Independent Police Accountability Bodies: Comparative Perspectives on Complaints Against the Police

This book provides a detailed comparative analysis of independent police complaints bodies (IPCBs) in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. It explores the distinctive political, cultural and institutional contexts shaping police accountability arrangements within each country, as well as the transnational dynamics behind the remarkable proliferation of IPCBs over the past three decades, assessing the prospects for future convergence around international standards.

Drawing on findings from the international project ‘Police Accountability: Towards International Standards?’, the book examines the inherent dilemmas and challenges in the everyday functioning and dynamics of IPCB reform. Each chapter presents integrated comparative analysis of key themes co-written by experts on police accountability in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK. The scholars involved approach the topic from range of scholarly disciplines: police studies and public administration, law, sociology, human geography, and history. Its qualitative comparative analysis adds to the existing literature on IPCBs based on single-country research.

The book facilitates exchange of knowledge and experiences across political cultures and linguistic boundaries, revising theoretical perspectives and through its empirical findings providing scholars, complaints practitioners and rights activists with unique frameworks to contextualise and assess current and emerging IPCB models in any country or jurisdiction.

This book will be useful reading for all those engaged in policing, public administration, rights activism, and law and policymaking.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 International license.