One of the more recent reforms in policing has been the widespread development of mechanisms to file complaints against the police. Search for websites of two large and two small police agencies. Look for agencies that have information on citizen complaint procedures and answer the following questions.
How extensive is the information available on complaint procedures?
Can citizens file anonymous complaints against the police?
What information must citizens provide to file their complaints against the police?
Is a complaint form available on the website?
Is the information provided in the complaint process easy to understand?
Does the website provide any statistics on police complaints?
(As a sample agency, check out the Office of Citizen Complaints in San Francisco at http://sfgov.org/occ/Links to an external site..)