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Cited by 40Policing Practices and PerceptionsCriminal Justice and PenologyPublic Policy and Administration Research

Police legitimacy regimes and the suppression of citizen oversight in response to police violence

Rocha Beardall, Theresa·2022·Criminology
DOI 10.1111/1745-9125.12321
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Abstract

Abstract A lack of formal accountability in the aftermath of police violence against communities of color has long fueled public demands for increased police oversight. Yet, little is known about how interorganizational relationships affect citizen complaint investigations once citizen review boards (CRBs) are established. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and archival sources about the Syracuse Citizen Review Board in New York State, I show how CRBs operate as bureaucratic agencies that ostensibly address police misconduct, yet are managed by municipal power relations that neutralize the agency's ability to actualize change. Specifically, I find that a CRB's embeddedness within a municipality's interorganizational field creates a site of contestation to ensure public legitimation of police despite community concern. To show how the aims of citizen oversight can be upended within the structural and practical politics of local government, I introduce the concept of a police legitimacy regime: a set of (in)formal policies, organizations, and actors that protect and promote the legitimacy of state police power. In Syracuse, police protection happens at the expense of residents’ demands for police reform, and I conclude by outlining the implications of this research for other communities seeking citizen‐led approaches to police accountability.

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Crossref · 10.1111/1745-9125.12321

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  • In the United States, civilian review boards remain uncommon and frequently underpowered.

    “Yet in the United States, CRBs remain uncommon and frequently underpowered (3, 4).”

    From Does civilian oversight impact police legitimacy? (2025) · cites this paper as [4]

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Authors
Rocha Beardall, T.
Affiliations
Department of Sociology University of Washington
Venue
Criminology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2022-09-28
Volume
60
Issue
4
Pages
740-765
ISSN
  • 0011-1384 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-9125
DOI
10.1111/1745-9125.12321
OpenAlex
W4297423492
Cited by
40
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 1
FWCI
28.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Criminology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
Keywords
police accountability, police brutality, police oversight, interorganizational relationships, municipal politics, police reform, communities of color, police-community relations, bureaucratic institutions

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