Eric Monkkonen

About the author: Eric Monkkonen, a leading crime historian, is a professor of history and policy studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The first response to a major scandal in a police department is to establish a commission to investigate the problem and recommend solutions. However, the commissions' recommendations usually do not end corruption because they are rarely followed unless laws are passed requiring police departments to make the suggested changes. In addition, police officers have little training compared to other professionals, but a great deal of power, responsibility, and individual discretion. All these factors come together to contribute to unpredictable outcomes in policing. While commissions and their recommendations are better than doing nothing to resolve a department's problems, they seldom produce any lasting changes.

Police corruption is nearly as...