Challenging the Ordinality of Police Use-of-Force Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 088740342110383
Author(s):  
Scott M. Mourtgos ◽  
Ian T. Adams ◽  
Samuel R. Baty
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Lethal Force ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Force Data

Most use-of-force policies utilized by U.S. police agencies make fundamental ordinal assumptions about officers’ force responses to subject resistance. These policies consist of varying levels of force and resistance along an ordinally ranked continuum of severity. We empirically tested the ordinal assumptions that are ubiquitous to police use-of-force continua within the United States using 1 year’s use-of-force data from a municipal police department. Applying a quantitative technique known as categorical regression with optimal scaling, we found the assumptions of ordinality within the studied department’s use-of-force continuum (which is similar to many police use-of-force continua within the United States) are not met. Specifying physical force as a “lower” force option than less-lethal tools is associated with increased officer injury and decreased subject injury. Our findings call into question use-of-force continua featuring ordinal rankings for varying categories of less-lethal force.

Oleoresin Capsicum Spray and TASERs

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven G. Brandl ◽  
Meghan S. Stroshine
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Municipal Police

In the last few decades, several less lethal forms of force have been introduced, adopted, and deployed by police agencies. Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray is now used in nearly every department across the United States; the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle (TASER) is used in the majority of police departments. Despite their widespread use, we still know relatively little about the factors associated with the use of OC spray and TASERs and the effectiveness of these weapons in incapacitating subjects. Knowing when these weapons are used and whether they are effective would provide for a more complete understanding of their strengths and limitations and inform the debate about where less lethal weapons should be placed on use of force continua. This article contributes to the discussion by analyzing 504 use-of-force incidents where the police used OC spray or TASERs during the event. Data were obtained from a large municipal police department on incidents that occurred in 2010 and 2011. Policy considerations and directions for further research are discussed.

Public Expressions of Empathy and Sympathy by U.S. Criminal Justice Officials After Controversial Police Killings of African-Americans

2021 ◽  
pp. 0261927X2110572
Author(s):  
Edward R. Maguire ◽  
Howard Giles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Releases

Police use of force against minorities, particularly African-Americans, has become a prominent national issue in the United States. In a number of controversial instances, such as the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, African-Americans have died under questionable circumstances due to police use of force. These incidents have fueled the growth of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and have often resulted in large-scale protests and riots. In this paper, we examine statements made by four types of criminal justice officials – police executives, police department spokespersons, police union representatives, and prosecutors – in the immediate aftermath of 30 such incidents that occurred in 2020. We examine the language used by these officials in social media postings, news releases, and press conferences, focusing specifically on the extent to which they express empathy or sympathy toward the decedent or his or her loved ones, as well as the community at large. Our analysis reveals that criminal justice officials rarely express empathy or sympathy in the aftermath of these incidents, though there are noteworthy differences between different types of officials. Our findings are helpful for understanding how the language used by these officials, particularly the public expression of empathy and sympathy, fits into broader debates about race and criminal justice in the United States.

scholarly journals Military, University, and Police Agency Command and Staff Colleges in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Richard H. Martin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Public Safety ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Police Agency ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
The Military ◽  
The U.S

This article discusses three models of command and staff colleges (CSC). Five university models, five United States Military models, and one police agency model are discussed. The 11 CSCs provide leadership development in various training and education programs all leading to the increased capabilities of leaders and potential leaders for public safety and branches of the military. The police agency CSC model was developed within a Montgomery, Alabama Police Department, the only one of its kind among public safety agencies in the country. The concept of a CSC for leadership development among police agencies in the U.S. is a rare entity. Other command and staff colleges were found to be connected to the various branches of the U.S. Military and higher education institutions. The article also discusses the municipal police agency CSC model historical development as it expanded within the department and throughout the state of Alabama.

scholarly journals Police Use of Body-Worn Cameras: Challenges of Visibility, Procedural Justice, and Legitimacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 305-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermus St. Louis ◽  
Alana Saulnier ◽  
Kevin Walby
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Community Police ◽  
Accountability Mechanism

Recent controversies over police use of force in the United States of America have placed a spotlight on police in Western nations. Concerns that police conduct is racist and procedurally unjust have generated public sentiments that accountability must be externally imposed on police. One such accountability mechanism is body-worn cameras (BWCs). Optimistic accounts of BWCs suggest that the technology will contribute to the improvement of community–police relations. However, BWCs address consequences, not causes, of poor community–police relations. We argue that the evolving visibility of police associated with BWCs is double-edged, and suggest that the adoption of surveillance technologies such as BWCs in the quest to improve community–police relations will fail without a simultaneous commitment to inclusionary policing practices (such as community policing strategies, community and social development, and local democracy). We outline two initiatives that optimize BWCs by promoting these simultaneous commitments.

Exploring Bias in Police Shooting Decisions With Real Shoot/Don’t Shoot Cases

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1171-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Worrall ◽  
Stephen A. Bishopp ◽  
Scott C. Zinser ◽  
Andrew P. Wheeler ◽  
Scott W. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Police Shootings ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Shooting Decisions ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Relevant Factors

The controversy surrounding recent high-profile police shootings (e.g., Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Laquan McDonald in Chicago) has prompted inquiry into the possible existence of bias in officers’ use-of-force decisions. Using a balanced mix of shoot/don’t shoot cases from a large municipal police department in the Southwestern United States, this study analyzed the effect of suspect race on officers’ decisions to shoot—while accounting for other theoretically relevant factors. Findings suggest that Black suspects were not disproportionately the target of police shootings; Black suspects were approximately one third as likely to be shot as other suspects. This finding challenges the current bias narrative and is consistent with the other race-related findings in recently published research.

Too Many Missing Cases: Holes in Our Knowledge about Police Use of Force

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Fyfe
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Court Order ◽  
National Data ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Existing Data

This paper argues that one of the primary responsibilities of a democracy is to report accurately on how often its own agents kill or injure its citizens. The United States fails this responsibility: there are available to citizens no systematic or meaningful national data describing the frequency and consequences of police use of force in this country. Instead there exist only some local data provided by unrepresentative police agencies or obtained by the media under court order, and some aggregate data and estimates that cannot be linked with specific agencies. The paper reviews existing data and offers suggestions that would provide both citizens and public officials with a clearer picture of the efforts of their police to minimize use of force.

scholarly journals The Law on Police Use of Force in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1526-1540
Author(s):  
Brandon Garrett ◽  
Christopher Slobogin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Fourth Amendment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Deadly Force ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

AbstractRecent events in the United States have highlighted the fact that American police resort to force, including deadly force, much more often than in many other Western countries. This Article describes how the current regulatory regime may ignore or even facilitate these aggressive police actions. The law governing police use of force in the United States derives in large part from the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. As construed by the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Amendment provides police wide leeway in using deadly force, making custodial arrests, and stopping and frisking individuals. While state and local police departments can develop more restrictive rules, they often do not. Additionally, the remedies for violations of these rules are weak. The predominant remedy is exclusion of evidence, the impact of which falls primarily on the prosecutor and in any event only has a deterrent effect when evidence is sought. Civil and criminal sanctions have been significantly limited by the Supreme Court, particularly through the doctrine of qualified immunity (applied to individual officers) and the policy or custom defense (applied to municipalities). This minimal regulatory regime is one reason police-citizen encounters in the United States so often result in death or serious bodily harm to citizens, in particular those who are Black. The Article ends with a number of reform proposals.

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