Exploring Police Liability Profiles

Law enforcement agencies are changing their prescription regarding autonomous police duty. Specifically, trends in law enforcement management now concentrate on police duty within the parameters of civil liability. With increasing criminal and civil litigation resulting from citizen complaints of excessive force, police administrators are critically analyzing their policies and procedures. A proactive initiative in risk management is a profitable approach to reorganizing police agendas responding to crime. This study looked at the 1998 policies and training protocols of the San Francisco Police Department to determine a liability risk profile following evidence of officer misconduct. By seeking a relationship between risk management variables and allegations of misconduct brought forth by citizens of the San Francisco community, proximate causes were identified regarding the misconduct. With an examination of key risk management variables and behavioral misconduct, any agency in the world can utilize this cause-tree or event-tree analysis in reducing its own liability profile.