Mediation of complaints against police: a review of programs in Los Angeles and New York City

ABSTRACT

The investigation of complaints against the police is important to law, order and justice. The public expects high ethical standards from its police service and when breaches occur, complaints often follow. How the police respond to complaints can influence the trust and confidence that underpins the civilian-police relationship. This paper examines some of the key issues faced by police services in the management of complaints and reviews the effectiveness of mediation as a measure to rebuild relations. The Los Angeles and New York City Police Departments were selected for the study because there are very few civilian-police complaints mediation programs in operation and these sites had reports on the public record that indicated some success. A qualitative case study approach was used, incorporating public source material and interviews with key informants. The findings show that the inclusion of external mediation in police complaints systems offers complainants a transparent, impartial and often restorative mechanism to resolve complaints. However, any perceived conflict surrounding the independence and equity of the mediation vendor can engender police and complainant mistrust in the process. As such, ongoing public and police education on the aims, process and benefits of mediation is required to sustain its use.

KEYWORDS:

• Civilian
• police
• complaints
• relations
• trust
• mediation
• restorative justice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary Riley

Mary Rileyis a Lecturer in the School of Law and Society, at USC Australia, Sippy Downs. Mary joined USC in 2012 after working in managerial positions in the banking and health industries and para-legal positions in NSW and Queensland law firms throughout her life. Mary is a graduate of USC and received a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice with Class 1 Honours through Griffith University. Mary’s area of interest and research is restorative justice. She is undertaking a PhD looking specifically at the benefits of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes for managing complaints against police in Australia. Mary has previously published research on alternative dispute resolution and  in the field of  offender rehabilitation. She has developed and taught courses in restorative justice and mediation, punishment and corrections, justice and the Australian legal system, understanding crime and homicide.

Timothy Prenzler

Timothy Prenzler is a Professor of Criminology & Justice in the School of Law and Society, at USC Australia, Sippy Downs. Tim joined USC in 2015 as the inaugural Program Coordinator of the Bachelor of Criminology and Justice. He was previously a foundation member of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University, established in 1991, where he held numerous Program Coordinator positions and was Head of School from 2003 to 2005. At Griffith, he was a foundation member of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, where he was Coordinator of the Integrity Systems Program from 2008 to 2014. His research interests include crime and corruption prevention, police and security officer safety, security industry regulation, and gender equity in policing. Tim has published over 100 journal articles and 60 book chapters. He has developed and taught courses in introductory criminology, policing, crime prevention, and criminal justice ethics and accountability.

Susan Douglas

Susan Douglas, PhD LLB BSW (Hons) BA Grad Cert Ed; Legal Practitioner; Nationally Accredited Mediator. Susan (Sue) is a retired legal academic having worked at the University of the Sunshine Coast for over 20 years. Sue identifies as a socio-legal scholar. Her research includes publication of empirical and critical studies in dispute management, with a focus on mediation and her teaching has included ADR. Sue continues to publish and to contribute to the ADR Research Network. She is currently a consultant editor for the Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal (ADJR). She has contributed as a Design Committee Member of the Australian National Mediation Conference in 2019 and is committed to a similar role for the Conference in 2021. Sue continues to volunteer as a solicitor with the Suncoast Community Legal Service and as a Management Committee member with the Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre where she offers a mediation service.