NCJ Number
152243
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 22 Issue: 5 Dated: (1994) Pages: 407-424
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article addresses police civil liability for abandoning citizens in high-crime areas or in other high-risk situations of victimization.
Abstract
The public duty doctrine has historically barred police liability for third-party victimization. With the rapid growth of high-crime areas and neighborhoods in which criminal victimization occurs, some courts are eroding the public duty doctrine and holding the police liable for abandoning citizens in dangerous places. An analysis of the special relationship and danger creation case law pursuant to Section 1983 shows that liability is more prevalent when police abandon children in dangerous places and when police abandonment results in serious physical injury to crime victims. Most courts, however, reject abandonment claims raised under Section 1983 when the police do not show deliberate indifference to the plaintiff's constitutional rights. The article concludes with policy guidance for police personnel to avoid liability for abandoning citizens in high-crime areas or in other high-risk situations. Notes, references, cases cited