The New World of Police Accountability

Esteemed authors Samuel Walker and Carol Archbold synthesizes the major developments in the area of police accountability and argues that these developments represent a new period in the history of police reform that promises to address the historic problems of police abuse. This text assesses both the achievements and limitations of police accountability and reshapes the conventional wisdom on this topic.

New to this edition are important developments in law enforcement:

" Continuing national interest in the issue of racial/ethnic profiling, immigration, and police reform.

" The Justice Department investigation of and 2012 consent decree with the New Orleans Police Department.

" Police department or mayoral initiated reform proposals in Cincinnati, Seattle, and New Orleans.

" New media technology as a form of accountability.

" Revival of Special Litigation Section Under Attorney General Eric Holder.

" The role of the federal government regarding police accountability.

" The DOJ′s use of Title VI.

" The financial crisis of the city and its inability to pay for reforms.

" The impact of the national financial crisis on local governments.

" Developments related to police legal advisors and risk management programs

Samuel Walker is Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he taught for 31 years. He holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Sam is the author of 14 books, which have appeared in 39 different editions over the years. His most important books include Sense and Nonsense About Crime, Drugs, and Community (8^th ed., 2018), The Police In America: An Introduction, with Charles M. Katz (9^th ed., 2018), Police Accountability: The Role of Citizen Oversight (2001), and In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU (1990). He is also the author of several reports, including Early Intervention Systems for Law Enforcement Agencies (2003), and Mediating Citizen Complaints Against Police Officers: A Guide for Police And Community Leaders (2002).

Over the years, Sam has engaged in numerous speaking and consulting activities with federal agencies, local police, community groups, and private professional associations. He is presently an Advisor to the American Law Institute, Principles of Police Investigations Project. He testified before the President’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing (2015) and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2015). In 2013 he was an expert witness for the Plaintiffs in Floyd v. New York City, a challenge to the stop and frisk program of the New York City Police Department.

He has consulted with police departments and/or mayor’s committees in Albuquerque, Austin, Boise, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, King County (WA), Los Angeles, Madison, Minneapolis, the New Jersey State Police, Oakland, Pasadena, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Reno, St. Louis, San Diego, Seattle, and other cities. He has spoken to and/or consulted with community groups in Ashland (OR), Baltimore, Biloxi, Boston, Chicago, Chico. Cincinnati, Des Moines, Los Angeles, North Charleston (SC), Omaha, Pasadena, Rochester (NY), San Francisco, Seattle, San Juan (PR), Washington, DC, and other communities.

Carol A. Archbold is the Walter F. and Verna Gehrts Endowed Professor at North Dakota State University in the Department of Criminal Justice in Fargo, North Dakota. Her research interests include police accountability and liability, police misconduct, women in policing, and race issues in the criminal justice system. She has published articles in such peer-reviewed journals as Police Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Journal of Crime and Justice. In 2004, Dr. Archbold published a book based on the first national study of the use of risk management in law enforcement in the United States, Police Accountability, Risk Management and Legal Advising (LFB Scholarly Publishing). She coauthored Women and Policing in America: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Wolters Kluwer/Aspen, 2011) and is the sole author of Policing: A Text/Reader (SAGE, 2013). Dr. Archbold is also coauthor (with Dr. Samuel Walker) of the second (2014) and third (2020) editions of The New World of Police Accountability.