Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
Henry Ford
Issues of Interest - Periodic postings
Police must be accountable to the people they serve
The need for accountability
Police oversight must be a constant and not called upon only in times when allegations have been made or a significant event occurs. Accountability is not merely intended to address inappropriate actions but should provide a continuous conduit for information between the police and the public that it serves.
Police accountability is the foundation of policing in a democracy. Accountability of the police has its source in two fundamental principles, the rule of law and responsible government.Allegations of wrongdoing focus attention on the critical issue of effective police governance. The rule of law requires government to act according to the law. Like any citizen, the government must act lawfully when going about its business. No citizen must be subject to arbitrary actions by the government or its agents.
Responsible government defines, essentially, the division of labour in a democracy. The legislative branch of government is responsible for the creation of law and the executive branch is responsible for its implementation and enforcement. The responsibility for enforcement is delegated to the public police and other authorized enforcement agencies of the state. This responsibility, however, is not unfettered. The executive branch is responsible to the legislature for the manner in which the job of enforcement is discharged.
Thus, the police are ultimately accountable for their actions to a civilian authority. Accountability is entrenched in law and democratic principles. It is this separation of powers and the balance of rights and obligations that maintains the public confidence in the police. Police accountability, therefore, is not a passing whim of the chair of a complaints commission or the obsessive desire of special interest groups.
That the police must be answerable to a civilian authority is a basic tenet of law enforcement and public order in a democracy. Legislation in most provinces delegates certain aspects of civilian oversight to the municipal level. This requirement for local accountability applies, in varying degrees, to municipal police, to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and provincial police agencies.
The community must have input to policing strategies
Two other circumstances suggest that civilian oversight is required and desirable at the community level:
- In most municipalities, the portion of police costs paid by local taxpayers ranges from about 75 per cent to 100 per cent. These costs are approximately 20 per cent of the municipal budget.
- Under the principles established for the first police by Robert Peel in 1829, policing should be “of the people by the people”. The concept of the police was introduced on behalf of the public to maintain public order. It is the public, or its representatives, that defines what is “order”, a definition that might vary according to the times.
Local oversight does not mean, however, that local requirements should be divorced from regional or provincial priorities or that the province should not coordinate oversight bodies such as a police commission or a complaints commissioner or establish standards or conduct audits of police services. Neither does this mean that special interest groups should dominate the determination of local priorities. The practice of community input is particularly important where, as in most jurisdictions, community-based policing has been initiated. Local input ensures that the police service responds effectively to local needs and is coordinated with the services of other municipal agencies. This local input must be accessible to the people.
The mechanics of accountability are a foundation for effective, efficient, and ethical policing
If civilian governance is required and desirable, how is this managed so that a balance is maintained between police accountability to the public, and the avoidance of undue interference in police operations? How can we, the public, ensure that our representatives oversee policing objectives and results but do not assert undue influence in, for example, the course of an investigation?
Effective civilian accountability requires that the police board members and the chief officer establish and respect basic rules of engagement. The principles established for police oversight apply to any public service or private enterprise board.
The task of the board is to define the mission of the organization, establish ethical standards, develop and use strategic guidance and policy as leadership tools, and monitor the achievement of objectives. Board members must ensure that they are adequately trained and informed on policing issues and represent an inclusive constituency. Members should restrict themselves to the broad objectives of the police service and not become ensnared in the minutiae of everyday policing or dictate police actions in specific events.
The chief officer must establish himself or herself as the executive bridge between the police organization and the board. The chief must provide the information necessary for the board members to make informed decisions and must, also, carry out the general directives of the board. However, the chief must resist involvement of board members in operational detail.
The separation of policy oversight and operations is clearly and purposefully designed to avoid unnecessary interference.
Transforming Complaints into Opportunities
The discipline process can be adversarial; discipline regulations often mirror criminal proceedings, complainants and defendants are forced into defending their actions. The opportunity can be to transform this process into a learning experience to the benefit of the public interest. In dealing with interpersonal skills issues – the majority of police complaints – the public interest is not advanced by adversary. Instead, to improve an officer’s skills, counselling, mentoring, and training are more beneficial. For the complainant, timely explanations and a description of the process will provide greater satisfaction.
Police governance bodies have the opportunity to create an environment where the public interest, including the benefits for officers and complainants, is advanced through the process.
Conclusion
Police accountability is the crux of policing in a democracy. Civilian oversight is the core of police accountability. Civilian governance ensures that justice is done and is seen to be done, that it is done efficiently, and that police work is coordinated with other service agencies. Most importantly, civilian governance and oversight ensure that the police represent the people and are supported by the people.
It is ongoing and effective oversight that will establish the values and processes that provide an ethical base for recruiting, operations and management in policing that is in line with community expectations.
© perivale + taylor consulting
