NCJ Number
101947
Date Published
1980
Length
9 pages
Annotation
After reviewing statutory and departmental controls on police use of deadly force, this paper reviews the literature on victim characteristics in homicides by police.
Abstract
In most States, circumstances in which police use of deadly force is justified are delineated in State criminal statutes. Court interpretations of these statutes as well as court dispositions in cases involving homicides by police constitute another mechanism for officially specifying situations in which police may use deadly force. Police department administrative regulations also limit the situations< in which officers may use deadly force. Typically, these regulations are more restrictive than either the relevant laws or court decisions in a State. The number and characteristics of victims of homicides by police are influenced by the content and enforcement of the various mechanisms governing the police use of deadly force. Policies that limit the use of deadly force to the defense of life against armed and dangerous felons will tend to produce fewer homicides by police than policies that permit police to kill any fleeing felon. An overview of studies of victim characteristics in homicides by police (Kobler, Fyfe, Milton, and Binder) indicates that victim rates and characteristics are related to community features, particularly crime characteristics, and the methods used to control the police.