Police Use of Deadly Force: The Miami Experience (From Critical Issues in Policing: Contemporary Readings, P 480-497, 1989, Roger G Dunham and Geoffrey P Alpert, eds. -- See NCJ-114674)

• NCJ Number: 114688
• Author(s): G P Alpert
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A 7-year study of the police use of deadly force in Miami demonstrates the need for training police officers in the use of alternatives to deadly force.

Abstract

Between November 1982 and March 1983 eight people were killed by police and four police officers were indicted for manslaughter. Only one conviction resulted from these indictments. From January 1980 through December 1986 a total of 234 firearm incidents were recorded by members of the Miami Police Department. Seventy percent were fired intentionally. Officers who fired weapons accidentally were younger than those who fired intentionally. Seventy-one percent of the officers did not consciously consider the department's policy immediately before firing. Findings suggested the desirability of conducting a violence-reduction training program, emphasizing the avoidance of errors leading to violence and methods of defusing a confrontation. Table, footnote, case citation, and references.