Evaluating Citizen Oversight of Police

Book excerpt: Buren provides an in-depth evaluation of a citizen-police oversight mechanism and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the purposes of citizen oversight and the parameters in which it can be developed. She identifies those elements that make some citizen oversight mechanisms more effective than others. Citizen oversight can be a valuable tool in ensuring police accountability, butits success often depends upon the dedication and veracity of those involved in the process. In addition, law enforcement agencies that implement citizen oversight voluntarily--prior to a highly publicized and incident--have more success, since the issue is less politicized and more time is spent developing a quality process.