Police misconduct is nothing new in the United States. Use of excessive forceunjustified shootings race discrimination and a general lack ofaccountability for o... » 

Police misconduct is nothing new in the United States. Use of excessive forceunjustified shootings race discrimination and a general lack ofaccountability for officer conduct have been serious problems since the firstpolice departments were created in the early nineteenth century. Althoughtodays media coverage of these major police offenses portrays otherwisesignificant progress has been made in reducing police misconduct.The New World of Police Accountability is the first book to provide an originaland comprehensive analysis of some of the most important developments inpolicing over the past ten years. Esteemed author Samuel Walker synthesizes themajor developments in the area of police accountability and argues that thesedevelopments represent a new period in the history of police reform thatpromises to address the historic problems of police abuse. This text assessesboth the achievements and limitations of police accountability and reshapes theconventional wisdom on this topic. The book covers such issues as federal lawsuits against the police consent decrees citizen oversight of the police andearly intervention systems.Key FeaturesExamines timely and uptodate coverage of current police controversiesDiscusses important new mechanisms of accountability such as comprehensive useof force reporting citizen complaint procedures early intervention systemsand police auditorsProvides extensive coverage of racial profilingIncludes a helpful list of Web sites for further research on the topics coveredin the bookThe New World of Police Accountability is designed as a supplementary textbookfor undergraduate and graduate policing courses in the departments of CriminalJustice and Criminology. The book will also be of interest to scholars policeofficials citizen oversight officials and community activists. «