officer recruitment, retention and 

promotion. Racial profiling is not the standalone problem; it is a symptom of bias-based 

policing.23 

Police departments and communities can avoid debilitating accusations of racial profiling 

by communicating with each other about police strategy, crime trends, and community 

concerns. In a response to the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Amadou Diallo by New 

York City police in 1999, George Kelling writes: 

...Police increasingly rely on analysis of crime data, mapping and other methods to 

develop tactics for addressing specific problems. When they discover that guns are the 

primary instruments of murder in black neighborhoods, is it racial profiling or smart 

policing to target anti-gun efforts there? 

Resolutions to these issues are possible, but not easy. They involve balancing 

individual rights with community interests, effectiveness with costs, and the tradeoffs 

among important values...Police and neighborhood leaders will have to seek each other 

out aggressively and honestly...24 

Hate Crimes and Hate Violence. Hate crime is a crime that is based in whole or in part 

on the offender’s animus towards the status of the victim. This perceived “status” of the 

victim may be based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or 

disability. David N. Aspy and Cheryl Blalock Aspy write, based on 1997 research from 

the Bureau of Justice Assistance, that “Hate crimes occur when a hating person enters a 

climate that encourages the discharge of hate-driven violence on certain 

targets.”25 Victims of hate crimes feel vulnerable to more attacks and develop feelings of 

alienation, helplessness, suspicion, and fear. A defining feature of hate crime is that each 

offense victimizes not one person but a group.26 When perpetrators of hate are not 

prosecuted as such and their acts are not publicly condemned, their crimes can weaken 

even those communities with the healthiest of race relations. Hate crimes can exacerbate 

community tensions that in turn trigger community-wide racial conflict and civil 

disturbances. Based on its experience with hundreds of hate crimes cases, CRS 

recommends that police can initiate proactive measures before the fact such as taking 

actions to improve communication between majority and minority groups by the 
establishment of a human rights commission; establishing mechanisms to defuse rumors 

that may fuel racial tensions and conflict; utilizing the media as a helpful ally; 

implementing community policing and retaining police-community relations units in the 

transition towards community policing. 

The following are best practices for police departments to prevent hate crimes from 

escalating racial and ethnic tensions into conflict or civil disturbances: 

• Strong Policy Statement (Internal and External). The department and 

community must be clear about the police executive’s position against hate 

crimes. Every employee in the department must be held accountable for practicing 

and following that philosophy. In some cases a local government ordinance 

against hate activity modeled on existing hate crime law in effect in that State 

may form the basis for the police executive’s position and departmental policy. 

• Training (In-service and Academy Classes). Officers within the department and 

trainees need to become aware of and educated about crimes motivated by 

prejudice, how to respond to them, how to meet the needs of the victims, and how 

to collect the proper evidence. Raising their awareness about these crimes makes 

it more likely that they will show sensitivity and understanding when 

investigating such cases. In addition, these officers will remember that hate 

crimes and subsequent investigations will be taken seriously. Very often leaders 

from communities targeted by hate crimes and others can be invited to be part of 

the training effort. 

• Procedures. 

— Adoption of a model policy for investigating and reporting hate crimes, 

such as one supported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 

— Establishment of data collection procedures using uniform definitions of 

hate crimes available through the FBI and reporting of the information 

collected (even small numbers in a jurisdiction may be valuable for providing 

an aggregate regional or national understanding of hate crimes). 

— Establishment of a racial-bias crime unit in large cities to investigate and 

respond to such crimes. 

— Establishment of a civil rights office in smaller municipalities. 

— Establishment of a two-tier internal review process for all potential hate 

crimes in accord with the FBI recommendation on bias crime incidents. 

— Pre-identification and training of community leaders to assist in the 

response to hate crimes. 

—Establishment of protocols and response procedures between law enforcement, 

school, social service providers, and community leaders for addressing hate 

crimes. (CRS has mediated hate crime response protocol agreements that can 

serve as models for law enforcement agencies and communities.) 

—Collaboration with communities to build coalitions of political, business, civic, 

religious, and community organizations to help create positive climate and 

foster cooperation, inclusion of diverse groups in decision-making processes to 
increase confidence in government, and working with schools to prevent and 

plan responses to hate crimes on campuses. 

— Collaboration with a local human relations commission in community 

forums on racial and ethnic relations to help encourage a positive community 

climate. 

—Prosecution of hate crimes to encourage better reporting of these crimes, 

ensuring their investigation, establishing hate crimes task forces, and assisting 

victims and witnesses during the adjudication of their cases. 

— Collaboration with schools to prevent and deal with hate crimes and hatebased gang activity in schools, including development of a plan to handle hate 

crimes and defuse racial tensions. (CRS has helped some communities develop 

memorandums of understanding between law enforcement, schools, and local 

social and community service agencies who have a role in addressing schoolrelated hate crimes.) 

— Documentation of hate crimes and hate crime patterns through research on 

the scope and impact of and solutions for hate crimes. 

— Establishment of a temporary rumor control and verification center 

immediately following an incident. (A police department or municipal 

telephone can be staffed by a diverse team 24 hours a day during the crisis 

period so as to help reduce tensions or prevent escalating tensions which may 

lead to violence. Use the media and community organizations to publicize the 

telephone number in the affected community.) 

• Community Interventions. Community intervention activities are essential 

following a hate or bias incident to address the needs of victims, community fear, 

and racial tensions, as well as to prevent retaliation and to change the climate that 

allowed hate to exist and to target specific groups. Law enforcement executives 

need to act quickly and publicly to avoid perceptions of apathy and acceptance of 

the hate crime. Useful steps include finding allies and collaborating with them on 

activities to meet short-term issues and later establish long-term goals to address 

diversity issues through community dialogues, annual diversity events, periodic 

police-community forums, and police-community advisory groups. 

Effective Police Leadership 

Today, the policing function is viewed increasingly in terms of the “contractual” 

relationship with the people. That is, given the high community impact of law 

enforcement service delivery, such services should be based on community needs, safety, 

concerns, and on relentless enforcement of the law against criminals, with due 

consideration for the safety of officers. The contractual nature of this relationship 

notwithstanding, frequently neither minority community expectations of police conduct 

nor police expectations of support from the minority community have been met. The 

result, of course, has too often been violent encounters between citizens and the police. 
The seriousness of this situation, wherever it exists, makes it imperative that the 

community and police initiate steps to reduce violence. 

As in all matters involving how law enforcement is conducted, the role of top police 

executives is key. Among a multitude of other duties, the police executive must establish 

personal credibility with all segments of the community. The chief must articulate law 

enforcement standards of conduct and make clear what behavior the chief expects of the 

department’s officers. The community should understand what constitutes unprofessional 

conduct and, above all, must have a reasonable understanding of procedures for 

investigating and adjudicating cases of use of deadly force. 

To reduce the potential for violence, police executives must inculcate the values 

articulated by policy and procedure into two levels of the police department: the 

administrative level and the “line” or operational level. To accomplish the task of valuetransition on one level without doing so on the other is futile, for no change in police 

behavior will result. In addition to the two levels of the organization which the police 

executive must address, two dimensions of law enforcement must also be addressed: the 

police “culture” and various community cultures. Thus, to effect change in the policecommunity violence, police executives must take a multidimensional approach. 

Traditional approaches to reform have been one-dimensional, and have met with little 

success. 

The necessity for multidimensional leadership exists for several reasons. Consider, for 

example, the police executive who develops the “ideal” use-of-force policy, and who 

develops a strong system of “internal audit” and reporting to ensure that violations are 

identified and addressed. This executive has created an administrative response to the 

violence problem. However, he or she has not addressed the operational-level aspects that 

influence the use of force by law enforcement officers: training, peer-group pressure, 

informal leadership, initial socialization, and role of the union, if any. 

Nor has the executive addressed the external factors that impact use of force: the 

community’s level of confidence in the department; prior use-of-force incidents; the 

existence of a healthy police-community partnership; community norms; media treatment 

of use of force; sanctions against use of force by local courts, prosecutors, and other 

official agencies; and community tolerance levels for violence. 

Policy developed by the police executive that does not take into account external factors 

is likely to fail. The administrative functions of policy, procedure, audit, review, and 

sanction will most probably be offset by operational-level attitudes, beliefs, and informal 

social structures that tell the line officer that it’s “better to face an internal affairs 

investigation than to have your family confronted by the undertaker.” This police 

executive will most likely find that his or her administrative efforts will fail in the face of 

what appears to be an overwhelming “subculture” among line personnel and community 

members. The policies, procedures, and administrative infrastructure will fail, not 

because they were inherently “bad,” but because they were not integrated at the 

operational level to combat police-community violence. 
The police executive who desires to affect the cycle of police-community violence must 

focus on at least four functions which offer the potential of creating change. All four of 

these functions are amenable to change through effective police leadership, and all four 

combine to aid the chief executive in developing a multidimensional approach to policecommunity violence. These four functions are: 

• The socialization process of police officers 

• The administrative mechanisms designed to impact on the operation of the police 

department 

• Positive and negative reinforcement of police officers 

• The education of the community and the news media 

The Socialization of Police Officers 

The socialization process for patrol officers has been well documented in the literature— 

as discussed elsewhere in this publication. Police officers tend to become the kind of 

police officers they are socialized to be. The two most important components of the 

socialization process—and thus the process of leadership—are formal training and 

informal “peer group” indoctrination of the young officer. 

The field training officer (FTO), field training program, and formal classroom training 

form the cornerstone of the young officer’s operational personality. The acquisition of 

acceptable operational traits and the inculcation of “preferred” organizational values 

during this period will last for years under the tutelage of effective leadership. The 

acquisition of “bad habits” can be avoided through a carefully designed socialization 

process that is implemented by handpicked personnel at the training academy and in field 

orientation experiences. 

The field training officer is all important to the success of a department’s training 

program as the FTO is the first person in authority who will orient a new officer to the 

job environment. These officers must be: 

...role models and actually represent the explicit values of the organization. Otherwise, a 

situation of conflicting behavioral expectations may occur during the training of new 

police officers...Managers must be aware that the values of police officers are directly 

related to the concept of the hidden curriculum since values significantly influence 

organizational performance and community perceptions. Therefore, a manager can use 

the selection...of FTO as a proactive method for developing a work environment that 

promotes organizational goals and objectives in Field Training Programs. 

The progressive leader can use the influence of the FTOs to build positive work 

environments by being aware that the influences of mentors and the need to be accepted 

are powerful factors in the training of new officers. When there is consistency between 

explicit and implicit organizational values, explicit job-related behavioral expectations 

are continually reinforced throughout the training program, creating a conducive learning 

environment for new officers. Accordingly, leaders that set forth explicit behavioral 

expectations through the development of a “value-congruent” training program have the 

potential to significantly improve organizational performance.27 
There are several questions the police executive may ask which will help to gauge the 

effectiveness of a department’s leadership in the area of socialization. While the 

following are generic questions, they will help identify areas that need improvement: 

• Do FTOs demonstrate conformance to the department’s values? 

• What type of officer is routinely appointed as a field training officer for police 

cadets, those with a high tolerance for violence or those with a low tolerance for 

violence? 

• Are officers routinely appointed as FTOs for police cadets “negotiators” or 

“confrontationalists”? 

• Are FTOs trained in methods of referral, negotiation, problem resolution, and 

other “alternative” police responses? 

• Are FTOs routinely encouraged to attend public forums, neighborhood meetings, 

task forces, and other “formal” group processes involving the community? 

• Do FTOs receive informal as well as formal rewards for their services to the 

organization? 

• Does the formal training process include classroom time devoted to community 

relations, problem resolution, negotiation, and alternative police response? Is it 

ongoing? 

• Which receives greater emphasis in the training curriculum, self-defense and 

firearms instruction or group and interpersonal interaction skills? 

The chief executive’s answers to these questions will aid in identifying areas which 

should be addressed concerning the socialization of new police officers. Once the desired 

socialization of police officers is attained, it is a role of leadership to continue to refine 

this socialization. 

Administrative Mechanisms to Impact Department Operations 

Administrative mechanisms are probably the most commonly used leadership tool for 

managing police-community violence. The process of effective leadership here involves 

first determining the values which must be proffered by departmental policy. This is 

followed by the development of procedures, rules, and regulations which reflect those 

values including establishing internal audit, review, and sanction processes to enforce 

compliance; and “interfacing” with the community to reduce the use “violent” solutions 

to problems. There are several questions the police executive should ask to determine the 

extent to which administrative mechanisms about police use of force are in place: 

• Has the department appropriately integrated the organization’s values into its useof-force policy and then, through leadership, required adherence to both? 

• Does the department have written procedures, rules, and regulations which 

implement these policies and values? 

• Does the department have formal internal review, audit, and monitoring processes 

to ensure that these procedures, rules, and regulations are followed? 
• Does the department have a formal process to advise the community on the 

functioning of the audit, review, and monitoring processes? 

Guidance Through Positive and Negative Reinforcement 

Effective leadership has its most conventional impact in the area of positive and negative 

reinforcement of police officers. Contrary to some beliefs, negative reinforcement is not 

“punishment.” This term refers to the removal of unpleasant stimuli from one’s 

environment. Positive reinforcement, of course, refers to the provision of rewards for 

behavior that is desirable. The chief executive should ask several questions to help assess 

how effectively department leadership uses reinforcement to foster nonviolent behavior: 

• Which officers routinely receive the most sought after special assignments in the 

department: those known for their confrontational style or those known for their 

mediation skills? 

• For what type of activities are officers most frequently commended by the 

department—avoiding the use of force while achieving the department’s aims, or 

using force to effect the arrest of criminals? 

• When was the last time the department recognized, formally or informally, an 

officer for avoiding the use of force? 

• Does the performance evaluation system recognize and reward an officer for his 

or her ability to avoid the use of force? 

• Does your department recognize force avoidance by officers as a matter of 

policy? 

The chief executive’s answers to these questions will aid in identifying areas that need to 

be addressed concerning the positive and negative reinforcement of officer behavior. It is 

the role of leadership to continue to refine the positive socialization initially imparted to 

police personnel. This is accomplished through selecting appropriate positive and 

negative reinforcement for personnel who behave in ways which foster nonviolent 

problem resolution. 

Community Education 

Another way for the police executive to establish effective leadership in the realm of 

police-community violence is to educate the community in the expectations they should 

have of the department and the expectations the department has of the community. This 

function addresses the “community cultures” dimension of effective leadership. No 

matter what the internal functions of effective leadership within the department, positive 

change in the police-community violence cycles will occur more easily if the community 

is involved in the change process. Police-community partnerships and the engagement of 

the community in solving problems of violence enhance police effectiveness. 

There are several questions the law enforcement executive can ask to determine the 

extent the community is likely to be involved in helping retard the police-community 

violence cycle. These questions are based on the premise that the police and the 
community share ownership, responsibility, and accountability for reducing these 

incidents of violence: 

• What programs does the department have that assist officers in understanding 

community attitudes towards police use of force? 

• What programs does the department have that assist officers and the community 

to reduce incidents of police-community violence? 

• Do all officers engage in interactive meetings with community groups and 

leaders? 

• Does each officer consider himself or herself responsible for building policecommunity trust? 

• Are there existing mechanisms for “taking the pulse” of the community on key 

issues involving police-community violence? 

• Does the department periodically schedule formal meetings with community 

groups and leaders to review the issue of police-community violence? 

• Do all the parties involved in reducing police-community violence (police, courts, 

probation, prosecutors, schools, and the community) meet regularly to review 

strategy and results? 

These questions help the executive identify areas or concerns that should be addressed in 

managing the police-community partnership. The extent to which this connection is well 

managed will, to some extent, dictate the degree of success the police executive can 

expect. 

In summary, the “effective leadership” of a police organization’s attempt to control the 

police-community violence cycle cannot be accomplished by a one-dimensional approach 

to the problem. A leadership plan which focuses merely on one aspect of the problem is 

most likely a plan that will not achieve its objectives. What is required is a 

multidimensional approach which focuses on both internal and external factors, an 

approach which addresses operational problems as well as administrative processes, and 

which addresses the need for change within the informal leadership of the department as 

well as the need for change within the community. 

Through the development of an “interactive” model of professionalism which focuses on 

the four stated areas of change within the department and its environment, police 

executives can develop the effective leadership necessary to have an impact on the cycle 

of police-community violence. Until an approach is developed that is multidimensional, 

interactive, and fully supported by the chief executive, reliance on the “leadership model” 

to reduce the police use of force will bear little fruit. 

Procedures for Effective Policing 

A police department’s procedures—what it actually practices—are, of course, a 

fundamental element in determining relationships with the community. Even the most 

positive values will be of little use unless they are reflected in the performance of officers 
on the street. Thus, the need to reduce police-citizen violence will not be met solely by 

adopting a set of values. Practices must be implemented which demonstrate an 

enlightened, practical approach to policing. Within that context, there are a number of 

important considerations. 

Principles of Community Policing 

Community policing is a policing approach embraced by some departments and espoused 

by national law enforcement organizations. It is described as a philosophy, managerial 

style, and organizational strategy that promotes better police-community partnerships and 

more proactive problem solving with the community. It can help solve a wide range of 

community problems and issues involving crime control, crime prevention, officer safety, 

and the fear of crime. 

Community policing is referred to by several names, most commonly as communityoriented policing, problem-oriented policing, community problem solving, neighborhood 

policing, and problem-based policing. Community policing is based on collaboration 

between police and citizens in a nonthreatening and cooperative spirit. It requires that 

police listen to citizens, take seriously how citizens perceive problems and issues, and 

seek to solve problems which have been identified. “A fundamental assumption of the 

community policing approach is that the community is more likely than the police to 

recognize and understand its public safety needs,” states researchers Vincent J. Webb and 

Charles M. Katz.28 Effective community policing can result in enhanced quality of life in 

neighborhoods, reduction of fear of crime, greater respect for law and order, increased 

crime control and crime prevention, and greater citizen satisfaction with police services. 

While community policing continues to evolve, current research shows that it results in 

improved safety for both residents and police, neighborhood revitalization, positive 

neighborhood and police morale and confidence, heightened confidence in government 

institutions, including police, and improved race relations. Community policing has been 

shown to decrease actual criminal activity29 and reduced fear of crime. As one resident of 

Chicago said, “When you have a sense of camaraderie and cooperation between beat 

officers and community residents you lose the sense of fear.”30 However, law 

enforcement executives should be aware that “community perceptions of the potential 

effectiveness of community policing may determine how residents rate the importance of 

community policing activities carried out by the police,” according to Webb and Katz. In 

fact, they state some community policing activities may be viewed as unimportant to the 

community, while others, such as investigations of drug and gang-related activities, may 

have broad community support. Reports on public support for community policing has 

been generally favorable. “In general, the findings show that ‘preventative’ community 

policing activities, or those usually considered as having an indirect effect on crime, are 

regarded by the community as being less important than ‘enforcement’ activities, or 

policing activities thought of as having a more direct effect on crime.”31 Police executives 

may need to explain to communities that community policing programs—like all other 

policing programs—are enforcement oriented. The difference with community policing 

programs is an intentional focus on community interaction with the department 
In Madison, Wisconsin, police officers and community volunteers conducted surveys of 

police activities and police efforts to resolve neighborhood problems. The Madison 

Police Department found that “as the officers completed the questionnaire with the 

participants, the respondents gave information to the officers about the quality of life and 

social order issues whereas the other volunteers who were not officers, those issues rarely 

emerged.” In the Madison interviews, participants reported a wide variety of concerns to 

police officers: 

...a greater concern that children would be hurt while playing in their neighborhood; less 

satisfaction with their neighborhood as a place to live; parking, public drinking and 

intoxication, gang activity and graffiti as more of a problem; drug sales, drug usage, drug 

addiction, possession of guns and weapons, violence, fighting and assaults all to be more 

of a problem; more negative assessments of the effectiveness of rental property owners 

and managers in dealing with neighborhood problems, and of the extent to which 

residents were organized and committed to improving neighborhood conditions.32 

Community policing represents a continuation of the established traditions of policing in 

the United States. It flows from three values discussed in the section of this publication 

on values: 

• The police department believes that the prevention of crimes is its number one 

priority. 

• The police department involves the community in the delivery of its services. 

• The police department holds itself accountable to the community it serves. 

The 10 underlying principles of community policing are: 

1. Crime prevention is the responsibility of the total community. 

2. The police and the community share ownership, responsibility, and 

accountability for the prevention of crime. 

3. Police effectiveness is a function of crime control, crime prevention, problem 

solving, community satisfaction, quality of life, and community engagement. 

4. Mutual trust between the police and the community is essential for effective 

policing. 

5. Crime prevention must be a flexible, long-term strategy in which the police and 

community collectively commit to resolving the complex and chronic causes of 

crime. 

6. Community policing requires knowledge, access, and mobilization of 

community resources. 

7. Community policing can only succeed when top management police and 

government officials enthusiastically support its principles and tenets. 

8. Community policing depends on decentralized, community-based participation 

in decision-making. 

9. Community policing allocates resources and services, based on analysis, 

identification, and projection of patterns and trends, rather than incidents. 
10. Community policing requires an investment in training with special attention to 

problem analysis and problem solving, facilitation, community organization; 

communication, mediation and conflict resolution, resource identification and use, 

networking and linkages, and cross-cultural competency.33 

Police-Community Partnership 

Improving a police department’s image in the community takes more than just concern or 

wishful thinking. For the police to be truly effective in a changing, complex society, they 

must recognize that it is in their own self-interest to administer a department that is 

competent, fair, honest, and responsive to the needs of the individual citizen. The police 

department must establish an effective partnership with the community as a whole, the 

foundation of which is mutual trust and understanding. Police organizations must realize 

that they have the ability to alter their own image within the community. 

A well-developed community relations effort should be the product of careful 

construction, designed by the police and the public together, and should not be the result 

of an emotional reaction to a temporary crisis in the community. The fundamental tenet 

of any successful police-community relations effort must necessarily involve an open 

channel of communication between the police and the public. Once established, a 

communications vehicle should be further developed to ensure that the channel remains 

open. 

Police departments must be sensitive to the fact that virtually every phase of their 

operations has an eventual impact on the community, which translates into an individual 

citizen’s assessment of a department’s effectiveness. Token or artificial efforts towards 

enhancing public image will quickly be recognized as an insincere gesture, which can 

only invite public ridicule and repudiation. 

Training must also be in place to ensure that all officers veteran and recruit alike— 

continuously maintain an understanding of, and a sensitivity to, the social and human 

relations problems that surface within the community. Police departments should adopt a 

community-oriented attitude in every facet of their operations. The public must be 

convinced that the department’s concern for community relations is not just a priority for 

administrators or community relations officers, but a serious concern that has the 

commitment of each officer. 

Using Community Resources 

Defining the police role within a community should not be solely the responsibility of a 

law enforcement agency. The entire community, represented by traditional and 

nontraditional agencies and groups alike, should be called upon to identify local concerns 

that fall within the purview of the police department. Suggestions should be carefully 

weighed and freely debated in an atmosphere which recognizes that no single element or 

agency has exclusive jurisdiction or authority for determining what the posture or 

reaction should be towards problems that have impact on the entire community. 
Within every community there are business and professional groups, social service 

agencies, religious and civic organizations, and non-law enforcement city agencies, all of 

which are potential resources for dealing with many of the problems that confront the 

police. Such organizations have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to donate time 

and effort in support of programs that improve the quality of life in a community. An 

effective police executive researches the community and develops a “resource bank” of 

organizations willing to donate time and effort in support of police initiatives to improve 

services to the community. 

The assistance and interaction that these groups afford can be of great benefit in offering 

cultural, language, direct service, and training opportunities for police officers. In an era 

of tight fiscal control and dwindling budgets, these organizations can help law 

enforcement agencies develop specialized programs that address current and future 

needs. The police and community groups should establish areas of mutual concern, 

analyze points of disagreement that call for resolution, and reach a consensus on how all 

parties concerned can work together effectively in crisis situations. CRS can provide 

technical assistance in implementing meetings with the community to build a partnership 

with the community. 

Police Accessibility 

A police department’s effectiveness in making itself accessible to the community will 

invariably depend on whether there is a plan or program to promote and enhance 

involvement with citizens. Whether the purpose is to inform citizens about police 

initiatives, to inform them about general police department progress or conditions, to 

secure their input in a specific area, or to discuss effectiveness of the department and its 

personnel, most police executives depend on three basic avenues. They are: direct 

dialogue with citizens and representatives of organizations, use of the news media, and 

communication of selected information through various means, including speeches and 

assignments to designated personnel. At the same time, all department personnel and all 

means of communication should be focused on making the department “approachable” to 

citizens. 

The most common standard for measuring a department’s effectiveness with respect to 

accessibility is the number and attitude of citizens who freely approach the department to 

make inquiries, complain, or volunteer their assistance. If the attitude of citizens 

demonstrates confidence in the department and pride in performing a civic function, it 

can be surmised that a substantial level of departmental accessibility has been achieved. 

On the other hand, if citizen contacts or encounters with the police are characterized 

mostly by a mixture of fear, rancor, and general distrust, then the police executive and the 

department’s personnel have a lot of hard work ahead of them. 

Managing Potentially Violent Circumstances 

Each day, police officers are called upon to handle a wide variety of situations, any one 

of which potentially might result in an officer or citizen suffering serious bodily injury or 

death. Although no two situations will be exactly the same, police have encountered the 
vast majority of different kinds of circumstances before. Therefore, most response 

situations lend themselves to prior analysis and review. Whether the police are called 

upon to handle a violent domestic dispute, a barricaded subject with hostages, a major 

civil disturbance, or other situations, departmental procedures can be drafted to provide 

the individual police officer with direction that will reduce the chances of unwarranted 

violence. Care should be exerted to ensure that written directives on most response 

situations are carefully developed, regularly updated, and constantly reviewed by every 

member of the organization. 

Along with written directives, another major component of a police department’s efforts 

to manage circumstances is its commitment to in-service training and development. 

While many organizations rightfully place a premium on the value of recruit training, 

they are sometimes less attentive to providing a systematic program of in-service training 

for veteran officers. Although departments may be powerless to control the level of 

violence that officers face in every situation, they should recognize that a carefully 

designed program of in service training is of fundamental importance to avoiding policecitizen violence and ensuring officer safety. Many police contacts with citizens or 

suspects have the potential for violence, as emphasized elsewhere in this publication, but 

a well-trained officer is the first line of defense in reducing the risk of serious injury or 

death. 

A Conflict Management Approach 

There is no magic formula or step-by-step guide that can ensure the maintenance of an 

orderly community. Every community has unique characteristics, and conflict resolution 

requires a knowledge of the intricacies of the community, its problems, concerns and 

priorities. A problem for the police is the recognition that many of the factors that 

contribute to community tensions and delinquency, such as poverty, unemployment, and 

the lack of education, cannot be addressed directly by the police. In spite of this, the 

police should be attuned to the concerns and changing priorities of their communities, 

and be willing to offer assistance in identifying and resolving sources of conflict that 

have a debilitating effect on the community. 

One course of action police administrators should consider is developing a conflict 

management program. The primary purpose of such a program would be to serve as an 

alert system for tension-breeding incidents that are police related and which could create 

conflict and disharmony in the community. A conflict management program would 

include: continuous assessment of community tension, regularly planned outreach to the 

diverse communities and their leaders, department plans and procedures outlining the 

response to potentially violent situations with special emphasis on the continuum in use 

of force, and training of officers in conflict resolution skills and mediation. When the 

program is functioning effectively, the results should provide police leadership with more 

in-depth and timely information that will broaden communication with all parties 

concerned, contributing to the maintenance of order in the community. 

In order for a program to function effectively, training in conflict management and 

resolution should be extended to all persons, police and civilian alike, who have 
expressed a willingness to become involved in such an experiment. Such an undertaking 

should be a first step in looking beyond the traditional methods of arriving at conflict 

resolution and may serve as the impetus for developing other more innovative 

approaches. In forming a conflict management program, police departments should 

recruit representatives from all segments of the community. Such a selection procedure 

would provide for a broad cross-section of viewpoints and capabilities which, in the end, 

can only serve to maximize the effectiveness of the program. 

Negotiation Versus Confrontation 

When the police are called to the scene of a potentially life-threatening situation, more 

often than not a confrontation not of their making confronts them. In the initial moments, 

the person or persons responsible for instigating the confrontation may appear to be in 

control. But as sufficient numbers of officers arrive, the inevitable decision on using 

force to end the confrontation is brought up for consideration. While no two situations are 

exactly alike, the merits of negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution should be given 

their due. Police who employ force as an immediate response to a crisis situation are 

frequently labeled as reactionary—as opposed to being recognized as the power in 

control of the situation. In most instances, police departments that elect to employ 

mediation and conflict resolution and other communication skills instead of force are 

generally credited with reducing the level of tension. 

Negotiation in a crisis situation generally affords the police an opportunity to carefully 

formulate a well-constructed response. Additional time also facilitates the strategic 

placement of key personnel, who by then will be in full possession of virtually all of the 

resources which appear necessary to bring about a successful conclusion of the situation. 

In the final analysis, if all attempts at talking fail and the time for negotiating comes to an 

end, the police will be able to demonstrate that they legitimately attempted to use reason 

instead of force, and only altered their course of action when no other alternative 

reasonably existed. 

Expert skills at negotiating, mediation, and conflict resolution are not natural talents that 

are automatically acquired by each new officer who enters the field of law enforcement. 

Departments should ensure that classes in negotiating, mediation and conflict resolution 

are contained within the curriculum of their in-service training and development 

programs. Recognizing that the decision to negotiate—as opposed to resorting to force— 

will not always be a viable option, the police department should at least indicate its 

preference for negotiation whenever possible. 

Areas of Special Concern 

To understand the causes, and to reduce the incidence of violent encounters between the 

police and citizens, it is necessary to identify situations that have demonstrated a high 

potential for violence. Unfortunately, data on police use-of-force situations are not 

collected on a national scale, and the research has been primarily confined to the use of 

firearms. However, through an empirical approach, it is possible to establish areas of 

police-community interaction that are of particular concern because of the friction which 
results. Some of those areas are discussed below, along with suggestions of guidance 

police agencies may consider providing to their officers. It should be emphasized that the 

list is not intended as comprehensive. 

Use of Deadly Force. Of all the decisions a police officer is called upon to make, none 

has greater impact than the decision to use deadly force. Police in this country have been 

given the legal right to use force, up to and including deadly force, in order to maintain 

peace and order. Officers are often required to make that decision under highly stressful, 

split-second circumstances which leave little margin for error. The use of such force is 

justified in only the most extreme circumstances. The obvious reason for this severe 

limitation is the high potential for serious injury or death to the officer and other persons, 

innocent and guilty alike. 

A 1999 Bureau of Justice Statistics study34 estimated that police in the United States 

make nearly 45 million face-to-face contacts with citizens a year. Only 1 percent of the 

citizens report being subjected to threat or use of force by police and the majority of cases 

involve levels of force at the lower end of the use-of-force continuum. 

Recognizing that less-than-lethal force may still result in injury and community unrest, 

officers need to exercise discretion in the application of force in those situations as well. 

Establishing criteria for a continuum of force will enable officers to adjust their use of 

force to the seriousness of a perceived life-threatening situation. An example of such a 

continuum is the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Model: officer presence, verbal direction, soft 

empty hand, oleoresin capsicum, hard empty hand, intermediate weapons, and lethal 

force. In addition, officers who are skilled in conflict resolution and persuasion may find 

ways to avoid higher levels of confrontation altogether. To determine the most 

appropriate policies on use of force for a given department and community, the 

department may benefit from a comprehensive review and analysis of each use-of-force 

incident. Such a review may help officers discern patterns in the incidents or officer 

behaviors that have important implications for the development of policies that reduce 

use-of-force incidents. 

While police use of deadly force is a rare occurrence, its impact can be felt throughout 

the community and undermines public confidence in the police. Aside from the ethical 

and moral ramifications of taking another’s life, or leaving them perhaps permanently 

disabled, a police officer also faces the prospect of being held criminally liable if deadly 

force was improperly employed. People in today’s litigious society will frequently 

challenge the officer’s decision to use deadly force in a civil court as well. For all of these 

reasons, it is absolutely imperative that officers thoroughly understand their 

responsibilities, rights, and limitations regarding the use of deadly force. 

From the police department’s perspective, a high standard of ongoing specialized training 

is essential in minimizing the risk that every officer faces in deciding to use deadly force 

in a particular situation. Such a training effort, which has traditionally concentrated on 

skills relating to firearms proficiency, should also address the various implications that 

are attached to an officer’s decision to use deadly force. Police agencies also have a 

special and fundamental responsibility to carefully formulate written policies on the use 
of deadly force which are clear and can be understood by every member of the 

organization. 

When an incident of deadly force occurs, especially one involving the loss of life of a 

person of color, and when there is a perception of excessive use of force, civil disorder or 

unrest is possible. The incident itself, and the events that follow, form a continuum of 

potential flash points or triggering incidents that may lead to civil unrest or disorder. 

These flash points include: 

• The incident itself 

• The investigation of the incident 

• The community reaction to the incident 

• The announcement of the result of the investigation 

• The announcement of procedural court decision(s), sentencing, or jury verdicts 

• New incidents involving police or grievances 

There are several variables that influence the reaction to an incident by the public, 

especially an affected community of color or tight-knit ethnic community. Among the 

factors impacting the level of public discontent and anger are: 

• Pre-existing conditions—the overall quality of race relations in the community, 

especially police-community relations 

• Nature of the incident itself—the type and nature of force used, especially if it 

was deadly force or was excessively brutal by community standards 

• The circumstances surrounding the incident, including the age and mental 

condition of the victim and the reaction of witnesses 

• Concurrent police action—the actions of the other police officers at the scene and 

the actions taken, or statements made by officers and the police chief 

• Media reporting of the incident 

• City leadership actions—what the mayor and other community leaders say or do 

• Initial community response—whether there is an immediate community reaction 

and escalating racial tensions 

The CRS publication, Responding to Incidents Involving Allegations of Excessive Use of 

Force: A Checklist to Guide Police Executives, which appears as a boxed exhibit on the 

following pages, can be used as a reference by law enforcement executives dealing with 

use-of-force incidents. 

Arrest Situations. More officers lose their lives in arrest situations than in any other 

circumstance. “From 1992 through 2001, 34.4 percent of the victim officers were 

involved in arrest situations when slain,” according to the FBI.35 Most of the police useof-force situations would more than likely fall under the general category of resisting 

arrest. However, this area is the source of much controversy. The circumstances 

surrounding arrests have been the cause of major, recent police-minority group clashes in 

particular. 
For most people, an arrest is an extremely stressful experience. And it can cause reactions 

that are highly unusual and out of character for the individual. For some, an arrest is 

viewed as a complete loss of freedom, and their resistance may include the use of 

firearms, which dramatically increases the possibility of a police officer using force. 

Unfortunately, the data available does not identify specific types of arrest situations as 

being more likely to result in use of force by or against an officer. 

Studies over the years, however, have provided an indication that some officers are more 

likely to use force in effecting arrests than others. Therefore, it appears an effort is 

needed to identify arrest situations where force is used and to determine if there are 

common factors present. If there is an indication that certain officers or situations result 

in force being used by or against officers, then approaches can be developed for dealing 

with those specific circumstances. 

Responding to Disturbance Calls. Response to disturbance calls continues to be an area 

where police officers are exposed to potential assault and loss of life. While some express 

surprise at this, disturbance situations present clear dilemmas to police officers who must 

deal with them. They must intervene in disagreements between two or more parties, 

knowing little about the conflict, and often having very little real authority to address the 

underlying problems—unless one party has committed an offense. Moreover, the parties 

involved in the conflict generally have an expectation that the police should side with 

them since they believe they are right. It is also not unusual for officers to end up in a 

position where both sides of the conflict direct their wrath at them, if it becomes 

necessary to make an arrest. These are the situations that result in force being used by and 

against the officer. Such situations are all the more volatile when officers are dealing with 

minority persons. 

Over the past 25 years, greater attention has been devoted to enhancing the skills of 

police officers in this area. In the more progressive police departments, time has been 

allocated in recruitment and in service training—to developing a better understanding of 

all types of conflict situations—with the emphasis on family or domestic violence. With 

that improved understanding of conflict management this provides, officers are able to 

handle more of the disturbance calls, in a manner that avoids use of force and minimizes 

their own exposure to assault. All training must focus on certain major factors in officer 

assaults: the officer’s demeanor, attitude, and lack of skill in using proven psychological 

techniques to control the behavior of enraged disputants. Officers must have an 

opportunity to identify, analyze, and openly discuss these factors. 

In addition to training officers in conflict management, a greater focus has been placed on 

developing written policies and procedures. These not only provide guidance in the use of 

discretion, they set forth concepts such as the need to have at least two officers respond to 

disturbance calls. They provide the officers with alternatives to arrest and to resolve 

problems. They also enable officers to use alternative resources, such as spouse abuse 

shelters to aide in responding to the situations. The combination of training and written 

guidelines helps increase the level of confidence an officer has in handling domestic 

situations. This minimizes the potential for resorting to force to settle the situation— 

which may not fit the problem that caused the disturbance in the first place. 
Traffic Stops and Pursuits. Police officers make thousands of traffic stops daily. Like 

other human beings, they have a tendency to become complacent when performing tasks 

that become routine. These circumstances create an environment where basic procedural 

mistakes are made that may result in the officer being assaulted or using force to resolve 

a problem that could have been avoided. The dilemma faced by police administrators lies 

in ensuring that officers avoid mistakes without introducing a level of fear that causes 

officers to overreact to nonthreatening situations. 

While policies, procedures, and periodic refresher training are helpful, the resolution of 

this problem rests with the officers themselves and first-line supervisors. The day-to-day 

environment must be one that reinforces adherence to basic procedures. The environment 

also needs to reflect a value system which views using force as the least-preferred method 

of problem resolution. The establishment of that environment, as observed elsewhere, 

begins at the top of the organization. However, to be effective, line officers and their 

supervisors must accept that value. 

Police pursuit situations have drawn considerable attention in recent years because of 

well-publicized civil judgments against local jurisdictions for negligence. This has caused 

many police departments to examine and begin to adjust their policies towards 

participating in high-speed chases. In addition to the potential for serious injury or death 

and substantial property damage, these situations often end with the pursued individual 

being subdued by force. Emotions run high in pursuit situations because of their inherent 

dangers. Both officer and suspect may engage in conduct that would not occur under 

normal circumstances. 

The pursuit situation is very difficult for police administrators to address, and, in some 

cases, produces “lose-lose” conditions. Many believe a “no-pursuit” policy would lead to 

more individuals taking a chance on eluding an officer. At the same time, a no-pursuit 

policy will not necessarily limit the department’s liability—because some of these cases 

may produce a failure-to-protect dilemma. 

Therefore, policies must be developed that guide officer discretion. One provision that 

often appears in departments’ pursuit policies requires that officers suspend the chase, 

when it reaches the point of creating a greater problem than the initial reason for 

beginning the pursuit. For maximum impact, this type of statement should be 

supplemented with real examples of its application, and should be reinforced, even in 

those times when a pursuit situation does not result in a crash. 

Investigating Suspicious Persons. Over the years, the concept of “suspicious person” 

has become less clearly defined as the individual right of freedom of movement has been 

reinforced. At one time, “suspicious” could mean merely encountering an individual of 

one race in a neighborhood populated by members of another race, at any time of the day. 

That evolved to a late-night situation and eventually to a requirement that other 

circumstances be present. The difficulty in the inability to clearly define and articulate 

“suspicious” is that it creates the perception of harassment on the part of the individual 

stopped and questioned. Obviously, this can quickly result in friction between officer and 

citizen, with the citizen resisting an arrest that is likely to be borderline at best. 
Unfortunately, much of the formal police training in this area does not adequately prepare 

an officer to deal with the ambiguities involved—which may result in responses at one 

extreme or the other. Either the police department is overly aggressive and develops a 

hostile relationship with one group of citizens, or it is not aggressive enough, and gives 

the impression of ambivalence or laziness. As in other areas, practical guidelines for the 

use of discretion need to be prepared, disseminated, and reinforced in daily operations. 

These guidelines have to balance the individual’s right to freedom of movement with the 

need of the community to be free from crime. 

Handling, Custody, and Transportation of Prisoners. Police handling of individuals in 

custody results in a higher level of assault and fatalities than one might expect—given the 

presumption of police control in these circumstances. However, problems do occur, and 

experience shows that many times officers are assaulted and suspects injured during the 

booking process. In fact, injuries and deaths suffered by minorities, already in police 

custody, have prompted a number of serious police-community conflicts in recent years. 

Studies in Baltimore County, Maryland, and Newport News, Virginia, to cite just two 

examples, have shown that a significant number of altercations occur in the environment 

where booking takes place. Although the reasons for this are not immediately clear, 

separation of the arresting officer and the suspect seems to result in fewer incidents. 

Available data does not distinguish the proportion of such incidents relating particularly 

to transportation. Nevertheless, an evaluation of procedures and reinforcement of sound 

ones would contribute to a reduction of conflict. 

Handling People with Mental Impairment. The treatment of mental illness has 

undergone radical revision in recent years. Where in-hospital treatment and confinement 

was once the norm, the emphasis has now shifted to out-patient and community-based 

programs as an approach towards recovery. As more and more people with special needs 

are returned to their respective communities, it becomes more important than ever for the 

police to develop a general familiarization with recommended approaches towards 

handing the mentally ill. Police departments must make a concerted effort to identify 

local resources that offer special services in the field of mental illness. They should also 

extend an invitation to area health professionals to participate in a program of in-service 

training for the benefit of those police officers who are most likely to confront citizens 

with one or more forms of mental illness. 

The goal of such an effort is not to transform the police officer into a diagnostician or 

professional psychiatrist, but to provide the officer with a special understanding of, and 

empathy for, the problems of the mentally ill. Channels of communication between the 

police, the mental health professionals, and local treatment centers should be constantly 

utilized and upgraded when necessary. 

The police should also recognize that not all forms of mental illness are permanent, nor 

are they completely debilitating. Some of the people an officer encounters may, on the 

surface, appear to be functioning with some degree of normalcy, but may still be under 

enormous pressure or stress that is not readily discernible or articulated. Separating and 

identifying the person who is affected by mental illness from the person who is simply 
engaged in antisocial or criminal behavior requires a special degree of skill and 

experience. It is imperative that officers be provided with the necessary level of training 

that can elevate them to that special degree of skill, or that arrangements be made so that 

the services of mental health professionals are readily available to officers in crisis 

situations. 

As most law enforcement professionals know, the results of police encounters with the 

mentally impaired have led to major police-community confrontations in a number of 

cities. Fortunately, however, the seriousness of this problem has been recognized, and 

innovative approaches to it are being developed. For example, in April 1986, the Police 

Executive Research Forum (PERF) issued guidelines to help police departments handle 

encounters with the mentally impaired. The report resulted from an 18-month study 

funded by the National Institute of Justice and the Community Trust.36 

The PERF report also describes creative models used by three police departments: 

Madison, Wisconsin; Birmingham, Alabama; and Galveston County, Texas. While these 

programs illustrate markedly different approaches, they may be helpful to police 

departments trying to improve their own handling of the mentally impaired. In Madison, 

handling calls involving the mentally ill is the responsibility of regular patrol officers, 

who receive over 20 hours of mental health training. In addition, officers can confer with 

the county’s 24-hour emergency mental health center before attempting to handle 

difficult cases. The Galveston County Sheriffs Department uses a unit of six specially 

trained deputies to respond to all mental health calls, thereby relieving regular deputies of 

this responsibility. The Birmingham Police Department relies on a community service 

unit consisting of social workers who come to the scene of an encounter to assist officers 

in reaching a disposition of the situation. 

The City of Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, have also experienced several 

recent clashes between police and the community over police handling of mentally 

impaired persons. Believing that the necessity for police intervention was, in many 

instances, a manifestation of mentally ill persons “falling through the cracks,” Portland 

and Multnomah County established a task force to develop a coordinated plan of action 

involving all pertinent city and county agencies. A letter of agreement indicating the 

responsibilities of these agencies has been included in the appendices. 

Hostage/Barricade Situations. In recent years, most medium-to-large police agencies 

have developed teams of officers to respond to hostage/barricade encounters. These 

teams usually include negotiators and have established objectives of dealing with these 

situations without injury to anyone involved. Unfortunately, however, that is not always 

the result, and when the person or persons involved are members of a minority group, any 

force used is likely to be more controversial because of the general belief that the police 

practice a double standard. The tragic encounter between Philadelphia police and the 

MOVE group in 1985 is a case in point, and there are other, less well-publicized 

incidents that also racially polarized communities. 

Most police hostage/barricade teams conduct frequent training and hold debriefing 

sessions at the conclusion of an operation. These teams have made significant 
contributions towards reducing the amount and degree of force used by the police in 

addressing these problems. Agencies that have not established this capability should do 

so if resources permit. If not, the capability could be developed by combining resources 

or through agreements with other municipal, county, or state agencies. 

Drugs and Gangs. One of the major areas of concern in policing is the violence that 

surrounds drug and gang activity. The increased number of handguns and other 

firepower, the role of organized criminals and youth gangs, and the amount of money 

involved in this activity have torn apart communities—created divisions within 

communities and between police and communities, particularly communities of color. 

Homicide rates, especially among minority youth, have also escalated. 

Pressures and demands from different segments of the community have led to calls for 

aggressive policing, even if it entails the violation of individuals’ rights. Field practices 

that violate accepted police practices and procedures are too often condoned in the name 

of expediency or pressure for immediate results. This issue represents a significant 

challenge to police executives and a department’s value system. 

The guidance the executive can provide on such a volatile issue begins with the value 

system of the police department and the systems established to put these values into 

operation. The community and law enforcement must be involved in developing a 

comprehensive approach to drugs and gangs that solicits the community’s cooperation 

and support. The police department must address both the criminal acts and the 

community’s fears or perceptions. Specialized training must be provided to the officers 

in: effective techniques for investigating drug activity, making arrests, developing 

intervention and diversion programs, establishing racial and cultural awareness programs, 

and developing broad based community support through such programs as a citizens’ 

crime watch and D.A.R.E. The relationship between police and urban youth can become 

a positive partnership that includes police, parents, schools, community and business 

leaders, clergy, and the media. The relationship should be one that seeks both to prevent 

and to resolve problems of crime and disorder based on cooperation, collaboration, and 

mutual respect.37 

Concluding Statement 

It should be reemphasized that the principles of policing presented in this publication, and 

summarized here, are not seen as either a panacea or as the comprehensive, final word on 

reducing police-citizen violence. These approaches are offered, first, in recognition that 

the level of police-citizen violence remains a serious problem that requires attention. 

Secondly, they are offered in the sincere belief that enough has been learned through the 

experience of the last several years that a useful contribution can be made by collecting 

some of that experience and sharing it. 

As pointed out elsewhere in this publication, citizens bear a part of the responsibility for 

the tenor of relations with police. However, it is the police role which is key because of 

the unique power that is a part of it. To a significant extent, the progress that has been 
made in reducing police-citizen violence has occurred because determined police 

executives were willing to act where they saw policies or practices that needed 

correcting—sometimes against considerable internal and external opposition. Further 

improvement will also depend in a major way on the willingness, and ability, of police 

executives to push for meaningful change in their departments. 

Thus, this publication is offered as a useful resource. But just as the Community 

Relations Service does not regard this as the last word on the subject, the agency also 

does not view the sharing of experience and information as a one-way street. Copies of 

policies or descriptions of innovative programs from police departments would be 

welcome submissions by CRS. It is anticipated that the agency will continue exploring 

approaches to avoiding police-citizen violence as part of its ongoing conflict resolution 

responsibility, and will widely disseminate the most useful information obtained. CRS 

will also continue to make its services directly available to police agencies through 

technical assistance on program development. That assistance is available upon request 

free of charge. 
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Enforcement Bulletin, August 2001, pp. 25–32. 
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Community Policing in the 21st Century,” The Police Chief, March 2000, pp. 16–55. 

Ribera, Anthony D., “How One Police Chief Coped with Crisis,” The Police Chief, May 

2002, pp. 53–61. 

Rostow, Cary D., Robert D. Davis, Judith P. Levy, and Sarah Brecknock, “Civil Liability 

and Psychological Services in Law Enforcement Administration,” The Police Chief, 

June 2001, pp. 36–43. 

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Sawyer, Suzie, “Strength Through Support: COPS Programs Help Victims Become 

Survivors,” The Police Chief, May 2002, pp. 38–39. 

Scharf, Peter, and Arnold Binder, The Badge and the Bullet: Police Use of Deadly Force 

(New York: Praeger, 1983). 

Sheehan, Donald C., and Vincent B. Van Hasselt, “Identifying Law Enforcement Stress 

Reactions Early,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, September 2003, p. 15. 

SK Video Productions, Road Stop Ethics, video prepared for the Community Policy 

Consortium, February 25, 2000. 

Skogan, Wesley G., Susan M. Hartnett, Jill DuBois, Jennifer T. Comey, Karla TwedtBall, and J. Erik Gudell, “Public Involvement: Community Policing in Chicago” 

(Chicago: Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research, September 2000). 

Skolnick, Jerome H., Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society 

(New York: Wiley, 1966). 

———, “On Democratic Policing,” Ideas in American Policing (Washington, DC: Police 

Foundation, August 1999). 

Staszak, Dennis, “Making the Most of Press Interviews,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 

May 2002, p. 19. 
Stine, Joseph J., “A Ballistic Vest Against Lawsuits: Protecting Yourself and Your 

Department Against Civil Liability,” The Police Chief, June 2001, pp. 44–47. 

Stewart-Brown, Recheal, “Community Mobilization: The Foundation for Community 

Policing,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 2001, pp. 9–17. 

U.S. Department of Justice, “Principles for Promoting Police Integrity: Examples of 

Promising Police Practices and Polices” (Washington, DC, January 2001). 

U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, A Policymaker’s Guide to Hate 

Crimes, NCJ 162304 (Washington, DC, March 1997). 

U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, “CRS and CommunityOriented Policing,” concept paper (Washington, DC, 1993). 

U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers 

Killed and Assaulted, Uniform Crime Reports (Washington, DC, 2001). 

———, “Learning Module Two: Bias-Motivated Crimes—Definitions and Procedures,” 

Training Guide for Hate Crime Data Collection (Washington, DC, 1991). pp. 14– 

20. 

U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, “Community Policing: 

Chicago’s Experience,” National Institute of Justice Journal, April 1999. 

———, “Community Policing in Action: Lessons from an Observational Study,” 

Research Preview, June 1998. 

Vicchio, Stephen J., “Ethics and Police Integrity,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, July 

1997, pp. 8–12. 

Walker, Samuel, Carol Archbold, and Leigh Herbst, Mediating Citizen Complaints 

Against Police Officers: A Guide for Police and Community Leaders (Washington, 

DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services, 2002). 

Walker, Samuel, and Betsy Wright Kreisel, “Varieties of Citizen Review: The 

Implications of Organizational Features of Complaint Review Procedures for 

Accountability of the Police,” American Journal of Police, Vol. 15, No. 3 (1996), 

pp. 65–89. [Note: American Journal of Police has merged into the new publication 

Policing. Abstracts and articles from the American Journal of Police may be 

accessed from www.emeraldinsight.com/alp.htm.] 

Walter, Lisa, “Eradicating Racial Stereotyping from Terry Stops: The Case for an Equal 

Protection Exclusionary Rule,” University of Colorado Law Review, Vol. 71, No. 1, 

pp. 255–94. 

Webb, Vincent J., and Charles M. Katz, “Citizen Ratings of the Importance of 

Community Policing Activities,” chapter 22 in Community Policing: Contemporary 
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Press, 1998), pp. 427–44. 

Weisburd, David, Rosann Greenspan, Edwin E. Hamilton, Kellie A. Bryant, and Hubert 

Williams, “The Abuse of Police Authority: A National Study of Police Officers’ 

Attitudes,” Research in Brief, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 

National Institute of Justice, May 2000). 

Williams, Hubert, and Patrick V. Murphy, “The Evolving Strategy of Policing: A 

Minority View,” Perspectives on Policing, No. 13 (Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice; and Harvard University, January 

1990). 

Zhao, Jihong, “The Future of Policing in a Community Era,” chapter 16 in Crime and 

Justice in America: Present Realities and Future Prospects, 2nd ed., ed. Wilson R. 

Palacios, Paul F. Cromwell, and Roger G. Dunham (Upper Saddle River, NJ: 

Prentice Hall, 2002), pp. 191–204. 

Zhao, Jihong, Nicholas P. Lovrich, and T. Hank Robinson, “Community Policing: Is It 

Changing the Basic Functions of Policing: Findings from a Longitudinal Study of 

200+ Municipal Police Agencies,” Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 29 (2001), pp. 

365–77. 
Appendices 

The purpose of these appendices is to provide guidelines for the development of effective 

police agency mechanisms to address the issues referenced by the members of the task 

force which prepared this publication. Some of the provisions of the materials presented 

here may well conflict with state law, municipal ordinances, or collective bargaining 

agreements. The Community Relations Service believes however, that these materials 

will serve as a balancing factor as the reader reviews similar policies now in effect in his 

or her own agency. 

Appendix A. Role of Police 

1. “The Evolving Strategy of Police: A Minority View”......................................... 57

2. “On Democratic Policing”................................................................................... 73

Appendix B. Community Policing

1. “CRS and Community-Oriented Policing”.......................................................... 83

2. “Community Policing: A Practical Guide for Police Officials” .......................... 91

3. “Policing for People”......................................................................................... 103

Appendix C. Bias-Based Policing

1. “Policing Under Fire”........................................................................................ 117

2. “Cutting Crime, Keeping Our Rights”............................................................... 119

3. “Is the Rigorous Enforcement of Anti-nuisance Laws a Good Idea?” .............. 121

Appendix D. Use of Force and Alternatives

1. Police Use of Force in America 2001, Executive Overview............................. 127

2. Police Use of Force: Addressing Community Racial Tensions ......................... 137

3. “Deadly Force: A 20-Year Study of Fatal Encounters”..................................... 143

4. “15 Shooting Reduction Techniques: Controlling the Use of 

Deadly Force by and Against Police Officers”.................................................. 151

5. “Reasonable and Unreasonable Fear in Police Encounters”.............................. 155

Appendix E. Citizen Complaints and Other Redress Systems

1. Police Accountability and Citizen Review: A Leadership 

Opportunity for Police Chiefs............................................................................ 163

2. “Police Agency Handling of Complaints: A Model Policy Statement” ............ 187

3. Policy and Procedure: Receipt of Citizen Complaints; 

Conduct of Internal Investigations..................................................................... 199

4. “A Summary of Civilian Oversight” ................................................................. 213

Appendix F. Municipal Liability

1. “Liability for Failure to Adequately Train”....................................................... 217

Appendix G. Public Information

1. Policy and Procedure: News Media Information Release Policy ...................... 223
Appendix H. Hate and Bias-Motivated Crimes 

1. “Learning Module Two: Bias-Motivated Crimes—

Definitions and Procedures” .............................................................................. 231

2. Racial and Religious Violence: A Law Enforcement Guidebook ...................... 239

3. Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer’s Guide to 

Investigation and Prevention............................................................................. 271

4. Hate Crime in America: Recommendations from the 

1998 IACP Summit ............................................................................................ 279

Appendix I. Areas of Special Concern

1. Letter of Agreement Between Agencies Involved in Responding 

to the Mentally Disabled, Multnomah County, Oregon .................................... 289

2. Pursuit Model Policy ......................................................................................... 299
Pull Quotes 

Peel’s first principle of policing was “The duty of police is to prevent crime and disorder.” 

Every police department has its own unique culture. 

Police executives have a responsibility to create a departmental culture based on articulated values. 

Departmental policies, practices, and procedures should reflect the department’s stated values. The 

department should ensure that the community has full knowledge and understanding of these values. 

Attempts to minimize violent encounters between the police and the community must focus on the police 

since their likelihood of exercising control over these interactions is much greater. 

As in other “cultures,” members are socialized (conditioned) to understand and accept the norms of the 

group. Values influence what the norms of a group are. 

Departmental policies should be based on articulated department values. 

The perception of bias-based policing decreases the trust between law enforcement and the community 

necessary for effective community-oriented and problem-solving policing. 

Hate crimes and incidents impact more than the immediate victims. Other members of the attacked group 

feel targeted, the public as a whole feels violated, and community tensions are heightened. 

The community should understand what constitutes unprofessional conduct and, above all, must have a 

reasonable understanding of the procedures for investigating and adjudicating cases of use of deadly force. 

Police officers tend to become the kind of police officers they are socialized to be. 

Departmental policies based on identified group values are more likely to be understood and followed. 

Positive change in the police-community violence cycle will occur more easily if the community is involved 

in the change process. 

The goals of community policing may include: enhanced quality of life in neighborhoods, reduction of fear, 

increased order, crime control, crime prevention, and citizen satisfaction with police services. 

The entire community, represented by traditional and nontraditional agencies and groups alike, should be 

called upon to identify local concerns that fall within the purview of the police department. 

Written directives for common response situations should be clear and easy to implement, regularly 

updated, and constantly reviewed by every member of the organization. 

Clearly stating the department’s position on each instance of deadly force in a timely and sensitive manner 

reduces community tensions. 
Footnotes 

1

George L. Kelling and Mark H. Moore, “The Evolving Strategy of Policing,” Perspectives on Policing, No. 4 

(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice; and Harvard University, November 1988). 

2

Hubert Williams and Patrick V. Murphy, “The Evolving Strategy of Policing: A Minority View,” Perspectives on 

Policing, No. 13 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice; and Harvard University, 

January 1990) Williams and Murphy describe some gaps in this general understanding of policing with respect to 

minorities. 

3

The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics was developed in 1957 by a committee under the auspices of the 

International Association of Chiefs of Police. 

4

Jerome H. Skolnick, Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society (New York: Wiley, 1966), p. 

67. 

5Jonathan Rubinstein, City Police (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1973), p. 319. 

6The National Commission on Law Observance and Law Enforcement, better known as the Wickersham 

Commission, issued a series of 14 reports on criminal justice and related subject in 1931. Number 14 was its Report on 

Police. The commission’s chairman was U.S. Attorney General George W. Wickersham. 

7

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: The Police 

(Washington, DC, 1967), pp. 126–27. 

8

National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Police (Washington, DC, 1973), p. 369. 

9

Police Executive Research Forum, The American Law Enforcement Chief Executive: A Management Profile 

(Washington, DC, 1985), p. 108. 

10Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies (Fairfax, 

VA, 1984), pp. 32-37. 

11Catherine H. Milton, et al., Police Use of Deadly Force (Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 1977), p. 105. 

12Kenneth J. Matulia, A Balance of Forces, Executive Summary (Gaithersburg, MD: International Association of 

Chiefs of Police, 1982), p. 25. 

13Herman Goldstein, Policing a Free Society (Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1977), pp. 273–79. Copyright by the 

Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Wisconsin Law School. 

14Peter Scharf and Arnold Binder, The Badge and the Bullet: Police Use of Deadly Force (New York: Praeger, 

1983), p. 178. 

15Samuel Walker and Betsy Wright Kreisel, “Varieties of Citizen Review: The Implications of Organizational 

Features of Complaint Review Procedures for Accountability of the Police,” American Journal of Police, Vol. 15, No. 

3 (1996), p. 65. 

16International Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Accountability and Citizen Review: A Leadership Opportunity 

for Police Chiefs (Alexandria, VA, November 2000). 

17“Police Agency Handling of Complaints: A Model Police Statement by the Police Executive Research Forum,” 

Police Management Today (September 1981), pp. 88–98. 

18Walker and Kreisel, p. 66. 

19Peter Finn, Citizen Review of Police: Approaches and Implementation (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Justice, National Institute of Justice, March 2001). 
20Ronald M. Fletcher, “Civilian Oversight of Police Behavior,” Journal of Intergroup Relations, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Fall 

1992), pp. 7–12. 

21Diane M. Daane and James E. Hendricks, “Liability for Failure to Adequately Train,” The Police Chief, Vol. 58, 

No. 11 (November 1991), pp. 26–29. 

22Ronald L. Davis, A NOBLE Perspective: Racial Profiling—A Symptom of Bias-Based Policing (Alexandria, VA: 

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, May 3, 2001), p. 4. 

23Davis, p. 7. 

24George L Kelling, “Cutting Crime, Keeping Our Rights,” New York Times (April 1, 2000). 

25David N. Aspy and Cheryl Blalock Aspy, “Hate Crimes: What They Are, Why They Happen, and Counselors’ 

Roles in Preventing Them,” chapter 18 in Violence in American Schools: A Practical Guide for Counselors, ed. Daya 

Singh Sandhu and Cheryl Blalock Aspy (Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association, 2000), p. 310. 

26U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, A Policymaker’s Guide to Hate Crimes (Washington, 

DC, December 1997). 

27Wade Engelson, “The Organizational Values of Law Enforcement Agencies: The Impact of Field Training 

Officers in the Socialization of Police Recruits to Law Enforcement Organizations,” Journal of Police and Criminal 

Psychology, Vol. 14, No.2 (Fall 1999), p. 17. 

28Vincent J. Webb and Charles M. Katz, “Citizen Ratings of the Importance of Community Policing Activities,” 

chapter 22 in Community Policing: Contemporary Readings, ed. Geoffrey P. Alpert and Alex Piquero (Prospect 

Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1998). 

29“Community Policing in Action: Lessons from an Observational Study,” National Institute for Justice: Research 

Preview, June 1998. 

30U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, “Community Policing: Chicago’s Experience,” National 

Institute of Justice Journal, April 1999. 

31Webb and Katz, pp. 430–43, 439. 

32Michael Masterson and Dennis Stevens, “Madison Speaks Up: Measuring Community Policing Performance,” 

Law and Order Vol. 49, No. 10 (October 2001), pp. 99–100. 

33California Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing & Problem Solving (July 1995), pp. 4–10. 

34Matthew R. Durose, et al., Contacts Between Public and the Police (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1999). 

35“From 1992 through 2001, 34.4 percent of the victim officers were involved in arrest situations when slain, 16.2 

percent were investigating suspicious persons, and 15.6 percent were responding to disturbance calls. Additionally, 

15.1 percent of the fallen officers were involved in traffic pursuits/stops and 13.7 percent were caught in ambush 

situations,” U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and 

Assaulted, Uniform Crime Reports (Washington, DC, 2001), p. 4. 

36Gerald R. Murphy, Special Care: Improving Police Response to Mentally Disabled (Washington, DC: Police 

Executive Research Forum, 1986). 

37U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, Police and Urban Youth Relations: An Antidote to 

Racial Violence (Washington, DC, September 1995). 
Responding to Incidents Involving Allegations of Excessive Use of 

Force: A Checklist to Guide Police Executives 

Years of good policing practices and community trust can be jeopardized by a single act 

of, or perception of, police excessive use of force (EUF). When an EUF incident occurs, 

police executives should be prepared to take appropriate and carefully considered action 

to promote peace, maintain community trust, and sustain departmental morale. When 

there are allegations of EUF, the department’s officers and staff, as well as the 

community they serve, must be assured of a fair and impartial investigation. Community 

tensions and violence may develop in the aftermath of an incident involving use of force 

or other police conduct. This checklist of immediate steps suggests actions to take right 

after an incident. The checklist of other actions identifies steps that can help create 

positive police-community relationships—the best protection against violent community 

reaction to an EUF incident. 

Immediate Steps 

I. Provide Information Promptly 

• Advise the Mayor, County Executive, and other officials, key civic and community 

leaders and clergy about the situation. 

• Provide what information you can to the public about the incident and the circumstances 

which prompted police action, but avoid any negative comments about the suspect(s) or 

victim(s). 

• Avoid making any prejudgments about the officers’ conduct before you have complete 

information and the investigation is completed. 

II. Get an Investigation Underway Promptly 

• Advise the family of the involved person(s) and the public about the investigation, 

including its scope, resources allocated, and projected timetables. 

• Publicly clarify departmental policies governing the status of the involved officer(s) 

while the investigation is underway. 

• Announce publicly your willingness to cooperate with investigations by other agencies 

(local, State, and Federal). 

• Hold periodic meetings with community leaders to advise them of the progress of the 

investigation and any other developments. 

• Take precautions to avoid new incidents or confrontations. 

III. Enlist the Community’s Help and Support 

• Brief community leaders and ask for their help in defusing community tensions by 

getting accurate information to the community, organizing community street patrols, and 

scheduling neighborhood meetings. 
• Conduct dialogues with community groups to help establish a common understanding of 

the legal and administrative requirements of EUF investigations. 

• Survey community perspectives and invite commentary and any expression of concerns 

about police arrests, stops, ticketing, profiling, and other issues. 

IV. Anticipate and Plan for the Announcement of the Results of Investigations 

• Brief the family, their associates, and community leaders on the results of the 

investigation before making a public announcement. Seek their assistance in keeping the 

community peaceful. 

• Arrange, where possible, for at least two hour advance notice of public announcement of 

the decision by a grand jury, district attorney, or court. 

• Be ready to implement a contingency plan in the event that the announcement may lead 

to community tension or unrest. 

• Meet with leaders of protest activities to secure agreement on the scope and limits of 

marches, flash points, demonstration sites, use of marshals, and other ground rules. 

• Deploy sufficient resources to contain any disruptive activity or disorder. 

Other Actions 

Below is a list of questions which police leaders should review periodically to assure 

adequacy of policies and procedures governing issues involving police use of force. 

• Does the department have a written, legally sound and publicly understood policy 

governing the circumstances for appropriate use of force? Were community 

representatives consulted in the drafting or review of this document? 

• Does the department keep accurate records of incidents of the use of force? Are these 

records reviewed regularly for trends, officer patterns, and other potential areas of 

concern? 

• What are the attitudes of the department’s officers and staff about use-of-force issues? 

• Are these attitudes consistent with the department’s policies? Is additional orientation or 

training required? 

• Does the department have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing its response 

to allegations of EUF? Does the SOP caution against making any premature judgments 

about the circumstances of the EUF incident and actions of the involved officer? 

• Does the SOP include arranging prompt assistance, including community resources, for 

the family of any alleged victims? Does the SOP provide for timely updates on the 

resources committed, and progress and results of any investigation? 

• Does the department have established contacts with all levels of community leadership 

who can be called upon in times of crisis? 

• What training is made available to officers on alternatives to use of force, including 

conflict resolution, problem solving, and communications skills? 
• Does the department have a written complaint procedure that is simple to activate and 

requires a minimum of forms? 

• How does the department respond to public reports of use of force? How is the 

department’s response viewed by its staff and the community it serves? 

• Does the department have a SOP on involving community leadership in ongoing 

discussion of community/police concerns? How do patrol officers and all other ranks 

participate in the discussions? 

• Has the department developed a mission statement and set of department values? Are 

community leaders aware of the values of the department? 
Checklist for Effective Policing 

A department’s overall operation and management performance is critical and it can 

determine its needs by utilizing the following checklist. Has the police department 

established? 

• Set of values 

• Policy on avoiding violence between police and citizens 

• Community policing as a philosophy 

• Policy on use of force and alternatives to force 

• Accreditation program 

• Effective citizen complaint procedures and other redress systems 

• Affirmative action and recruitment policy 

• Programs to reach new immigrant and other population needs 

• Community and cultural diversity training 

• Ongoing internal/external training programs 

• Two-tier process for reviewing hate crime incidents 

• Racial bias unit/civil rights officer 

• Policy and procedures to reduce violence between police and citizens in the nine 

identified areas of concern 

• Programs to obtain continued feedback from minority communities 

• Negotiation v. confrontation skills (conflict management approach) 

• Officer involvement in community activities (e.g., police athletic league) 

• Desired department culture 

• Minority representation in specialized units within the department 
CRS Offices 

CRS National Office 

Community Relations Service 

600 E Street, NW, Suite 6000

Washington, DC 20530

202-305-2935

202-305-3009 (Fax)

www.usdoj.gov/crs

Regional Offices

New England Regional Office (Region I)

(ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI) 

Community Relations Service 

408 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 222

Boston, MA 02110

617-424-5715; 617-424-5727 (Fax)

Northeast Regional Office (Region II) 

(NY, NJ, VI, PR) 

Community Relations Service 

26 Federal Plaza, Suite 36-118 

New York, NY 10278 

212-264-0700; 212-264-2143 (Fax) 

Mid-Atlantic Regional Office (Region III) 

(DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV) 
Community Relations Service 

2nd and Chestnut Streets, Suite 208 

Philadelphia, PA 19106 

215-597-2344; 215-597-9148 (Fax) 

Southeast Regional Office (Region IV) 

(AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) 

Community Relations Service

75 Piedmont Avenue, NE, Suite 900

Atlanta, GA 30303

404-331-6883; 404-331-4471 (Fax)

Midwest Regional Office (Region V) 

(IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) 

Community Relations Service

55 W. Monroe Street, Suite 420

Chicago, IL 60603

312-353-4391; 312-353-4390 (Fax)

Southwest Regional Office (Region VI) 

(AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) 

Community Relations Service

1420 W. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 250

Dallas, TX 75247

214-655-8175; 214-655-8184 (Fax)

Central Regional Office (Region VII) 

(IA, KS, MO, NE) 

Community Relations Service 

1100 Main Street, Suite 320 
Kansas City, MO 64105-2112 

816-426-7434; 816-426-7441 (Fax) 

Rocky Mountain Regional Office (Region VIII) 

(CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) 

Community Relations Service 

1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 650 

Denver, CO 80204-3584 

303-844-2973; 303-844-2907 (Fax) 

Western Regional Office (Region IX) 

(AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV) 

Community Relations Service 

888 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 1880 

Los Angeles, CA 90017 

213-894-2941; 213-894-2880 (Fax) 

Northwest Regional Office (Region X) 

(AK, ID, OR, WA) 

Community Relations Service

915 Second Avenue, Suite 1808

Seattle, WA 98174

206-220-6700; 206-220-6706 (Fax)

Field Offices 

Community Relations Service 

51 SW First Avenue, Suite 624 

Miami, FL 33130 

305-536-5206; 305-536-6778 (Fax) 

Community Relations Service 
211 W. Fort Street, Suite 1404 

Detroit, MI 48226

313-226-4010; 313-226-2568 (Fax) 

Community Relations Service 

515 Rusk Avenue, Suite 12605

Houston, TX 77002

713-718-4861; 713-718-4862 (Fax) 

Community Relations Service 

120 Howard Street, Suite 790

San Francisco, CA 94105

415-744-6565; 415-744-6590 (Fax) 
CRS Customer Service Standards 

Our goal is to provide sensitive and effective conflict prevention and resolution services. 

CRS will meet the following standards: 

• We will clearly explain the process that CRS uses to address racial and ethnic conflicts 

and our role in that process. 

• We will provide opportunities for all parties involved to contribute to and work toward a 

solution to the racial or ethnic conflict. 

• If you are a participant in a CRS training session or conference, you will receive timely 

and useful information and materials that will assist you in preventing or minimizing 

racial and ethnic tensions. 

• We will be prepared to respond to major racial or ethnic crisis situations within 24 hours 

from the time when your community notifies CRS or CRS becomes aware of the crisis. 

• In non-crisis situations, we will contact you within three days of when your community 

notifies CRS or when CRS becomes aware of the situation to discuss your request for 

CRS services. 

(August 2001)