Most civilian oversight boards are fair and impartial and actually tend to be easier on accused officers than internal police department processes, yet many officers feel that civilian oversight boards cannot fairly judge police because they have no awareness of an officer's job. Police department jobs traditionally have been protected by both civil service and strong unions. Consequently, the dismissal of poorly performing officers is difficult for internal affairs units and particularly for external boards that do not have experience in this area. Studies indicate that civilian boards fail to investigate complaints against officers as zealously as many internal affairs units. Additionally, many boards cannot compel testimony, cannot punish, and take too lightly the withholding or distortion of evidence. In sum, civilian oversight does not appear to be an improvement. A review of the available literature suggests that most of these boards have not worked well.