This report provides guidance in helping police and community leaders develop successful mediation programs for addressing citizen complaints against police officers. The first chapter defines mediation as "the informal resolution of a complaint or dispute between two parties through a face-to-face meeting in which a professional mediator serves as a neutral facilitator and where both parties ultimately agree that an acceptable resolution has been reached." The goals of mediation are to achieve understanding of the issues involved in the complaint, solve any problems associated with the complaint, and achieve reconciliation between the parties. The second chapter outlines the potential benefits of mediation for police officers, citizen complainants, police accountability, community policing, the complaint process, and the criminal justice system. The third chapter discusses the key issues in developing a mediation program for citizen complaints against police. Among the issues addressed are voluntary participation, case eligibility, the mediation of racial and ethnic-related complaints, the mediation of complaints by women, potential language and cultural barriers, case screening, police discipline and accountability, and getting both sides to the table. Other issues addressed pertain to the mediation session itself and the enforcement of agreements. Chapter four presents results from a survey of existing citizen complaint mediation programs. The concluding chapter describes a model for a successful mediation program for citizen complaints against police. 100 references.

Provides an overview of the field of policing, and includes a collection of carefully selected classic and contemporary articles that have previously appeared in leading journals, along with original material in a mini-chapter format that contextualizes the concepts.

A landmark work by twelve leading critics and community leaders—essential reading for anyone interested in the history of American race relations. Ignited by the infamous shooting of Amadou Diallo, unarmed and innocent, at the hands of New York City police officers, journalist Jill Nelson was moved to assemble this landmark anthology on the topic of police violence and brutality: an indispensable collection of twelve "groundbreaking" (Ebony) essays by a range of contributors—among them academics, historians, social critics, a congressman, and an ex-New York City police detective. This "important and valuable book" (Emerge) places a centuries-old issue in much-needed historical and intellectual context, and underscores the profound influence police brutality has had in shaping the American identity. "[S]hould be read by anyone concerned about ending brutality, and should be required reading in police academies throughout America!"—Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School "Without hysteria or hyperbole, [Nelson] examines the issue of police abuse in literary form."—Emerge "A memorable and useful contribution to an increasingly volatile national dialogue."—Publishers Weekly "[N]ot only timely, but explores and exposes the sickness of this unbalanced, uncivilized Western pastime thoroughly."—Chuck D of Public Enemy, author of Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality