Rio police killings will fuel polarisation in Brazil

Significance That increase has sparked concerns that the state government is further militarising the fight against organised crime at the expense of the human rights of favela (slum) communities. Governor Wilson Witzel is fulfilling his campaign promise of a zero-tolerance crackdown but faces increasing criticism over how police tactics have placed favela residents' lives at risk. Impacts Popular approval and criticism of repressive anti-crime policies will reinforce political polarisation. Drug gangs will gain popular support by providing some COVID-19-related security not offered by the state. COVID-19-related economic disruption is likely to reinforce the risk of a new rise in violence.

Tactical Considerations1

Officers do not use force in a vacuum. It has long been recognized that a use of force is not the result of a single decision, but rather of “a contingent sequence of decisions and resulting behaviors—each increasing or decreasing the probability of an eventual use of … force.” How officers approach a situation, then, can affect whether and how they use force. Tactics are the techniques and procedures that officers use to protect themselves and community members. This chapter provides a framework for assessing police tactics, then offers an in-depth discussion of core tactical concepts. It explains why time is the single most important tactical consideration, details the effects of stress on human decision making, and illustrates how officers use tactical choices to “create time” and how they can use that time to minimize their need to use force. The chapter concludes by exploring the role of police tactics in three very different situations: arrests, crisis interventions, and active-shooter situations.

Accountability or Efficiency? Body-Worn Cameras as Replicative Technology

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been implemented and studied at an unprecedented rate since their emergence in the mid-2000s, largely due to their touted benefits of increasing police accountability. As current empirical research is largely inconclusive regarding BWC effects on police organizational change, the present study approaches the question of whether BWCs will fundamentally change occupational and organizational police culture by applying the theories of Manning’s and Chan’s interpretation of Bourdieu regarding police culture and technology. The findings of the theoretical application conclude that BWCs will likely become replicative technology, meaning that their primary effects will be to increase the efficiency of current police tactics rather than change the fundamental practices and values of policing. BWCs may also become symbolic in that their use may represent increased accountability and legitimacy while the core of police culture remains largely unchanged. Due to the limits of technology in achieving greater police accountability, police practitioners and scholars are encouraged to refocus on the fundamental processes of recruiting, selection, hiring, and training, and ways to improve these practices to encourage a culture of greater accountability.

A ‘conspicuous success’? Policing Liverpool and Manchester in July 1981

This chapter examines some key policing developments of the 1980–1 disorders, focussing upon Toxteth, Liverpool and Moss Side, Manchester through interviews and original local records. Reaction to previous disturbances strengthened police tactics and riot control equipment, with this transformation demonstrated by the first use of CS gas within mainland Britain and suggestions of arming the police or mobilising the army; radical black groups even alleged the police instigated the July disorders to justify enhanced equipment and ‘stronger’ police tactics. In Moss Side, during a contentious meeting between local community organisations and the police, apparent advances in the police/community relationship were alleged to have actually been a ploy to justify a forceful police response to disorder, employing tactics modelled upon Northern Ireland examples – including using police vehicles to disperse crowds, and ‘snatch squads’ targeting influential participants. Authorities again framed disturbances around law and order, rather than addressing broader issues of racism, discrimination, or their economic and social policies; Manchester Chief Constable James Anderton’s actions were described by the government as a ‘conspicuous success’, but did little to improve poor police/black relations at the heart of spreading disturbances.

Policing Social Marginality: Contrasting Approaches

Urban police officers concentrate much attention on individuals who experience various forms of inequality. Some police tactics that address the socially marginal garner public concern, especially when violence occurs. Solutions to such police-community tensions are elusive, in part because police cannot meaningfully reduce inequality. Yet there are better and worse ways to police the impoverished, and we use this article to contrast three general approaches: aggressive patrol, coercive benevolence, and officer-assisted harm reduction. We contrast their operating logics and their implications for police practice and tactics. We find great merit in officer-assisted harm reduction, which is a nascent effort. Pioneered in Seattle, it helps to reorient police culture and practice and enables efforts to address some of the challenges facing many impoverished individuals. Although its widespread adoption will not eliminate police-community tension in poor communities, it is superior to other alternatives, and thus deserves replication.