Policing the Police by Erick Laming

Policing the Police by Erick Laming

This book examines the various systems, processes, and agencies responsible for overseeing police conduct across Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and to a lesser extent, the United States, and Republic of Ireland. It argues that while police oversight systems have improved in their capacities to hold police accountable internationally, they continue to be plagued by internal and external issues that inhibit their full potential in serving as high-standard gatekeepers for police conduct.

The lack of legislative and investigative powers, independence, and authority contribute to the limited efficacy of police oversight systems and thereby jeopardize the capacity for which the various agencies can deliver, maintain, and uphold accountability of our law enforcement. This book provides an in-depth discussion of the disparate police oversight systems across multiple jurisdictions. Specifically, serious incident response teams—those responsible for investigating critical incidents involving the police and the public—and complaints agencies are examined to illustrate how these oversight systems function and the role they play in holding police accountable. The book carefully details the similarities, differences, issues and challenges, and leading practices between and within jurisdictions to highlight the complex nature of police oversight and the constant pressure to improve and respond to public demands for accountability.

This book will therefore be of interest to students and scholars of policing studies, as well as professionals and policymakers engaged with policing.

The publication of Erick Laming’s book Policing the Police: International Perspectives on Police Oversight could hardly be more timely as governments and civil society groups around the world wrestle with the challenge of police accountabilityPolicing is a task which contributes enormously to the safety and well-being of citizens and visitors in diverse locations, but it is also an activity which is highly vulnerable to a wide range of types of misconduct and betrayals of trust. ‘Policing the police’ is therefore an apt phrase for the essential task of managing complaints and disclosures about misconduct, and also monitoring and advising police on improvement strategies, which is now usually assigned to civilian oversight agencies. The book addresses the difficult issues involved in police oversight through in-depth scholarship and systematic reasoning. The work is to be commended for addressing what counts as best practice in this domain through an evidence-based approach to optimising oversight to ensure the best form of democratic policing.

Tim Prenzler, Professor of Criminology, School of Law & Society, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia

Erick Laming is an Associate Professor of Criminology in the Department of Sociology at Trent University. His research focuses on police use of force, police oversight and accountability. His broader research interests include corrections, criminal justice policy and reform, comparative criminal justice, race and the criminal justice system, and dark tourism.