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Lesson Plan
Civilian Investigative Panel
"Should civilians be allowed to independently investigate allegations of police misconduct?"
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson plan is to educate students about effective police-community relations and stimulate debate on the issue of civilian oversight of police.
Grade
10-12
Objective
Students should learn about police practices and proposals for civilian oversight of police and be able to formulate their own opinions as to whether or not there should be an outside body to investigate allegations of police misconduct.
Materials
1. Text of Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution: "No person
shall be … compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; …"
2. Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the
United States -- Human Rights Watch
3. Citizen Review of Police: Approaches & Implementation. By Peter Finn for the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
4. Investigation, Monitoring and Review of Complaints: A Practitioner's Case Study Guidelines -- National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
5. Police Brutality and Excessive Force in the New York City Police Department Amnesty International. AI-index # AMR 51/036/1996. Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States – Human Rights Watch
Activities:
1. The teacher should moderate a discussion concerning what it means for civilians to investigate allegations of police misconduct independently of the police department's Internal Affairs Division.
2. Students will scour newspapers and magazines for at least two articles related to civilian review boards that demonstrate whether or not they were successful and explain why they succeeded/failed in accomplishing their goals.
3. Students will then separate into four groups:
a. Two "con" groups who are against civilian oversight of police **
b. Two "pro" groups in support of a civilian investigative panel
** A few examples of arguments against civilian review boards is that civilian review boards (a) are ineffective and often times fail to meet their goals (b) do not have properly trained staff members to complete criminal investigations (c) may interfere with on-going police investigations and (d) inadvertently immunize police officers who should be prosecuted or fired.
4. After thoroughly formulating arguments for each group, students will put together a brief outline summarizing arguments either in favor or against the creation of a civilian investigative panel. Once both outlines are complete, students will exchange outlines, sharing the information with the other group with opposing viewpoints.
5. Teacher will then assign students to write a two-page essay on the "pros" and "cons" of creating a civilian investigative panel.
