Title: Promoting accountability - Transforming the System Transforming the System
Headings: Promoting accountability
Promoting accountability
Community-based accountability
Political accountability
Civil lawsuits
Criminal Prosecutions
To promote accountability, local, state, and county legislatures should pass legislation that calls for the following:
Civil society, activists, and concerned community members should:

Content: Promoting accountability - Transforming the System Transforming the System
Promoting accountability
Police officers should be accountable public servants who work collaboratively, transparently, and fairly with all of the communities they serve. Too often, police departments and officers violate their role in the community and abuse their power by engaging in acts of excessive force; acting in an increasingly militarized capacity; abusing asset forfeiture policies; and routinely stopping and frisking entire communities, among other practices that treat individuals as Justice Sotomayor decried, “not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged.” Too often, they have not been held accountable. This lack of accountability has eroded community trust and fostered suspicion and resentment. In order to restore police legitimacy, there should be structures in place to promote responsible, accountable policing and measures to ensure that police are held accountable for their actions when they deviate from that standard. There are generally four mechanisms for holding law enforcement accountable: community-based, political, civil, and criminal.