Reason-Rupe Poll: Half of Americans Think Cops Not Held Accountable

The April 2014 Reason-Rupe poll found that half of Americans
think law enforcement officers are not held accountable for
misconduct. That number rises to 64 percent for Hispanics and 66
percent for African Americans.

Do you think police officers are generally held
accountable for misconduct, or not?

• Yes: 46 percent

• No: 50 percent

• Don’t know: 4 percent

Police misconduct is reviewed through internal affairs
investigations, a process that has officers investigating other
officers. In February 2013, Los Angeles Police Department officer
Sunil Dutta
wrote
in the
Washington Post about his
time working as an internal affairs investigator. Dutta criticized
the process, saying that it didn’t help a community’s perception of
the police and didn’t help officers either:

[When] I interviewed community members who had filed complaints
against officers, I was disappointed to learn that, despite my
reassurances and best efforts to conduct impartial inquiries, many
complainants believed that a fair investigation was simply not
possible. Nor do misconduct investigations satisfy a skeptical
public. If an officer is exonerated, the community often believes
that malfeasance is being covered up.

Police serve the community—any concerns about their integrity
must be transparently, expeditiously and judiciously resolved.
Relying on cops to police cops is neither efficient nor
confidence-inspiring.

Dutta argued that video may be one way to change the perception
of police departments.

There’s just no excuse for not recording police contacts with
the public. Technology has made cameras effective and affordable.
Some officers already record their arrests to protect themselves
against false allegations of misconduct. This should be standard
operating procedure.

Reason TV recently spoke with former Seattle police officer
Steve Ward about his company Vievu, which makes body cameras for the
police:

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