NCJ Number: 203850
Title: Civilian Oversight of Police in Philadelphia: The First 50 Years
Author(s): Bruria Tal
Date Published: November 2003
Page Count: 28
Sponsoring Agency: Philadelphia Police Advisory Cmssn
Sale Source: Philadelphia Police Advisory Cmssn
Type: Historical Overview
Format: Document (Online)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: This paper traces Philadelphia's history and experience with the
civilian oversight of police, beginning in the 1950's as a
"pioneering venture" to the present (2003).
Abstract: Mayor J. Richardson Dilworth established the Police Review Board
by executive order in October 1958. The Board accepted complaints
against police, ascertained their validity, and recommended
disciplinary action to the police department. The Board had no
subpoena power. In 1967 a city judge ruled that Mayor Dilworth's
creation of the Board had been illegal. The State Supreme Court
reversed this decision years later, but the mayor decided to let
the police commissioner handle police abuse complaints. Between
1969 and 1994 complaints were filed mostly through the police
department's Internal Affairs Division. By 1992 Philadelphia's
issues of police-community relations resembled the nationwide
issues of increasing allegations of police misconduct. The Coalition of Police Accountability (CPA), representing about 30 community and legal groups, was established to end police abuse against citizens. The CPA proposed a permanent police advisory board to investigate citizens' complaints against police and to review police policies and practices. On June 10, 1993, the City Council, overriding the mayor's veto, passed Bill no. 317 to
create a Police Advisory Board, and Bill no. 297, which defined
police department complaint handling procedures. The Police
Advisory Commission was established January 1, 1994, to improve
police community relations and to investigate individual civilian
complaints against police. Over the 10 years following its
creation, the Commission faced some challenges that threatened
its existence, as relations with the police department posed some
critical problems over the years. The Fraternal Order of Police
mounted legal challenges to the existence of the Commission and
continued to oppose the Commission even after the Commission's
mandate had been reinforced by court decisions. Between 1994 and
2003, the Commission initiated or completed numerous public panel
hearings on citizens' complaints against police. The notion of
police accountability that provides the base for the Commission's
existence and operations has been steadily gaining public
recognition in the wake of publicity about several local and
national high-profile incidents that have involved police
brutality, corruption, racial profiling, and shootings. Civilian
review emphasizes that the police department, like other
government agencies, is accountable to the citizenry, and that
mutual respect and cooperation are essential for improving
police-community relations. 52 references and appended
description of community lines of police accountability and
sample complaint forms
Main Term(s): Complaints against police
Index Term(s): Accountability; Civilian Review Boards; History of policing; Pennsylvania; Police misconduct
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