Internet Exercises

1) One of the more recent reforms in policing has been the widespread development of mechanisms to file complaints against the police. Using your web browser, look at the websites of several large and small police agencies. Find agencies that have information on citizen complaint procedures. How extensive is the information on complaint procedures? Can citizens file anonymous complaints? What information must citizens provide to file complaints? Is there a complaint form provided on the site? Is the complaint process information easy to understand? Are any statistics about complaints provided? As a sample agency, check out the Office of Citizen Complaints in San Francisco at www.ci.sf.ca.us/occ/.

2) Police use of force continues to be one of the greatest issues in American policing. Find out more about use of force by logging onto www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/. Go to "Publications" and find the article "Use of Force by Police: Overview of National and Local Data." How many arrests involved use of force? What was the most severe type of force used in all incidents involving force? What was the most frequent weaponless tactic used? How representative do you think these findings are to other police departments?