Citizen Oversight of Law Enforcement: Challenge and Opportunity

Citizen oversight of police practices has long been a controversial issue in law enforcement. Basically, the concept is defined as a procedure under which law enforcement conduct is reviewed at some point by persons who are not sworn officers. In recent years, more and more law enforcement jurisdictions have involved citizens in their review systems, and highly publicized incidents of alleged police misconduct and their fallout have brought the issue of citizen oversight to center stage in the United States.