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: However, communities must work to overcome the practical obstacles to the creation and effective implementation of civilian review boards, namely resistance from police departments. Community representatives and municipalities should work together to create civilian review boards that are independent, transparent, and representative with adequate resources and outreach. Ideally, they should have the power to conduct investigations and hearings, compel police cooperation, determine appropriate disciplinary action, and conduct statistical analysis of infractions. An important aspect of building community trust and keeping police accountable is transparency. Creating clear procedures by which police officers provide information to and are transparent about their practices with the community creates the basis for mutual respect. This can include policies that require police officers to provide their name, badge number, and an informative card on how to report complaints to people with which they interact. This can also include wearing body cameras with adequate privacy protections for the public and strengthening the right of civilians to record police interactions. Political accountability
Political measures can influence the ways police departments are structured and behave. “ Political checks” both on a national and local level, including contingent federal funding, internal review, and increased reporting, can make police departments and officers more accountable. These political accountability measures can work in tandem with civil and criminal lawsuits to pressure police departments into adopting best practices.