“We Have a Long Ways to Go”: The Growing Pains of a Consent Decree in a Municipal Police Department

Abstract

In recent years, US police departments have drawn significant attention due to widely publicized events involving police misconduct. The Department of Justice (DOJ), taking notice of public discontent, has compelled several police departments to institute multiple reforms to correct long-standing police misbehavior by issuing consent decrees. Using 26 semi-structured interviews with policing personnel in a police agency in the middle of a consent decree, we observed an arduous experience reflected through the stigma associated with the consent decree, the perception of organizational hyper-surveillance, and new policy requirements. Yet, our findings also demonstrated the consent decree improved knowledge of appropriate procedures, and discontinued harmful practices. Our findings clarify the strains and benefits of consent decrees, and further suggest the consent decree requirements create an ever-changing organizational environment for policing personnel as the department works to meet the terms of a consent decree.

Keywords

administrative burden police consent decrees law enforcement stress police reform police accountability

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