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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:12 pm
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Results for officer-involved shootings
5 results foundAuthor: Sekhon, Nirej Title: Blue on Black: An Empirical Assessment of Police Shootings Summary: Michael Brown's 2014 death in Ferguson, Missouri thrust police-officer-involved homicides into the popular consciousness. A series of subsequent officer-involved homicides has kept the issue politically and legally salient. Despite this, official data sources are thin and unreliable. This article presents original analysis of 259 police shooting incidents that occurred in Chicago between 2006 and 2014. The study, based upon publicly available information, suggests a more complex relationship between race, policing, and violence than one might expect from high-profile, officer-involved shootings. As in other large cities, shooting victims are overwhelmingly minorities, with Black persons constituting over 80% of victims. Contrary to intuition, many of the officer shooters are minorities as well. The analysis here suggests that neither racist malevolence nor unconscious bias afford complete explanations for why officer-involved shootings occur. Both of these explanatory frameworks focus too intensively upon individual officers' decision-making at the expense of institutional and situational dynamics. Scholars and policy makers should focus far more intensively on regulating bad practices, rather than just on disciplining bad officers following egregious incidents. Shifting focus in this way will help identify connections between everyday policing tactics in minority neighborhoods - such as plainclothes policing and aggressive stop and frisk - and officer-involved shootings. The article also concludes that evidentiary challenges mar post hoc review of officer-involved shootings, whether it is in the form of judicial or civilian review. This also underscores the importance of preventive regulation. Details: Atlanta: Georgia State University College of Law, 2016. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper : Accessed February 10, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2700724 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2700724 Shelf Number: 137827 Keywords: Deadly ForceOfficer-Involved ShootingsPolice DiscretionPolice Use of Force |
Author: Fryer, Roland G., Jr. Title: An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force Summary: This paper explores racial differences in police use of force. On non-lethal uses of force, blacks and Hispanics are more than fifty percent more likely to experience some form of force in interactions with police. Adding controls that account for important context and civilian behavior reduces, but cannot fully explain, these disparities. On the most extreme use of force - officer-involved shootings - we find no racial differences in either the raw data or when contextual factors are taken into account. We argue that the patterns in the data are consistent with a model in which police officers are utility maximizers, a fraction of which have a preference for discrimination, who incur relatively high expected costs of officer-involved shootings. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series, no. 22399: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22399.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22399.pdf Shelf Number: 139612 Keywords: Non-Lethal WeaponsOfficer-Involved ShootingsPolice Deadly ForcePolice Use of ForceRacial DisparitiesStun Guns |
Author: Morrison, Gregory B. Title: Police Firearms Training Survey: Final Report Summary: The Police Firearms Training Survey was administered to departments around the US during the late summer and fall of 2008. The purpose was to collect data on handgun/deadly force training policies and practices. There have been previous surveys on firearm training, most recently two in Washington State during the late 1990s, and in the early 2000s one focused on larger municipal, urban county and state departments. The present survey, however, sought a national snapshot of programs. As expected, the largest group of participants was comprised of local (i.e. city and county) departments. This report therefore focuses on the policies and practices of several hundred (n=312) local departments regarding instructor staffing and development; training that includes tactics and judgment; requalifying; and the assessment of officer-involved shootings (OIS). As found through past surveys, the over-arching characteristic of in-service handgun/deadly force training was the wide latitude exercised by departments. This variability is unlikely to surprise experienced practitioners or researchers who study police training. The nature and extent of this latitude, however, raise concerns about how prepared many police officers are for encounters that reasonably could involve the use or threatened use of deadly force. Some findings are encouraging, but others appear likely to have serious implications for officer and public safety; influence the public's perception of police progress on accountability; and impact on costs as measured in lives, serious injuries, disabilities and civil litigation. Staffing and instructor development: Some departments rely solely on fulltime instructors whose principal responsibility is firearms and related training. Most departments, however, depend on instructors for whom this responsibility is a collateral duty (i.e. a secondary extra responsibility) and, thus, is a relatively infrequent undertaking. The source of certification for handgun/deadly force instructors varies, though state-run or -approved courses are the norm. Continuing education and training for these instructors is far from universal, however, and varies in both its frequency and duration. Little is known about its content or the quality of its delivery. Training and requalifying: Over the past two decades, a clearer distinction has grown between "training" to maintain existing skills and introducing new ones, and rote "requalifying" on basic marksmanship skills. Departments nevertheless vary widely in their allotment of resources to these two major activities. Some departments requalify to the near exclusion of training, while many roughly split their resources evenly between training and requalifying. Others, however, primarily spend their resources on training, such as scenario-based activities that have in recent years become relatively common. As a result, these particular departments minimize their use of resources for rote marksmanship testing so as to concentrate on what are believed to be far more beneficial experiences. Yet scenario-based training takes three forms: computer-based, projected images of unfolding encounters; role-playing between trainers and trainees using either firearms modified to fire marking cartridges, paint-ball "guns" or non-firing props; and live-fire scenarios at conventional firing ranges where targets are used present varying threat levels and placement, and officers must contend with obstacles and make suitable use of cover and/or concealment. Not only do these three formats provide substantially different experiences qualitatively, but departments also vary widely on how many scenarios officers participate in during the typical training year. Assessing performance: Conveying vital officer performance information from field shootings and other high-risk encounters to trainers who design and deliver programming is indispensable. Nevertheless, few departments appear to have implemented such feedback loops, ones not to be confused with administrative investigations to determine adherence to policy and/or consider criminal charges against officers. Furthermore, trainers often are not provided access to the results of administrative investigations that could provide some useful information for continuously improving programs. History suggests that much of this disconnectedness is attributable to the combination of a protectiveness born of civil litigation and the lethargic development of handgun/deadly force training until the 1990s. The PFTS, along with previous research on deadly force training, point to several shortcomings that need attention from practitioners and researchers. For one, there should be training-specific feedback loops at larger municipal and urban county departments. The nature and extent of this feedback needs to revolve around evaluating a full array of connections between (1) training program content, delivery and certifying assessments and (2) officer performances in high-risk field encounters. Because larger departments experience high-risk encounters and officer-involved shootings on a relatively regular basis, sufficient data to support meaningful research and program evaluation projects would be available for internal analysis as well as larger projects examining performance across departments. The longstanding practice of academy qualifying followed by in-service requalifying is overdue for a conceptual overhaul because it remains deeply rooted in narrow tests of marksmanship and gunhandling. This is inadequate given contemporary assortments of training activities that feature tactics and judgment that, one hopes, positively influences the outcomes of high-risk encounters. Finally, a promising avenue for addressing these and other important aspects to contemporary deadly force training will be practitioner-researcher collaborative studies. Even though maximizing officer performance potential would enhance both police and public safety, the role of science in improving training for high-risk encounters is far from being fully exploited. This report provides one contribution to a body of knowledge that needs to be more fully developed during the remainder of the first quarter of the 21st century. We have learned many things about training and the use of deadly force in recent years, but there is much we do not know. We therefore need to work diligently to fill the gaps, some of which this study describes and discusses. The focus of future efforts should be to identify approaches that have a compelling empirical record on maximizing the safe, appropriate and effective use or threatened use of deadly force in high-risk encounters. Model programs beneficial to a wide range of federal, state and local police clearly comprise a worthwhile longterm goal. Details: Muncie, IN: Ball State University, 2011. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2017 at: ibrarian.net/navon/paper/Police_Firearms_Training_Survey___Final_Report.pdf? Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: ibrarian.net/navon/paper/Police_Firearms_Training_Survey___Final_Report.pdf?. Shelf Number: 146911 Keywords: Deadly ForceOfficer-Involved ShootingsPolice Education and TrainingPolice Firearms TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: Stewart, Greg Title: Public Perceptions Regarding the Use of Force by Police in Portland, Oregon Summary: The primary mission of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and other law enforcement agencies is to enhance public safety through crime prevention activities and legal action with known suspects. In order to be successful in these efforts the police must be able to develop and maintain a positive working relationship with members of the public. Lacking this cooperation, crimes go unreported, witnesses fail to testify, citizens refuse to comply with police directives, and people may not participate in crime prevention efforts promoted by police. A key factor in developing and sustaining police-citizen partnerships is legitimacy: People are more willing to cooperate with the police when they believe that agencies and their personnel are trustworthy and fair when dealing with members of the public. Given this, law enforcement agencies need to be extremely sensitive to actions that negatively impact perceived legitimacy. Perhaps more than any other behavior, the use of force by police officers has the potential to decrease public trust. While most citizens recognize the occasional need for force, the overall frequency of force used by police and force that is perceived to be excessive are clearly of concern to the public. The current study sought to assess public perceptions regarding the frequency of force used by Portland police and determine whether these beliefs are consistent with officially recorded data on force used by officers in recent years. Key Findings - According to the Portland Police Bureau, incidents involving use of force by officers against citizens/suspects fell 59% between 2007 and 2011. - Over 60% of Portland residents surveyed believed that use of force by local police increased over the past five years. Less than 1% believed use of force incidents decreased commensurate with police data. - One-quarter of residents grossly overestimated the number of police involved shootings in 2011. - These findings suggest that law enforcement agencies need to be more proactive in communicating use of force data to the public. Efforts to increase public confidence in these data are also warranted. Details: Portland, OR: Portland State University, 2012. 3p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: https://www.pdx.edu/cjpri/sites/www.pdx.edu.cjpri/files/Use_of_Force_Final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.pdx.edu/cjpri/sites/www.pdx.edu.cjpri/files/Use_of_Force_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 149502 Keywords: Officer-Involved ShootingsPolice Legitimacy Police Use of Force Police-Community Relations Public Safety |
Author: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Missouri Advisory Committee Title: The Impact of Community/Police Interactions on Individual Civil Rights in Missouri Summary: A number of recent public incidents involving police use of force have brought concerns regarding racial disparities in policing to the forefront of national conversation. One such incident was the August 2014 killing of Mr. Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri. Mr. Brown's death garnered considerable attention from the public and the media and revealed underlying tensions between the Ferguson community and its police force. Responding to the challenges of contemporary policing illuminated by the public's response to this incident, the Missouri Advisory Committee (Committee) to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) voted unanimously in November 2014 to study civil rights concerns regarding policing throughout the state of Missouri. The Committee, cognizant of the many local and federal agencies investigating these events decided to wait to commence its investigation. The Committee held panel discussions on February 23, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri and on August 20, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. These discussions focused largely on the impact of relationships between law enforcement and communities on individual civil rights, particularly disparities in the use of force on the basis of race or color. Several prominent themes arose from these discussions: 1. Many people of color continue to live in racially segregated communities throughout Missouri, which shapes interactions and contributes to mistrust between police and communities of color. 2. Limited data on use of force by law enforcement makes it difficult to make empirical conclusions about racial disparities in policing. 3. The presence of racial biases, both explicit and implicit, can drive increased community contact with law enforcement and result in more fatal outcomes for people of color. These biases can manifest in a particularly dangerous form for black boys and young black men. Due to expanding responsibilities and limited resources for anti-bias and cultural competency training, many police departments may be ill-equipped to manage the effects of these racial biases. 4. The use of police departments as revenue-generating entities may have harmful, racially disparate effects, particularly in areas with large numbers of small, fragmented municipalities, such as across the St. Louis region. 5. Accountability from law enforcement agencies for the harm inflicted by officers is crucial to strengthening relationships with communities. This accountability may be undermined in several ways, for example: a "Code of Silence" among law enforcement officers; a lack of standardization of departmental policies across agencies; limited responsiveness to citizen complaints of officer misconduct, including a frequent failure to investigate and revoke certification from officers who have engaged in misconduct; and the use of grand juries in prosecuting cases involving law enforcement officers. 6. A focus on community policing and diversity in hiring practices was identified as an avenue for law enforcement agencies to begin repairing their relationships with communities. In response to these concerns, the Committee offers the following recommendations to the Commission: 1. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights should issue a formal request to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to: A. Assess the feasibility of issuing minimum national licensure requirements, including demonstrated cultural competency, for law enforcement officers and departmental leaders serving in all city, county, and statewide capacities. B. Maintain a national database of discipline records so that officers disciplined in one state cannot transfer to another state for work. C. Assess the DOJ's ability to establish a governing body to handle police misconduct cases when state and local systems fail. The state agency responsible for this in Missouri was reported to be too underfunded to be effective. D. Examine the use of grand juries for investigating and indicting police-involved fatalities, then define and report to the public best practices for prosecuting deaths at the hands of police, including both the possibilities of appointing independent prosecutors and pursuing accountability beyond criminal liability. 2. The Commission should issue a formal recommendation to the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) urging them to: A. Require law enforcement agencies to report more comprehensive data on police use of force and officer-involved shootings-including non-lethal use of force, disaggregated by race. Such data is critical to better understanding potential disparities in police conduct, as well as the impact on affected communities. B. Create standardized definitions of all actions that fall on the use of force continuum and disseminate these to local agencies in order to ensure consistent data collection. C. Consider offering financial and/or technical support to ensure smaller, local agencies with limited resources can keep up with data collection. 3. The Commission should issue a formal request to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division to: A. Conduct a comprehensive investigation into the civil rights consequences of local law enforcement agencies owning military-grade equipment, including (1) which agencies are receiving or purchasing this military-grade equipment, (2) which communities it is being used in, and (3) what racially disparate effects may exist in its use. B. Investigate the allegations laid out in this report to the effect that "hot spot" policing practices may threaten civil liberties and thereby contribute to a climate of mistrust. C. Investigate the extent to which law enforcement departments may unconsciously favor "hot spot" policing methods over community policing because “hot spot” policing produces more visible and immediate results. 4. The Commission should issue a formal recommendation to the Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to include the provision that new law enforcement hires made using COPS Hiring Program grant funds must demonstrate proficiency in cultural competency prior to being employed. The importance of cultural competency in implementing community policing initiatives was underscored throughout testimony provided to the Committee. Therefore, if a stated goal of the COPS Hiring Program is to increase community policing capacity in local agencies, the officers involved in community initiatives must be adequately prepared. 5. The Commission should issue a formal recommendation urging the United States Congress to pursue legislation that would decouple law enforcement agencies from municipal revenue generation, similar to Missouri Senate Bill 5, which caps the amount of general operating revenue that can be collected from traffic fees, and other collateral fees that result, such as warrant fines and fees. Details: Washington, DC: The Commission, 2016. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 30, 2018 at: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/MOPoliceRelationsReport_Publish.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/MOPoliceRelationsReport_Publish.pdf Shelf Number: 150745 Keywords: Civil Rights Community Policing Deadly Force Officer-Involved ShootingsPolice Accountability Police Legitimacy Police Misconduct Police Use of Force Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Racial Bias Racial Disparities |