Mechanisms for ensuring police accountability in Ontario and police attitudes towards them.

This study examines the mechanisms which have been introduced in Ontario to increase accountability within policing and the attitudes of police management personnel towards them. The study assesses the relationship between the police and the provincial government through a study of police morale with respect to external review and interest group behaviour. This is accomplished through a review of the literature on policing and the results of elite interviews with police management personnel. In Chapter One, models of interest group behaviour are examined with respect to police organizational behaviour. This chapter also identifies the prevailing literature on policing and its influence on the creation of police policy. In Chapter Two, the prevailing police philosophies of the 1990\u27s are discussed. Community-policing, race relations training, increased educational requirements, and the trend towards civilian involvement in policing are discussed. In Chapter Three, the process by which policy is created and the role that interest groups have in this process is examined. The Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are both discussed with respect to their impact on law enforcement in Ontario. In Chapter Four, the concept of external review is examined from both a historical and a practical perspective. The relationship between police and the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner and the Special Investigations Unit is examined and police attitudes towards these institutions are discussed. Detailed analysis of the problems identified by police in the organizations is provided and suggestions for improvements are highlighted. Chapter Five determines the status of the relationship between the police and the provincial government. Suggestions for further studies on police accountability are provided.Dept. of History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1993 .B78. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 32-06, page: 1558. Adviser: Ronald Wagenberg. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1993