Enforcing police accountability through civilian oversight / Sankar Sen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Police accountability -- Control by external agencies -- Civilian oversight bodies -- Policing the police: experience in the United Kingdom -- Police oversight in Canada -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Public Complaint Commission -- Police ombudsman in Northern Ireland -- Independent complaints directorate -- Police complaints authority: Australia -- Police oversight in Brazil -- National Human Rights Commission and police oversight -- Police oversight in USA -- Police reforms in India and neighboring countries -- Epilogue.

This book explores the sensitive issue of police accountability to civilian oversight bodies to control police excesses. At the centre of the discourse lies the tacit acknowledgement that the enormous power and authority invested in the police does leads to corruption and excesses unless adequate checks and balances are installed. The book analyses these checks and balances and how these can be made more effective. It puts forth a cross-national study of internal and external mechanisms for enforcing police accountability, and critically appraises the effectiveness of civilian oversight bodies.