Caption: Public administration graduate students Maria Hernandez Figueroa, left, and Eduardo L. Calderon, in front of the Fullerton Police Department headquarters. Photo: Matt Gush Download Photo
Who Should Police the Police?
Graduate Students Present Findings on Citizen Oversight
July 12, 2012
A year after the death of Kelly Thomas in Fullerton, public oversight of law enforcement remains a live issue, fed by an FBI investigation, criminal charges against two officers and the recall of three City Council members.
As part of a larger project they are working on with Cal State Fullerton faculty members Shelly Arsneault, professor of political science, and Christine L. Gardiner, assistant professor of criminal justice, two public administration graduate students — Eduardo L. Calderon and Maria Hernandez Figueroa — researched police oversight committees and their impact nationwide, and presented their findings July 11 at the Fullerton Public Library.
Fullerton’s acting Police Chief Dan Hughes praised Calderon and Figueroa for their research and said that while he favors establishing a police oversight committee, the decision belongs to the City Council.
Arsneault said she was “very impressed with the way the students’ research turned out.”
“I think they tackled a really important topic about mechanisms to promote transparency and police accountability,” she said. “I'm proud Maria and Eduardo have been able to use their research in an applied manner and share it with the community.”
The university’s Center for Public Policy plans to publish the students’ research findings and share them with police agencies across Orange County, Arsneault said.
