Complaints Against the Police: A Focus Group Study of Citizen Perceptions, Goals, and Expectations

Abstract

This article explores citizen perceptions, goals, and expectations in filing complaints against the police. It is based on 10 focus groups representing a cross-section of a medium-sized midwestern community. Its findings confirm earlier research indicating a poor "fit" between complainant goals and complaint procedures. Although most existing complaint procedures are designed to investigate complaints of officer misconduct and to punish guilty officers, relatively few of the focus group participants indicated punishment as their goal. The majority wanted either an explanation for the incident, an apology, a face-to-face encounter with the officer, or documentation of the incident on the officer's record.