Police Advisory Board of Philadelphia (Pa.).

Created by Mayor Richardson Dilworth in October 1958, the controversial Police Advisory Board (PAB) was charged with investigating citizens' complaints against the police, where the charge involved brutality, false arrest, discrimination and other wrongful police conduct. The PAB, made up of civilian investigators, was the first such board in the United States. Its role was not to discipline police officers, but to recommend appropriate action to the city's administration.

The PAB was created to deal with police officers who abused their authority. As the PAB proceeded with its work, the hearings brought out the widespread objectionable police practices such as disrupting interracial social gatherings or stopping interracial couples, solely on the base of their race. These abuses, and others, were publicized by the PAB and corrected by the Police Department.

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