Peace Psychology and Independent Oversight of Policing

1
Peace Psychology and Independent Oversight of
Policing

• Dr. Eduardo I. Diaz Executive Director
  Independent Review Panel (IRP) Miami-Dade
  County
• eid_at_miamidade.gov

2
Introduction

• Presenter will provide a status update on
  Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, nationally
  and internationally.
• Presenter has 25 years experience in Criminal
  Justice related public service with 11 of those
  years at the Independent Review Panel.
• Presenter is President of the National
  Association for Civilian Oversight of Law
  Enforcement (NACOLE) and 2008 President-Elect of
  the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and
  Violence the Peace Psychology Division of the
  American Psychological Association (APA).

3
Learning Objectives

• Articulation of basic Peace Psychology principles
• Skill development useful in violence reduction,
  community building and dispute resolution
• Understanding of the Independent Review Panel
  process model
• Discernment of community commitment to
  independent external citizen oversight

4
Basic Peace Psychology

• Violence Reduction
• Dispute Resolution
• Community Building
• Constructive Conflict Actions

http//www.apa.org/about/division/div48
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Miami-Dade Independent Review Panel

• Oversight Is Everybodys Business
• 140 West Flagler StreetSuite 1101Miami, FL
  33130
• 305-375-4880
• www.miamidade.gov/irp

Produced by Fernando L. Robreño
6
History
The Independent Review Panel (IRP) was created by
the Metropolitan Dade County Board of County
Commissioners in January, 1980, and was designed
to operate autonomously from county government as
an independent civilian "watchdog" agency. The
unique combination of police review and
"ombudsman" functions within one autonomous
civilian agency was the result of a delicate
balance and compromise that arose out of the
community outrage following the McDuffie and
LaFleur police shootings and subsequent riots in
1979. The Board conceived this innovative
approach as a means to improve community
confidence in all aspects of its government.
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Composition of The IRP

• The Independent Review Panel is made up of two
  key components
• IRP Staff
• Charged with providing support structure for the
  Panel complaint intake, complaint mediation,
  dispute resolution, report writing, organizing
  committee meetings, community outreach etc.
• Panel
•   Nine members, five appointed by the Board of
  County Commissioners from nominations made by the
  Community Action Agency, Community Relations
  Board, Dade County Association of Chiefs of
  Police, Dade County Bar Association and Dade
  County League of Women Voters. The panel itself
  selects the other four, taking into consideration
  ethno-cultural and gender community
  representation. Makes recommendations for policy
  change, disciplinary or corrective action.

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The IRP What We Do

• Safe Mediated Dispute Resolution
• -Requesting an investigation of serious
  complaints from the involved department
• -Reviewing complaints and the departmental
  response
• -Conducting face-to-face mediations employing
  constructive conflict strategies
• -Holding public hearings to address citizen
  complaints
• Fact Finding
• -Independent Community inquiry
• -Independent studies of grievances
• Recommendations
• -Corrective action
• -Employee be disciplined or commended
• -Departmental or County policies and procedures
  be revised
• Conflict Resolution Training

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Complaints

• Types of Complaints Handled by IRP
• -Excessive Use of Force
• -Improper Detainment
• -Racial Profiling
• -Abuse of Authority
• -Department Policy Violation
• -Mismanagement
• -Harassment (multiple occurrences)
• Types of Complaints Not Handled by IRP
• -Legal Matters
• False Arrests
• Citations
• -Civil Rights Violations
• -Complaints Against Municipalities (Unless
  requested by City)
• -Complaints Against Elected Officials
• -Complaints Against Private Persons or
  Businesses
• -Landlord/Tenant Disputes
• -Employee Grievances

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What Information Should You Have?

• What happened?
• -A detailed, factual description of the
  incident (or incidents).
• Where did it happen?
• -Address or location.
• When did it happen?
• -Date and time.
• Who was there?
• -As much identifying information as possible
  regarding the accused County employees and
  witnesses.
• Evidence
• -Support the allegations of wrongdoing, such as
  witness statements, documents, pictures,
  records, etc.

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The Process

• Intake
• -Complaints may be received in person, by mail,
  fax, over the phone or email. Complainants may
  remain anonymous.
• Screening
• -Each complaint is screened by a staff
  screening committee to determine how the IRP can
  best serve the complainant within the boundaries
  of its authority and powers.
• Investigation
• -The involved department provides Panel staff
  with a copy of its complete investigative file.
  If the complaint is satisfied with the
  Departments investigation, the complaint may be
  concluded. If the complainant or staff is not
  satisfied with the Departments investigation,
  the complaint is referred to a committee for
  mediation.
• Committee Meeting
• -One or more Panel members, Panel Staff, the
  complainant and a representative from the
  involved department participate in the meeting.
  The Panel cannot compel the accused employee to
  attend. The participating parties may bring
  others to the meetings. These informal meetings
  are held around a table and are open to the
  public. The committee listens to all parties
  and makes findings and recommendation for
  consideration by the nine-member Panel.
• Panel Meeting
• -The full nine-member Panel meets once a month
  to publicly review specific complaints. The
  Panel has the final word on the recommendations,
  which are then sent to the involved department
  director, County manager, commissioners and the
  Executive Mayor.

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The IRP You

• Trained staff will listen to your complaint in an
  open and non-judgmental way.
• You can be a part of making Miami-Dade County
  responsive to the public.
• You will gain a better understanding of County
  Departments you are complaining about.
• Your complaint may result in recommended changes
  in policies and procedures
• Your complaint may help prevent recurrence of
  inappropriate behavior.

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Competing Proposals Vs the IRP

• Competing Proposals
• Adversarial Citizen Investigative Panel
• Police Union Zero Oversight Needed
• IRP Strengths
• Proven Impact On Police Policy and Practice
• Transparent Public Hearings
• Independent of County Administrator
• Uninhibited Open Media Access
• Weaknesses
• Unable To Compel Testimony, No Subpoenas

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The Independent Review Panel 140 West Flagler
Street, Suite 1101, Miami, FL 33130Office
Hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday Phone
[phone], Fax [phone], email
irp_at_miamidade.gov

• The Independent Review Panel addresses serious
  complaints against Miami-Dade police officers and
  other County employees.
• The IRP staff is prepared to help any department
  prevent complaints by offering training. In
  addition, any community group that wants to know
  what to do to take constructive conflict action
  can avail itself of our services. We are
  committed to help improve community relations.

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Clients

• Serve for the greater good of the whole community
• Local Government
• Police Department
• Complainants
• Under-represented groups

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Peace with Justice

• Human Rights
• Constitutional Rights
• Progressive Accountability
• Awareness of Differences
• Valued Diversity
• Reduction of Bias and Destructive Conflict
• Moral Authority
• Violence Prevention
• Development of Political Will

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Interventions

• Facilitating Being Heard
• Consultation
• Coaching
• Teaching
• Mediation
• Informal Counseling
• Individual
• Family
• Group

18
Tools

• Multi-stage complaint process
• Extensive Listening
• Articulation Assistance
• Independence
• Credibility
• Fairness Reputation
• Transparency
• Public Hearings
• Reports of Findings and Recommendations

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Conflict Assessment

• Preexisting Police/Community Relations
• Power and Control
• Ethno-Political Conflict
• Biased Based Policing
• Us versus Them
• Social Identity
• In-group
• Out-group
• Multi-group Identity

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Communication Factors

• Differential Power and Control
• Enemy Images
• Inter-group Bias
• Stress
• Emotions
• Learning
• Memory
• Perception
• Being Observed

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Personalization Strategies

• Reduces Inter-Group Bias
• Exchange of Personal Information
• Engaging the Other
• Alternatives to Violence Project Workshops
• Firm, Fair and Friendly Police/Community
  Relations Workshops

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Restorative Justice

• Contrasts Retributive Justice.
• Strives to restore relationships to non-offending
  status.
• Involves engagement of
• Offender
• Victim
• Government
• Community

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Aggression and Violence

• Dr. Susan Opotow
• University of Massachusetts, Boston
• Research Focus
• Conflict and injustice
• Psychosocial conditions permitting harm
• Scope of Justice

24
Nature of Violence

• Violence The exertion of physical (or
  psychological) force that harms.
• Direct Violence That committed by identifiable
  people on particular victims.
• Structural Violence Harm that comes from
  subtle, gradual, systematized, normally accepted
  actions of particular social institutions where
  responsibility is blurred. (Determines who gets
  heard, who gets devalued and who gets resources.)
• Direct and Structural Violence manifest
  differently but are interdependent

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Examples of Direct Violence

• Hate crimes
• Ethnic cleansing
• Rape
• Murder
• War
• Police brutality

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Examples of Structural Violence

• Poverty
• Unemployment
• Discrimination (Racism, sexism, etc.)
• Poor health care, schools or housing
• Racial profiling
• Corrupt political system
• Poor accountability for misuse of power

27
Basis of Social Injustice

• Distorted Perceptions
• Distorted Thoughts
• Distorted Moral Decisions
• In-group Rationalizations
• Self-serving Justifications
• Social, Psychological, Economic, and Political
  Conditions That Privilege Some But Exclude Others

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Moral Exclusion

• Morals- Norms, rights, entitlements, obligations,
  responsibilities and duties that shape our sense
  of justice and guide our behavior with others.
• Moral Community- Those we value inside our scope
  of justice, family, friends, compatriots and
  coreligionists. US
• Morally Excludable- Strangers outside our scope
  of justice and enemies. THEM

29
Psychological Bases for Moral Exclusion

• Tendency to exclude is fostered by normal
  perceptual tendencies
• Social categorization
• Evaluative judgments
• Fundamental attribution error
• Self-serving biases
• Zero-sum thinking
• Attributive projection
• Just world thinking

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Dimensions of Moral Exclusion

• Intensity
• Subtle (nearly invisible)
• Blatant (clearly observable)
• Engagement
• Active (participating)
• Passive (ignoring what is happening)
• Extent
• Narrow (focused on a particular few)
• Wide (involving masses of people)

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Psychological Orientation of Those Who Exclude
THEM

• Views the excluded as distant psychologically
• Lacks constructive moral obligations or
  responsibility toward the excluded
• Views THEM as nonentities, expendable and
  undeserving of fairness, resources or sacrifices
  to foster well-being
• Approves of procedures and outcomes for THEM
  that would be unacceptable for the ones inside
  their scope of justice

32
It Is Difficult To Detect Social Injustice
Because

• Social injustice does not surface as a moral
  issue.
• Social injustice is hard to see up close.
• Indecision and inaction abets social injustice.
• Combating social injustice consumes resources.

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To Foster Social Justice

• Welcome open dialogue and critique.
• Establish procedures that keep communication
  channels open during increased conflict.
• Value pluralism and measured acceptance of the
  different.
• Be alert to symptoms of moral exclusion.
• Challenge injustice constructively.

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Anger Management

• Stress
• Consciousness
• Autonomic Mediation

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Anatomical Brain Images

• Work of Dr. Jacob L. Driesen
• See www.driesen.com/images

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Developments U.S.A.

• Click www.nacole.org to see 138 mapped agencies
• NACOLE Board Members
• President Eduardo Diaz Miami-Dade, FL
• President-Elect Phil Eure, Washington D.C.
• Secretary Charles Reynolds Dover, N.H., Past
  President of the International Association of
  Chiefs of Police (IACP), former Vice Chair of
  the Commission on Accreditation for Law
  Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)
• Treasurer Richard Rosenthal, Denver, CO
• Past President Pierce Murphy Boise, Idaho
• Board Members at Large
• Kelvyn Anderson, Philadelphia, PA
• Andre Birotte, Jr, Los Angeles, CA
• Robin Lolar, Minneapolis, MN
• Sam Pailca, Seattle, WA
• Carol Scott, Knoxville, TN
• Shirley Wayne Washington, New Haven, CT

47
NACOLE Website

• www.nacole.org
• NACOLE Code of Ethics
• Links/Resources for OversightInvestigative
  Guidelines Varieties of OversightMediation
  Board TrainingBias Based PolicingA Student's
  Guide to Police Practices
• Subscribe to policeoversight listserve

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Next NACOLE Conference

• Save the dates, October 27-30, 2008
• Historic downtown Hilton Hotel
• Cincinnati, Ohio

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Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of
Law Enforcement (CACOLE), www.cacole.ca

• Most provinces in Canada have some form of
  civilian oversight of law enforcement. Although
  agency size, statutory authority and
  responsibilities vary from province to province,
  civilian oversight agencies share a common goal
  a positive relationship between the public and
  the police. This is achieved through an
  accessible and transparent complaint process,
  conscientiously monitored by independent and
  impartial civilian agencies. Commissions and
  provincial agencies responsible for civilian
  oversight of investigations into alleged police
  misconduct are mandated to ensure complaint
  investigations are thorough, fair and balanced to
  both the complainant and the respondent.
• Robert Mitchell, Chair of the Saskatchewan Public
  Complaints Commission is the current President of
  CACOLE.

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Canada

• Alberta Edmonton Police Commission Calgary Police
  Commission   Alberta Law Enforcement Review
  Board  
• British Columbia Office of the Police Complaint
  Commissioner  
• First Nations First Nations Police Governance
  Authorities  
• Manitoba Manitoba Law Enforcement Review Agency
  (LERA)  
• New Brunswick New Brunswick Police Commission  
• Newfoundland Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
  Public Complaints Commission  
• Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Police Commission (NSPC)
   Nova Scotia Police Commission   
• Military Police Canadian Military Police
  Complaints Commission (MPCC)  
• Ontario Special Investigations Unit Ontario
  Civilian Commission on Police Services 
• Prince Edward Island Does not have a provincial
  police oversight agency.  Legislation is in the
  drafting stages.  We expect it to be in force
  within a few months.  
• Quebec Commissaire à la déontologie policière
  (Police Ethics Commissioner) Comité de
  déontologie policière(Police Ethics Cimmittee) 
    Portal, Ministère de la Sécurité publique du
  Québec  
• RCMP Canadian Commission for Public Complaints
  Against the RCMP RCMP External Review Committee  
• Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Public Complaints
  Commission

51
NACOLE and CACOLE Conferences

• Dr. David Harris - Profiles in Injustice Why
  Racial Profiling Cannot Work and Good Cops The
  Case for Preventive Policing http//law.utoledo.e
  du/students/faculty/Harris/harris.htm
• Dr. Lorie Fridell Racially Biased Policing A
  Principled Response www.policeforum.org
• Dr. Sam Walker - BEST PRACTICES IN POLICE
  ACCOUNTABILITY www.policeaccountability.org
• Dr. Colleen Lewis - Civilian Oversight of Police
  Governance, Democracy and Human Rights (2000,
  with Andrew Goldsmith Colleen.Lewis_at_arts.monash.ed
  u.au http//arts.monash.edu.au/humcass/staff/colle
  en-lewis.html
• Police Assessment Resource Center - www.parc.info

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United Nations

• UNITED NATIONS CRIME AND JUSTICE INFORMATION
  NETWORK Compendium of  United Nations Standards
  and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal
  Justice
• Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
  www.uncjin.org/Standards/standards.html
• Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
  by Law Enforcement
• Officials Articles 6 and 7 of the UN
  International Covenant on Civil and Political
  Rights requires there to be an investigation
  independent of the alleged perpetrators in
  relation to torture, inhumane and degrading
  treatment and deaths at the hand of the state.

53
International Developments

• International Network for the Independent
  Oversight of Policing (INIOP)
• Secretariat is the Independent Police Complaints
  Commission (IPCC), www.ipcc.gov.uk
• Steering Group Chaired by
• John Wadham, now Legal Director for the UK-based
  Commission for Equality and Human Rights
• Nicholas Long (Current Chair)
• See INIOP newsletter at http//www.ipcc.gov.uk/in
  iop_communique_-_june_2007_v2.pdf

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European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC)
55
EPAC

• European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC),
  www.epac.at , the EU's national police monitoring
  inspection bodies and anti-corruption agencies
• Co-chaired by
• Martin Kreutner, Austria
• Andre Vandoren, Belgium

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European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC)
Members

• Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus,
• Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
• Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
• Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
• Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands,
• Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
• Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
• and OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office)

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European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC)
Observers

• Croatia
• Norway
• Serbia
• See more at www.epac.at

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ALTUS Global Alliance

• Altus is a global alliance working across
  continents and from a multicultural perspective
  to improve public safety and justice.
• Chaired by Christopher Stone
• ( www.altus.org )
• In April 2004, six established NGOs and academic
  centers joined together to form a unique alliance
  called Altus. With members spanning five
  continents, Altus offers a truly global
  perspective on issues of safety and justice, a
  greater capacity to work across borders, and a
  larger role for civil society in advancing
  justice. Altus places special emphasis on
  police accountability and the quality of police
  oversight, serving as a source of knowledge and
  innovation for governments, police leaders, human
  rights activists, legislators, journalists and
  citizens around the world, concerned about the
  effective and fair control of policing.

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ALTUS Global Alliance Members and Associate
Members

• Center for Studies on Public SafetySantiago,
  Chile
• Center for Studies on Public Security and
  CitizenshipRio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Center for Law Enforcement Education of Nigeria
  (CLEEN) FoundationLagos, Nigeria
• Institute for Development and CommunicationChandi
  garh, India
• Information Science for Democracy (INDEM)
  FoundationMoscow, Russia
• Vera Institute of JusticeNew York, United States
  of America
• Associate Members
• The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSI)-
  Abuja, Budapest, New York
• Penal Reform International (PRI)- London

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ALTUS Global Alliance Police Station Visitors
Week

• In a one-week period starting on October 29
  2006, almost two thousand civilian visitors
  inspected 471 police stations in 23 countries
  around the globe.
• to assess the quality of service delivered in
  the participating police departments, to identify
  some of the best practices in use by police, and
  to strengthen the accountability of police to the
  local citizens whom they serve.
• The visitors used a special kit developed by
  Altus to guide their visit, following protocols
  that were the same around the world. Immediately
  after each visit, the visitors answered 20
  questions about what they observed.
• See results at www.altus.org

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ALTUS Global Alliance Police Station Visitors
Week

• 2006 Participants
• Belgium Benin Brazil Canada Chile Germany Ghana
  Hungary India Latvia Liberia Malaysia Mexico
  Netherlands Niger Nigeria Peru Russia South
  Africa South Korea Sri Lanka United Kingdom US
• 2007 Visitors Week is to be October 22-28

62
International Developments

• Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland, Mrs.Nuala
  O'Loan www.policeombudsman.org
• "We provide an independent and impartial
  complaints service for members of the public
  about the conduct of police officers in Northern
  Ireland."
• Republic of Ireland - Garda Ombudsman Commission
• The Garda Ombudsman Commission is empowered to
• Directly and independently investigate
  complaints against members of the Garda Síochána
• Investigate any matter, even where no complaint
  has been made, where it appears that a Garda may
  have committed an offence or behaved in a way
  that would justify disciplinary proceedings
• Investigate any practise, policy or procedure of
  the Garda Síochána with a view to reducing the
  incidence of related complaints

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Australia an New Zealand

• Police Integrity Commission www.pic.nsw.gov.au
• Criminal and Misconduct Commission Queensland
  www.cmc.qld.gov.au
• Commonwealth Ombudsman www.ombudsman.gov.au Vicki
  Brown, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
• New South Wales Ombudsmans Office
• Simon Cohen, Assistant Ombudsman (Police)
  www.nswombudsman.nsw.gov.au
• Police Complaints Authority New Zealand
  www.pca.govt.nz

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AFRICA

• African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF)
  - Tommy Tshabalala Coordinator
  ttommy_at_icd.gov.za , Director of Investigations,
• South Africas Independent Complaints Directorate
  www.icd.gov.za
• Nigerias Police Service Commission
  www.psc.gov.ng
• Police Accountability in Kenya, Uganda and
  Tanzania
• Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
  www.humanrightsinitiative.org

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Africa

• University of Cape Town www.policeaccountability.c
  o.za includes link to
• The Police that we want A handbook for
  oversight of Police in South Africa
• December 2006 West Africa Conference
• Police Accountability and Effectiveness in
  Eastern Africa Conference www.humanrightsinitiativ
  e.org/programs/aj/police/ea/ea.htm June 11-13,
  2007 in Nairobi, Kenya
• Ombudsman Namibia, John Robert Walters
  ombudsman_at_ombudsman.org.na

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Latin America

• Ombudsman Defensor del Pueblo model is the most
  common
• FEDERACION IBEROAMERICANA DEL OMBUDSMAN (FIO)
• www.portalfio.org
• Programa Regional de Apoyo a las Defensorías del
  Pueblo en Iberoamérica (PRADPI)

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Mexico

• State of Guerrero, La Montaña Region
• Civilian Police Oversight Office in Tlapa
• Three founding organizations
• Institute for Security and Democracy Ernesto
  López Portillo www.insyde.org.mx
• Fundar www.fundar.org.mx
• Tlachinollan www.tlachinollan.org

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California Issues

• Copley Press Inc. vs. Superior Court of San Diego
  
• August ruling of the California Supreme Court.
• Limited records relating to the discipline of
  public safety employees.
• Profound consequences on public access to
  proceedings.

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Racial Profiling

• Miami-Dade Racial Profiling Board
  www.miamidade.gov/irp
• Tools for Tolerance for Law Enforcement
  www.toolsfortolerance.com
• Biased Based Policing Prevention
• Investments in Training versus Data Collection

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Training

• The IRP staff is prepared to help any department
  prevent complaints by offering training. In
  addition, any community group that wants to know
  what to do to take constructive conflict action
  can avail itself of our services. We are
  committed to help improve police/community
  relations.

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Recommended Reading

• Christie, D.J., Wagner, R.V. and Winter, D.D.
  (Eds.), 2001. Peace, Conflict, and Violence
  Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Upper
  Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall.
• Deutsch, M. and Coleman, P.T. (Eds.), 2000. The
  Handbook of Conflict Resolution Theory and
  Practice. San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.

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Contact Information

• Dr. Eduardo I. Diaz, Executive Director
• Independent Review Panel
• 140 West Flagler Street, Suite 1101, Miami, FL
  33130
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email eid_at_miamidade.gov
• www.miamidade.gov/irp