NCJ Number
84369
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Data from two police departments in Dade County, Fla., were examined to determine the validity of charges of racial and ethnic bias in the processing of complaints about excessive force by police officers.
Abstract
The charges were presented in a series of articles published in the Miami Herald in December 1980. The articles described a study of 1,319 complaints of excessive force against the Dade County Public Safety Department and 305 similar cases against the Miami Police Department. The complaints occurred between 1974 and 1980. The articles suggested that racial bias operated in both the conduct of the police in the use of force and the handling of citizen complaints regarding excessive force. Anecdotal material was supplemented by reports of a computer analysis of about 50 specific pieces of information. The present study examined the same cases using cross-tabulations, regression, and predictive attribute analysis. Findings indicated that although the ethnicity of the complainant was related to the rates at which the complaints were sustained, no evidence of discrimination existed. The complainant's race did not appear to be an important predictor of outcome when other variables such as whether or not the police testified for the complainant were used as controls. Thus, the relationship between the complainant's race and the outcome appeared to be spurious. Nevertheless, some of the control variables may be influenced by racial bias. Tables, figures, a list of 12 references, and a discussion of policy issues raised by the analysis are included.