Copwatch
Copwatch (also Cop Watch or Cop-Watch) is a network of typically autonomous activist organizations, focused in local areas in the United States, Canada, and Europe, that observe and document police activity looking for signs of police misconduct and brutality. They believe that monitoring police activity on the streets is a way to prevent police brutality. They also propose theoretical and practical approaches to security and justice structures to replace the police. They criticize capitalism and see crime as a consequence of social problems that cannot be fought by surveillance and punishment. Copwatch was started in Berkeley, California, in 1990. Methods The main function of most Copwatch groups is monitoring police activity. "Copwatchers" go out on foot or driving patrols in their communities and record interactions between the police, suspects, and civilians. Copwatchers hope that monitoring police activity will provide a deterrent against police misconduct. Some groups also patrol protests and demonstrations to ensure that police do not violate the rights of protesters. One Copwatch organization states that it has a policy of non-interference with the police, although this may not be true for all groups. In Phoenix, Arizona, copwatchers have increased the practice of "reverse surveillance" of the police in