Principles of the Law, Policing
The Tentative Drafts of the material in this document were approved by the membership of The American Law Institute at Annual Meetings and have been revised in response to the discussions at those Meetings. This material represents the position of the Institute on the issues with which it deals. This material has not been edited for final publication, including for ALI style, grammar, and updated citations. Read more about the project.
Contents
- Chapter 1 – General Principles of Sound Policing
- § 1.01. Scope and Applicability of Principles
- § 1.02. Goals of Policing
- § 1.03. Constitutional Policing
- § 1.04. Reducing Harm
- § 1.05. Transparency and Accountability
- § 1.06. Written Rules, Policies, and Procedures
- § 1.07. Promoting Police Legitimacy in Individual Interactions
- § 1.08. Community Policing
- § 1.09. Furthering Legitimate Policing Objectives
- § 1.10. Policing for the Purposes of Revenue Generation
- § 1.11. Policing on the Basis of Protected Characteristics or First Amendment Activity
- § 1.12. Interacting with Vulnerable Populations
- § 1.13. Interacting with and Supporting Victims of Crime
- Chapter 2 – General Principles of Searches, Seizures, and Information Gathering
- § 2.01. Suspicion-Based and Suspicionless Policing Activity
- § 2.02. Information Gathering
- § 2.03. Establishing Prior Justification for Government Action through Warrants and Recordings
- § 2.04. Use of Pretextual Policing
- § 2.05. Acquiring or Accessing Data, Records, or Physical Evidence Held by Third Parties
- § 2.06. Police Use of Algorithms and Profiles
- § 2.07. Heightened Intrusions
- § 2.08. Limiting the Impact of Outstanding Warrants
- Chapter 3 – Policing With Individualized Suspicion
- Chapter 4 – Police Encounters
- § 4.01. Officer-Initiated Encounters with Individuals
- § 4.02. Justification for Encounters
- § 4.03. Ensuring the Legitimacy of Police Encounters
- § 4.04. Permissible Intrusions During Stops
- § 4.05. Minimizing Intrusiveness of Stops and Arrests
- § 4.06. Consent Searches
- § 4.07. Searches Incident to a Lawful Custodial Arrest
- § 4.0x. Police-Involved Pursuits
- Chapter 5 – Policing in the Absence of Individualized Suspicion
- Chapter 6 – Policing Databases
- Chapter 7 – Use of Force
- Chapter 8 – General Principles for Collecting and Preserving Reliable Evidence for the Adjudicative Process
- Chapter 9 – Forensic-Evidence Gathering
- § 9.01. General Principles for Forensic Evidence
- § 9.02. Forensic-Evidence Collection
- § 9.03. Policies for Forensic Testing
- § 9.04. Quality Controls and Performance Testing
- § 9.05. Minimizing Human Factors in the Evaluation of Forensic Evidence
- § 9.06. Disclosure of Forensic Evidence
- § 9.07. Forensic-Evidence Preservation
- Chapter 10 – Eyewitness Identifications
- § 10.01. General Principles for Eyewitness Identification Procedures
- § 10.02. Eyewitness Identification Procedures
- § 10.03. Threshold for Conducting Eyewitness Identifications
- § 10.04. Showup Procedures
- § 10.05. Blind or Blinded Procedures
- § 10.06. Obtaining and Documenting Eyewitness Confidence Statements
- § 10.07. Reinforcement or Feedback
- § 10.08. Recording Eyewitness Identification Procedures
- Chapter 11 – Police Questioning
- Chapter 12 – Informants and Undercover Agents
- § 12.01. General Principles for Informants and Undercover Agents
- § 12.02. Assessing the Propriety of Using an Informant
- § 12.03. Assessing the Reliability of Evidence from Informants
- § 12.04. Documentation and Disclosure of Informant Evidence
- § 12.05. Involvement by Informants in Criminal Activity
- § 12.06. Oversight of Benefits to Informants
- § 12.07. General Principles for Undercover Officers
- Chapter 13 – Agency and Officer Role in Promoting Sound Policing
- § 13.01. Agency Role in Promoting Sound Policing
- § 13.02. Recruitment and Hiring
- § 13.03. Adequate Training for Agency Employees
- § 13.04. Promoting Officer Well-Being
- § 13.05. Supervision
- § 13.06. Individual Responsibility to Promote Sound Policing
- § 13.07. Responding to Allegations of Misconduct
- § 13.08. Incident Review
- Chapter 14 – Role of Other Actors in Promoting Sound Policing
- § 14.01. The Responsibility of Other Actors Regarding Sound Policing
- § 14.02. Legislative Responsibilities to Ensure Sound Policing
- § 14.03. Statutory Remedies for Violations
- § 14.04. Judicial Responsibilities with Regard to the Policing Function
- § 14.05. Prosecutor and Other Attorney Responsibilities for Ensuring Sound Policing
- § 14.06. The Federal Government’s Role in Policing
- § 14.07. External Oversight of Policing Agencies
- § 14.08. Minimizing Interference with Officer Accountability
- § 14.09. Promoting a Holistic Approach to Public Safety
- § 14.10. Data Collection and Transparency
- § 14.11. Research in Support of Sound Policing
- § 14.12. Criminal Investigation of Officers
- § 14.13. Certification and Decertification of Law-Enforcement Officers
- § 14.14. National Database of Decertifications
- § 14.15. The Role of Private Actors in Fostering Sound Policing