The New World of Police Accountability

The subject of police accountability includes some of the most important developments in American policing: the control of officer-involved shootings and use of force; citizen complaints and the best procedures for handling them; federal ′pattern or practice′ litigation against police departments; allegations of race discrimination; early intervention systems to monitor officer behavior; and police self-monitoring efforts. The Second Edition of The New World of Police Accountability covers these subjects and more with a sharp and critical perspective. It provides readers with a comprehensive description of the most recent developments and an analysis of what works, what reforms are promising, and what has proven unsuccessful. The book offers detailed coverage of critical incident reporting; pattern analysis of critical incidents; early intervention systems; internal and external review of citizen complaints; and federal consent decrees.

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.