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dc.contributor.authorPrenzler, T
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-03T13:45:14Z
dc.date.available2017-05-03T13:45:14Z
dc.date.issued2000
dc.date.modified2007-03-30T06:09:36Z
dc.identifier.issn0007-0955
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/3320
dc.description.abstractMany jurisdictions have created external oversight bodies for police following problems of recurring misconduct and the failure of internal control mechanisms. Questions inevitably follow about the effectiveness of the new bodies to detect and prevent abuses of power. One potential source of ineffectiveness is undue influence or'capture' by police. This paper reviews developments in external oversight internationally and examines the issue of capture in detail using an Australian case study of the Queensland Police Service and the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission (CJC). The question of capture was assessed by analysing reports on significant issues involving the CJC and police. Cases of zealous enforcement of rules were apparent, but the study identified a generally weak approach on the part of the Commission to enforcement and direction. Crucial elements of the CJC's structure and functions have exposed it to capture; including a role in facilitating police management, joint operations against organized crime, and reliance on seconded police investigators. The available evidence did not confirm a case of direct capture, but there was evidence from audits of investigations that police involvement in investigations and discipline contributed to a marked attrition of complaints. Weakness in oversight could also be related to the combined effects of an appeasement strategy, an overly legalistic organizational culture, and inadequate quality control. Practical measures are recommended to improve accountability that have general application to police oversight bodies. These include a clearer separation between police and the regulator, quality assessment measures, and exclusion of a facilitation role to allow the regulator to focus on police conduct.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherOxford University Press
dc.publisher.placeUK
dc.publisher.urihttp://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/4/659
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom659
dc.relation.ispartofpageto674
dc.relation.ispartofjournalBritish Journal of Criminology
dc.relation.ispartofvolume40
dc.subject.fieldofresearchCriminology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode4402
dc.titleCivilian Oversight of Police: A Test of Capture Theory
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.facultyArts, Education & Law Group, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
gro.rights.copyrightThis is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in The British Journal of Criminology: an international review of crime and society following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version of The British Journal of Criminology 40:659-674 (2000) is available online at: http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/40/4/659
gro.date.issued2000
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorPrenzler, Timothy J.


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