NCJ Number
218243
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 44 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 163-184
Date Published
May 2007
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined police officers’ decisions to use force by utilizing several dimensions of different theories and examining the role of the context of the incident.
Abstract
The analysis of self-reported police use of nonlethal force in Philadelphia for 2003 suggests that neither officer nor citizen race nor the officer-citizen race combination played a significant role. Instead, the officer’s prior use of force in the preceding year, the severity of the crime, the presence of multiple officers, and the citizens’ behaviors and conditions seemed to drive the particular level of force reported. The study’s limitations and strengths are presented and discussed. The most defining characteristic of the police officer’s role is possibly the officer’s discretion to use force or the threat of force. However, when an officer exercises this authority, it is assumed that the officer will do so with restraint and integrity. Previous research has examined characteristics of the incidents in which officers employ force against citizens. This study sought to improve on the previous research. It examined the determinants of the levels of nonlethal force employed by Philadelphia police using 1 year of archival self-reports (N = 747). Tables, notes, and references