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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for police discretion
58 results foundAuthor: Center for Constitutional Rights Title: Racial Disparity in NYPD Stops-and-Frisks: The Center for Constitutional Rights Preliminary Report on UF-250 Data from 2005 through June 2008. Summary: This report presents the following preliminary findings: 1) The NYPD's use of stop-and-frisk is on the rise; 2) The NYPD continues to disproportionately stop and frisk Black and Latino individuals; 3) Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be frisked after an NYPD-initiatited stop than Whites; 4) Blacks and Latinos are more likely to have physical force used against them during a NYPD-initiatied stop than Whites; 5) Stops-and-frisks result in a minimal weapons yield and/or contraband yield; and 6) The proportion of stops-and-frisks by race does not correspond with rates of arrest of summons. Details: New York: Center for Constitutional Rights, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119179 Keywords: Police DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of ForcePolicing (New York City)Racial ProfilingSearches and Seizures |
Author: Stone, Christopher, Chair Title: Reducing Inherent Danger: Report of the Task Force on Police-on-Police Shootings Summary: Since 1981, some 26 police officers across the United States have been shot and killed by fellow police officers who have mistaken them for dangerous criminals. These fatal shootings are doubly tragic, first because both the shooters and victims in such situations are risking their lives to enforce the law and protect the public, and second because many of these deaths are preventable. The dangers that give rise to these deaths are inherent in policing, but those dangers can be reduced and more deaths prevented. Over the last fifteen years, ten of the fourteen officers killed in these mistaken-identity, police-on-police shootings have been people of color. The two most recent of these fatal, police-on-police shootings took place in New York State, and in both cases the victims were off-duty, African-American police officers: Officer Christopher Ridley, killed in Westchester County (NY) in January 2008; and Officer Omar Edwards, killed in Harlem (NY)in May 2009. These two most recent tragedies reverberated powerfully, not only within the ranks of law enforcement but with the broader public. In press accounts, public debate, and informal conversations among police officers, we heard widespread speculation about the role that race may have played in these shootings, not based on any specific evidence of bias in these two cases, but emanating instead from the widely shared suspicion that race plays a role in many police confrontations, as it does in American society generally. This report examines the issues and implications arising from police-on-police shootings and confrontations, especially between on-duty and off-duty officers, between uniformed and undercover officers, and between officers of different races, nationalities and ethnicities, seeking to prevent such incidents in the future. Our work offers many lessons, from methods to improve training and tactics to defuse police-on-police confrontations before they become fatal and improve the investigation of police-on-police shootings, to procedures that can improve the treatment of the officers and families involved. Equally important, our work offers a chance to better understand the role of race in policing decisions generally and to identify specific actions that police agencies and government at every level can take to reduce the effect of racial bias, even unconscious racial bias, in police decisions to shoot in fast-moving, dangerous situations. Details: Albany, NY: New York State Task Force on Police-on-Police Shootings, 2010. 138p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119525 Keywords: Police Decision-MakingPolice DiscretionPolice TrainingPolice Use of ForcePolice-on-Police Shootings |
Author: Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) Title: Use of Police Powers for Profit: including the cases of Abdur Razzak, Bangladesh & Sugath Fernando, Sri Lanka also Burma, Pakistan, Philippines Summary: This report deals with the way in which police in various countries in Asia abuse the criminal justice process and their powers of arrest and detention to make a profit and harass individuals for petty reasons rather than investigate crime. In most parts of Asia there are no mechanisms for complaints against police. This edition of article 2 documents several cases to illustrate this practice, including examples from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Pakistan. Details: Hong Kong: Asian Legal Resource Centre, 2009. 96p. Source: Internet Resource; Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Vol. 8, no. 1; Accessed August 17, 2010 at: http://www.article2.org/mainfile.php/0801/ Year: 2009 Country: Asia URL: http://www.article2.org/mainfile.php/0801/ Shelf Number: 115179 Keywords: Complaints Against Police (Asia)Police Corruption (Asia)Police Discretion |
Author: Lum, Cynthia Title: Does the "Race of Places" Influence Police Officer Decision Making? Summary: This study examines whether the race and ethnicity of small places influences police decisions at those places. While the importance of this ongoing inquiry in policing seems clear, there is much less consensus in its answer, or even how racial profiling is defined and measured. The research evidence had led to contentious debates on detecting the existence, meaning, and interpretation of racial profiling. These complexities are further challenged today’s policing environment, which is marked by a push for officers to engage in more place-based, proactive strategies that have been criticized for resulting in (or at least not being sensitive to) racially incongruent outcomes. Such complexities and new organizational and social contexts call for more and varied policing research in this area. In particular, more place-based research is warranted. Much of the existing research on race and police decision-making is individual-based, focusing on how the race and ethnicity of individuals influences outcomes such stopping an individual, continuing an investigation or making an arrest. However, how the characteristics of the places within which these incidents occur affects police discretion, has been much less examined. This is surprising given the place-based bias of many contemporary policing tactical innovations, high levels of concern about the legitimacy of police in the community, and most importantly, the profound effect that places can have on the mentality and world view of officers, which in turn shapes their actions while working in those places. This project adds to scant place-based research on race, ethnicity and discretion by examining how the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic characteristics of very small places influence officer decision making at those places. I examined 267,937 incidents that occur in an urban, diverse metropolitan area on the west coast of the U.S. These crimes occurred at all places, were of many different crime and disorder types, and resulted in various outcomes. I also did not limit analysis to a comparison between how White and Black composition affected decisions about these incidents, as has been traditionally done, but included multiple racial, ethnic, language, and foreign-born place-based categories are explored. To examine decision making about each of these incidents across the city, I create a more robust measure of discretion – the decision-making pathway. The decision pathway is a series of decision points related to an event, including whether to stop an individual, dismiss a call, investigate further, write a report, make an arrest, or increase or decrease the severity of a report or arrest charge. Decisions were linked together for each incident, and then characterized and scored according to “upgrades” or “downgrades” in both action and crime classification at each decision point. Each pathway was then geocoded and linked to other place-based characteristics, including racial, ethnic, foreign-born, and language composition of areas. Three place-based cues seem to consistently matter in systematic biases of officer decision making: the proportion of residents that are Black, the level of wealth in that area (the most consistent socioeconomic factor that significantly affected the models), and the amount of violence in a block group. For the first two, police show significant evidence of downgrading calls – handling them less formally (less likely to write reports or make arrests) and reducing the seriousness of crime classifications. But, while both wealthy and less socially disorganized block groupings with high proportions of Black residents both evidence downgrading, there is less downgrading in high-proportion Black communities compared to high-proportion wealthy communities. And, these effects held significant after including a number of socioeconomic and crime-related variables; no other racial group or ethnic subgroup showed the same effect on decision pathways, although there were interesting point-to-point findings for places with larger Asian and Hispanic populations. This study indicates that it is not sufficient only to examine the individual racial characteristics of individuals involved in police action, but that the racial and ethnic environment of places also matters. However, despite these steps forward, this study, like so many others examining whether disparities in police service exist, still cannot tell us why we see this differential response or illuminate individual officer motivation. Proving intent for prejudice is not only difficult short of admission, but such prejudice is intricately part of human behavior, and can be hidden under layers of consciousness, organizational rules, symbolic interactions, and worldviews. Additionally, the origination of the disparities that emerge from this analysis may not unilaterally come from the police; they may arise from an interaction between officers’ supply of law enforcement and the demand of services by the community. But deciphering motivations may be a dead-end approach. Rather, the recommendations in the final report focus on changes police might consider to operational tactics, supervisory strategies, and organizational culture and learning that can counteract such biases. Details: Washington, DC: George Mason University, Administration of Justice Department, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, 2009. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231931.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231931.pdf Shelf Number: 119913 Keywords: Police DiscretionRace and CrimeRace/EthnicityRacial ProfilingSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Tolman, Molly Title: Smarter Policing Practices: Creating a Safer, More Unified Texas. 2007 Racial Profiling Report Summary: Texas’ racial profiling law (S.B. 1074, passed in 2001) requires every Texas law enforcement agency to annually create a report on the race of individuals they stop and search and submit it to their local governing body. Because no central repository was written into the law to collect and analyze the data on a statewide level, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) has served since the inaugural year of data reporting as the sole statewide repository and analyst of required, annual racial profiling reports from Texas law enforcement agencies. In this role, TCJC obtains valuable feedback from law enforcement and community members and has assisted agencies in understanding their data, streamlining their reporting practices, and improving the way they protect the public through the implementation of needed policy changes. We also offer technical assistance to agencies regarding the requirements of the law. To obtain the pool of agencies analyzed in this report, TCJC sent open records requests to 1,074 law enforcement agencies in October, 2006; we requested a copy of each agency’s racial profiling report containing racial profiling data for calendar year 2005, as well as the racial profiling policy in use by each agency during 2005. Of agencies that responded with usable information prior to the data analysis process, 221 agencies issued 3,000 or more citations, accounting for 4.9 million stops. Though in some ways 3,000 is an arbitrary number, we chose these 221 agencies to avoid small samples that were not statistically significant. This report focuses on 2005-year data regarding disparities in consent search rates. Consent searches occur when law enforcement officers have no legal basis for a search (such as reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or a warrant). Because requesting these searches falls fully within an officer’s discretion, analysis of consent search rates comes closest to measuring, from the available data, how officers use their discretion differently depending on places and races. We determined that some law enforcement agencies continue to have problems complying with the data collection and reporting requirements of Texas’ racial profiling law. Law enforcement, the public, and key stakeholders need a more comprehensive picture of what is happening at Texas traffic stops in order to create better community policing models. As the sole statewide repository of Texas racial profiling reports, TCJC is well positioned to offer recommendations about what works – and what doesn’t work – when it comes to the data collection and reporting provisions of Texas’ racial profiling law. As such, throughout the pages of this report we have suggested solutions to the problems facing law enforcement as they undergo data collection and reporting processes, as well as recommendations related to other provisions within the law. Details: Austin, TX: Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, 2007. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2011 at: http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/files/userfiles/publicsafety/Reports_manuals/2007_racial_profiling_report.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/files/userfiles/publicsafety/Reports_manuals/2007_racial_profiling_report.pdf Shelf Number: 121110 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling (Texas)Stop and Search |
Author: O'Reilly, Justine Title: New Zealand Police Pre-Charge Warnings Alternative Resolutions: Evaluation Report Summary: The evaluation of the Alternative Resolutions - Pre-Charge Warning initiative trial contributed to the decision by Police to implement the initiative nationally in September. Three Auckland Districts trialled pre-charge warnings from November 2009 to May 2010. The aim of pre-charge warnings is to develop better alternatives to hold offenders to account for less serious offending without having to use the courts. Under this process, Police can arrest a person, take them to a station for processing and then issue a warning as an alternative to charging and prosecution. Pre-charge warnings can be used for people 17 years of age and over, low level or minor offences and those offences with a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment. Those involved in family violence offences or methamphetamine offences are ineligible for pre-charge warnings. Among other things, the evaluation aimed to assess the extent to which pre-charge warnings achieved the intended outcomes for Police, and look at take up across the Auckland region. The key findings from the evaluation were: •an overall reduction of 9% in charges proceeding to court in the Auckland region •a positive response from operational police •a generally positive response from victims • reduced file preparation resulting in a time-saving for Police. The majority of offences (31,647) were still prosecuted while 3,137 charges were resolved by way of a pre-charge warning. The most common offences resolved by a pre-charge warning were Disorder (26%), Breach of Liquor Ban (21%) and Shoplifting (9%) Some areas for improvement have been identified and will assist the ongoing development of the Alternative Resolutions initiative. Details: Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Police, 2010. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2011 at: https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2010-12-09_alternative_resolutions_report_final__elec_isbn_.pdf Year: 2010 Country: New Zealand URL: https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2010-12-09_alternative_resolutions_report_final__elec_isbn_.pdf Shelf Number: 121368 Keywords: Alternatives to ProsecutionDiversionMisdemeanorsPolice DiscretionPre-Charge Warnings (New Zealand)Prosecution |
Author: Victoria (Australia). Office of Police Integrity Title: Talking Together – Relations between Police and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Victoria: A Review of the Victoria Police Aboriginal Strategic Plan 2003-2008 Summary: The broad formal acknowledgment of the unique place occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in contemporary Australia is a relatively recent phenomenon. But the special attention given to the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia’s criminal justice system has been much more long-standing. Since the 1991 Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Victoria, along with most other Australian jurisdictions, has undertaken a range of strategies aimed at reducing the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people incarcerated in prisons. Because police have significant discretionary powers and play an important role as the point of entry to the criminal justice system, many of these strategies have specifically targeted police practices. But police are only a component of a much broader continuum that influences justice outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Although alcohol abuse and violence were not features of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, they are now predominant themes associated with Koori offending. The underlying factors associated with alcohol abuse and violence in Koori communities are complex. Clearly, the most effective strategies to improve justice outcomes for Koori people are those that achieve a reduction in alcohol abuse and violence. While police may have some role in effective prevention strategies, leadership for developing and implementing strategies for reducing Koori family violence must come from Koori communities themselves and be supported by a whole-of-government approach. Achieving sustained systemic change is a long term goal. It is probable police will continue to have a disproportionally substantial role in the lives of many Kooris for some time. In 2003, one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians, many of whom were children, were reported to be the victim, a relative of a victim or a witness to an act of violence. The great majority of these acts of violence were likely to have resulted in a police call-out. But by the time police respond, there may be little they can do, other than use their powers of arrest to extricate an offender and provide for the safety of others. Similarly, police often have few options when responding to concerns about a Koori who is alcohol-affected, other than to take the person into custody for his or her own safety or the safety of others. Although in many cases police may have limited options, how they go about performing their duties is important. Unlike their non-Koori counterparts, many Koori children will have had contact with police from an early age. How police first interact with Koori children can have a strong and lasting impact on how Koori children and young people relate to police as they mature into adulthood. Similarly, the interaction between police and Koori community Elders can influence the outcome of potentially volatile situations. Understanding cultural issues and building relationships based on mutual respect can be the difference between diffusing a situation or escalating it. It is within this context that in 2003 Victoria Police developed a strategic plan for policing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The focus of this Review was to establish how the 2003 Strategic Plan and other Department of Justice initiatives aimed at improving justice outcomes for Kooris have affected local communities. Details: Melbourne: Office of Police Integrity, 2011. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 19, 2011 at: http://www.opi.vic.gov.au/index.php?i=19 Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.opi.vic.gov.au/index.php?i=19 Shelf Number: 121401 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime and DisorderDiscriminationIndigenous PeoplesPolice DiscretionPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsPolicing (Australia) |
Author: Steward, Dwight Title: Don't Mind If I Take a Look, Do Ya? An Examination of Consent Searches and Contraband Hit Rates at Texas Traffic Stops Summary: With the passage of Texas Senate Bill 1074 (S.B. 1074) in 2001, law enforcement agencies must now annually report detailed statistics concerning the race of individuals who are stopped and searched in their jurisdictions. For this study, reports from 1,060 agencies were collected, with a focus on search and contraband data. Specifically, analyses were conducted of total search figures, consent search figures, and contraband figures to determine if racial disparities existed – if so, such would indicate the targeting of certain racial groups for selective enforcement. Particular attention was given to examining potential racial disparities in consent searches, thereby eliminating from the analysis searches which may be outside of an officer’s discretion. Analyses of search data – combined with contraband hit rate data – would also help gauge the efficiency and legitimacy of current police practices. The entire dataset collected for this study includes several million police-civilian contacts representing the majority of traffic stops in Texas. This report analyzes each contributing agency’s self-reported statistics, as well as the quality of the reports produced, in order to better inform policy leaders, law enforcement agencies, and community members as they address the problem and the perception of racial profiling. This is the largest set of racial profiling data that has ever been collected and analyzed, and it is the first inter-department review of contraband data collected by Texas law enforcement agencies. The goals of this report are three-fold: • Analyze the racial distribution of total searches, consent searches, and contraband hit rates in Texas using self-reported data submitted by police and sheriff’s departments. • Review the quality of the racial profiling data collected and reported by law enforcement agencies. • Recommend solutions to better analyze and monitor racial profiling figures and deter ineffective law enforcement practices. Key Findings include the following: (1) Texas law enforcement agencies continue to search Blacks and Latinos at higher rates than Anglos: approximately 2 out of 3 agencies reported searching Blacks and Latinos at higher rates than Anglos following a traffic stop. 66% of agencies searched Blacks at higher rates than Anglos, while 69% of agencies searched Latinos at higher rates than Anglos. (2) Of the agencies that searched Blacks at higher rates often, 7 out of 10 (71%) searched Blacks at least 50% more frequently than they searched Anglos, representing a significant disparity in treatment between Anglos and Blacks. Of the agencies that searched Latinos at higher rates, 9 out of 10 (90%) searched Latinos at least 50% more frequently than they searched Anglos, representing a significant disparity in treatment between Anglos and Latinos. (3) Consent searches – performed without any legal basis to search – contributed significantly to general search disparities: approximately 3 out of 5 agencies reported consent searching Blacks and Latinos at higher rates than Anglos following a traffic stop. 61% of agencies consent searched Blacks at higher rates than Anglos, while 59% of agencies consent searched Latinos at higher rates than Anglos. (4) Of the agencies that consent searched Blacks at higher rates often, 3 out of 4 (75%) consent searched Blacks at least 50% more frequently than they consent searched Anglos, representing a significant disparity in treatment between Anglos and Blacks. Of the agencies that consent searched Latinos at higher rates, 3 out of 4 (74%) consent searched Latinos at least 50% more frequently than they consent searched Anglos, representing a significant disparity in treatment between Anglos and Latinos. (5) Patterns of over-searching Blacks and Latinos are consistent. Approximately 3 out of 4 agencies that searched Blacks at higher rates than Anglos also searched Latinos at higher rates than Anglos (75%), while 3 out of 5 agencies that consent searched Blacks at higher rates than Anglos also consent searched Latinos at higher rates than Anglos (61%). (6) Of the agencies that searched Blacks at higher rates, 51% were likely to find contraband in the possession of Anglos at higher rates than Blacks – meaning Anglos and Blacks were equally likely to be found with contraband. Of the agencies that searched Latinos at higher rates, 58% were likely to find contraband in the possession of Anglos at higher rates than Latinos – meaning Anglos were slightly more likely than Latinos to be found with contraband. (7) Racial disparities in search rates appear to be growing. Approximately 3 out of 5 agencies reported searching Blacks or Latinos at higher rates in 2003 than 2002 (60%). Note: this figure includes agencies with any increase in rates for Blacks or Latinos from 2002 to 2003. (8) The vast majority of agencies provided no mitigating information or insight to explain disparate search rates between Anglos and minorities, nor did contraband hit rates suggest efficient law enforcement practices were being utilized. (9) Auditing of data is non-existent or unreliable. Over half of agencies did not report using any data auditing procedures or audio-video review to ensure against human errors, technical errors, or data falsification. (10) Imprecision in both data quality and reporting restricts the usefulness of analysis. Ultimately, the lack of a generally accepted uniform reporting standard limited the accuracy of analysis involved for some reports filed by law enforcement agencies. Initial findings show that Blacks and Latinos in Texas communities are more likely to be searched, though Anglos are equally likely or more likely to be found with contraband during searches. High minority search rates are particularly evident in the area of consent searches – where searches cannot be explained by outside factors such as probable cause or outstanding warrants. Without some explanation of mitigating factors by law enforcement agencies, this would indicate that police are not only engaging in race-based policing but are ineffectively and inefficiently utilizing law enforcement resources. Agencies should identify and authenticate legitimate law enforcement practices that may be contributing to racial disparities in their data. Furthermore, in the absence of an explanation for disparate search and contraband rates, law enforcement leadership and policy-makers should take steps to monitor and reduce race-based policing. Details: Austin, TX: Texas Criminal Justice Colition, 2005. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2011 at: http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/files/userfiles/publicsafety/racial_profiling_report_2005.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/files/userfiles/publicsafety/racial_profiling_report_2005.pdf Shelf Number: 121457 Keywords: Consent SearchesContrabandIllegal GoodsPolice DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling (Texas)Search and SeizureTraffic Stops |
Author: Worden, Robert E. Title: Stops by Syracuse Police, 2006-2009 Summary: For the past decade, elected and appointed officials in many states and countless cities have expressed concerns about racially biased policing, or racial profiling. The central concern is that police use citizens’ race as the partial or complete basis for the discretionary application of their authority, particularly in making traffic stops, but also in making other stops and in poststop decisions as well (e.g., to conduct a search or frisk). Although attention to potential racial bias in policing dates historically to at least the 1960s, it was given renewed impetus and new focus by litigation in Maryland and New Jersey in the 1990s, which successfully claimed that state police targeted racial minorities for traffic stops. Contemporary concern has in many places taken the form of the collection and analysis of data on stops by police, as it has in Syracuse, where local legislation mandated data collection in 2001. Earlier this year, we volunteered to analyze the Syracuse Police Department’s data on stops. Here we report our results. First we describe the nature of the stops – the reasons for the stops, as officers recorded them, the spatial and temporal distributions of the stops (that is, where in the city they occur and at what times of the day), the characteristics of the people who are stopped (that is, their race, sex, and age), and for the most recent year, the assignments of the officers who made the stops (to the traffic division, Crime Reduction Teams, or other units). Then we present analysis that is designed to provide clues about whether the stops reflect a racial bias. This is of course the primary goal of any such analysis, but drawing inferences about the source(s) of any racial disparities from data of this kind confronts monumental analytic challenges. Such clues would, ideally, emerge from a comparison of the characteristics of the people stopped by the police with the characteristics of the people who could have been legitimately stopped by the police; any discrepancies between the former and the latter would suggest that police stops were influenced by factors other than the behavior of the citizens involved. Unfortunately, however, complete information on the latter population, which represents a suitable “benchmark,” is practically impossible to come by; this is the benchmarking problem in analyses of racial bias in police stops. Details: Albany, NY: The John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety, Inc., 2010. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 26, 2011 at: http://finninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Stops-by-Syracuse-Police.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://finninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Stops-by-Syracuse-Police.pdf Shelf Number: 121502 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial DiscriminationRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementTraffic Stops |
Author: Kadar, Andras Title: Control(led) Group - Final Report on the Strategies for Effective Police Stop and Search (STEPSS) Project (2008) Summary: ID check is the most frequently used police measure in Hungary: on average, more than 1.5 million checks have been conducted in recent years. However, the practice of ID checks has not been analyzed so far. Therefore, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee sought to assess the typical grounds of ID checks and the efficiency of this police measure in the framework of a project financially supported by the European Commission’s AGIS Program and the Open Society Institute. It was also examined whether there is a discriminatory tendency regarding ID checks, namely if members of the Roma minority are ID checked in unjustified and disproportionate numbers compared to their non-Roma peers. The current report provides a brief description of the project methodology and the sometimes surprising results of the project. Details: Budapest, Hungary: Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2008. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2011 at: http://helsinki.webdialog.hu/dokumentum/MHB_STEPSS_US.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Hungary URL: http://helsinki.webdialog.hu/dokumentum/MHB_STEPSS_US.pdf Shelf Number: 121505 Keywords: GypsiesPolice DiscretionRacial DiscriminationRacial ProfilingTraffic Stops (Hungary) |
Author: Queensland. Crime and Misconduct Commission Title: Evaluating Taser Reforms: A Review of Queensland Police Service Policy and Practice Summary: Tasers were first introduced by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) in 2002, when they were allocated to the service’s Special Emergency Response Team. Following a trial in 2007–08, the QPS expanded their use into the general policing environment. In June 2009, a 39-year-old man in Brandon, north Queensland, died after being tasered by police. In response, the Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services, the Hon. Neil Roberts MP, initiated a joint QPS–Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) review to ensure that QPS policy, procedures, training and monitoring processes reflected best practice. The review made 27 recommendations intended to improve policy, training and monitoring practices. It was agreed that the recommendations would be treated as interim recommendations for 12 months, subject to continuous monitoring by the QPS and the CMC. Significant policy changes represented in these recommendations included: restricting the use of Tasers to situations where there is a risk of serious injury to a person • prohibiting officers, unless in exceptional circumstances, from deploying Tasers for multiple or prolonged cycles, and against people who are handcuffed or are of particularly small body mass • emphasising the possible link identified in the literature between Taser deployments and death, particularly where multiple and/or prolonged discharges are involved or where the person has underlying health problems, is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or has already been exposed to oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray. These policy changes were also reflected in new training initiatives. In April 2010, the then Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, the Hon. Cameron Dick MP, asked the CMC to undertake this independent evaluation. To address our terms of reference, we sought to determine: • whether each of the 27 recommendations from the QPS–CMC review has been implemented • what effects the revised policy and training have had on Taser use • how QPS officers used Tasers in the 10 months after the introduction of the revised policy, particularly in relation to risk factors identified in the literature • whether there are any emerging trends in use, including ‘mission creep’ (the tendency for police to, over time, use Tasers in situations for which they were not intended) • what monitoring and continuous improvement processes are in place in the QPS with respect to Tasers • what recent advances have been made in international best practice, and whether there are any gaps in QPS policy and practices. As the first formal review of QPS Taser use since the introduction of the revised policy and training, the CMC regarded this evaluation as a starting point that would provide baseline data for further monitoring and review. Since the QPS would necessarily be the primary source of data in the first instance, we relied mostly on information from a range of QPS sources, including a formal submission, policies, procedures and training materials, consultations with officers, and QPS Taser usage data. We will consult more widely in future reviews of Taser use in the QPS. Possible limitations of the data used in this evaluation include the potential for inaccuracies and incompleteness in the Taser usage data. The recommendations resulting from the evaluation cover a range of areas including: improving aftercare for people subjected to Taser deployment; decreasing Taser use against Indigenous people and individuals from at-risk groups; and enhancing decision making by QPS review panels ensuring QPS policy, training and procedures fully reflect best practice. Details: Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission, 2011. 186p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2011 at: http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/data/portal/00000005/content/51149001303357290759.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/data/portal/00000005/content/51149001303357290759.pdf Shelf Number: 121576 Keywords: Nonlethal WeaponsPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForceStun GunsTasers (Australia) |
Author: Rix, Andrew Title: Youth Restorative Disposal Process Evaluation Summary: The Youth Restorative Disposal (YRD) was piloted in eight police forces in England and Wales between April 2008 and September 2009. Developed by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Department for Education (the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)) and the Ministry of Justice, it aims to offer operational police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) more discretion. The YRD is intended to be a quick and effective means for dealing with low-level, anti-social and nuisance offending, offering an alternative to arrest and formal criminal justice processing. By doing so, it was also intended to provide a more efficient use of police time than current disposal options, carry public support and provide Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) with an early opportunity to provide support and intervention to young people who may be at risk of becoming further involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour. A YRD can be applied to young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who have not previously received a Reprimand, Final Warning, or Caution. A young person may only receive one YRD. Any future offence reverts to an established criminal justice measure. Serious crimes, such as weapons, sexual and drug offences are excluded. Both the victim and offender need to agree to participate in the YRD, which is facilitated by an authorised police officer or PCSO trained in restorative techniques. Children’s Services and the YOT are informed after the YRD is issued to provide an opportunity to identify early risk factors and get the right agencies to step in and provide appropriate support to the young person. YRDs are recorded locally against the young person’s name to ensure that young people are not issued with a further YRD and to avoid disproportionate criminalisation that would result from being recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC). The process must be resolved within a reasonable time (e.g. on the street or shortly thereafter). The policy backdrop to the YDR is one of growing evidence that early and appropriate intervention can have a significant impact on the likelihood of reoffending. There is also some evidence, both from the UK and elsewhere, that restorative approaches can have a positive impact on offenders, are popular with victims, and help to improve public confidence in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). In some cases they have also been found to reduce the frequency of reoffending. This research report is based on analysis of locally held management information and a small number of interviews with key people and delivery partners in each of the eight participating pilot areas. Across all the pilot areas, a total of 10 interviews were conducted with pilot leads, 56 with police officers, 17 with YOT workers and five with other stakeholders. These interviews were supplemented by case studies in four of the pilot areas and included interviews with victims (12), offenders (seven), parents/guardians (10). Six observation sessions were conducted in two of the case study areas. The report is based upon an exploratory and largely qualitative research into the processes involved in implementing the YRD across eight of the police force areas in which the YRD was piloted. The number of interviews conducted was small and the findings reported may not be representative of all views. Also, it is important to note that the pilot forces had very different starting points and contexts with regard to using restorative justice (RJ). Two had long histories of using RJ in general, across a broad spectrum of crime and non-crime issues, some introduced YRD forcewide, others more locally, and some had implementation issues caused by demographic or organisational factors. Finally, one of the eight police forces dropped out of the pilot (and the evaluation) after the initial interviews, as they felt that their priorities differed from those of the YRD pilot. Therefore, the data presented in this report should be viewed as indicative and this should be taken into account when interpreting findings. Details: London: Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, 2011. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2011 at: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/publications/Resources/Downloads/Youth%20Restorative%20Disposal%20Process%20Evaluation.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/publications/Resources/Downloads/Youth%20Restorative%20Disposal%20Process%20Evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 123001 Keywords: Anti-Social BehaviorsNuisance Behaviors and DisordersPolice DiscretionRestorative Justice |
Author: Victoria (Australia). Office of Police Integrity Title: Review of Victoria Police Use of ‘Stop and Search’ Powers Summary: This report presents the findings of a Review of Victoria Police use of ‘stop and search’ powers associated with the control of weapons. The review found little evidence to suggest that concerns have been realised relating to arbitrary use of powers or the targeting of particular groups. It also found that Victoria Police is not able to meet the legislative reporting requirements due to inadequate data collection and retrieval mechanisms. Details: Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer, 2012. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2012 at: http://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/Review%20of%20Victoria%20Police%20use%20of%20%27stop%20and%20search%27%20powers.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/Review%20of%20Victoria%20Police%20use%20of%20%27stop%20and%20search%27%20powers.pdf Shelf Number: 125235 Keywords: Police DiscretionPolicing (Australia)Racial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and SearchWeapons |
Author: Equality and Human Rights Commission Title: Race Disproportionality in Stops and Searches under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Summary: The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Stop and think report looked at police use of stop and search using the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1994 (PACE). It highlighted that the police carry out a disproportionate number of stops and searches on black and Asian people compared to white people relative to the ethnic profile of the population. New government data shows that people who are black, Asian or of a mixed ethnicity are also disproportionately stopped and searched when the police use the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Section 60 of this Act gives the police the power to stop and search any pedestrians or vehicles for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments within a specified area and during a specified period of time. The Commission asked all 40 police forces in England to disclose the grounds for authorisations using this power from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011. It asked for data on the number of authorisations made, the time, place and rationale for those authorisations, the number of stops and searches and effectiveness in terms of weapons found and arrests. The response to these questions showed that police forces do not have the data easily available. It found discrepancies between the data provided to the Commission and information published annually by the government. This suggests that police forces could improve their processes for recording and reporting the use of this power to Government. The Commission found evidence that people from some ethnicities are stopped significantly more often than other people. The Metropolitan, Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, West Midlands and British Transport Police forces each carried out more than 2,000 Section 60 stops and searches in 2008-11. Of these six forces, Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the British Transport Police had the highest black/white and mixed/white disproportionality ratios. The West Midlands also had the highest Asian/white disproportionality ratio. Cumbria Police found the most weapons (26 during 2008-11) and Warwickshire found the most weapons on average per authorisation (5.25). The Metropolitan Police reported the most arrests for weapons (20 during August–September 2010 alone). Some of the authorisations were directed specifically at criminal activity involving particular minorities. However, the authorisations did not always say if or why a particular ethnic group was to be targeted. This lack of transparency makes it more difficult for the police to justify the disproportionate number of black, Asian and mixed ethnicity people they stop and search. Any activity that creates a disproportionate and unfavourable effect on any ethnic minority (or any other ground protected by the Equality Act 2010) must have a legitimate justification to be lawful. Improving the transparency of their decisions should protect the police from allegations of race discrimination if the reasons for stopping and searching people with a specific ethnic background is legitimate. It will help England’s police forces to meet their pledge to improve in this area. Details: Manchester, UK: Equality ahd Human Rights Commission, 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing paper 5: Accessed July 9, 2012 at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/ehrc_-_briefing_paper_no.5_-_s60_stop_and_search.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/ehrc_-_briefing_paper_no.5_-_s60_stop_and_search.pdf Shelf Number: 125511 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial DiscriminationRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Search (U.K.) |
Author: Center for Constitutional Rights Title: Stop and Frisk: The Human Impact. The Stories Behind the Numbers; The Effects on Our Communities Summary: The New York City Police Department's (NYPD’s) aggressive stop-and-frisk practices are having a profound effect on individuals, groups and communities across the city. This report documents some of the human stories behind the staggering statistics and sheds new light on the breadth of impact this policy is having on individuals and groups, in neighborhoods, and citywide. The Center for Constitutional Rights conducted a series of interviews with people who have been stopped and frisked by NYPD and heard testimonies from a wide range of people who are living under the weight of the unprecedented explosion of this practice. These interviews provide evidence of how deeply this practice impacts individuals and they document widespread civil and human rights abuses, including illegal profiling, improper arrests, inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, humiliation and violence at the hands of police officers. The effects of these abuses can be devastating and often leave behind lasting emotional, psychological, social, and economic harm. The NYPD stop-and-frisk program affects thousands of people every day in New York City and it is widely acknowledged that an overwhelming majority of those people are Black or Latino. This report shows that many are also members of a range of other communities that are experiencing devastating impact from this program, including LGBTQ/GNC people, non-citizens, homeless people, religious minorities, low-income people, residents of certain neighborhoods and youth. Residents of some New York City neighborhoods describe a police presence so pervasive and hostile that they feel like they are living in a state of siege. What these stories describe are widespread and systematic human and civil rights violations against thousands of New Yorkers on a daily basis. The NYPD and city and state governments must act immediately to put policies and legal protections in place to end these abuses. Details: New York: Center for Constituitonal Rights, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 30, 2012 at: http://ccrjustice.org/the-human-impact-report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://ccrjustice.org/the-human-impact-report.pdf Shelf Number: 125813 Keywords: Civil Rights AbusesMinority GroupsPolice DiscretionRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and FriskStop and Search (New York City) |
Author: Mazerolle, Lorraine Title: Legitimacy in Policing: A Systematic Review Summary: Police require voluntary cooperation from the general public to be effective in controlling crime and maintaining order. Research shows that citizens are more likely to comply and cooperate with police and obey the law when they view the police as legitimate. The most common pathway that the police use to increase citizen perceptions of legitimacy is through the use of procedural justice. Procedural justice, as described in the literature, comprises four essential components. These components are citizen participation in the proceedings prior to an authority reaching a decision (or voice), perceived neutrality of the authority in making the decision, whether or not the authority showed dignity and respect toward citizens throughout the interaction, and whether or not the authority conveyed trustworthy motives. Police departments throughout the world are implicitly and explicitly weaving the dialogue of these four principles of procedural justice (treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens “voice” during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives) into their operational policing programs and interventions. OBJECTIVES This review synthesizes published and unpublished empirical evidence on the impact of interventions led by the public police to enhance citizen perceptions of police legitimacy. Our objective is to provide a systematic review of the direct and indirect benefits of policing approaches that foster legitimacy in policing that either report an explicit statement that the intervention sought to increase legitimacy or report that there was an application of at least one of the principles of procedural justice: participation, neutrality, dignity/respect, and trustworthy motives. Details: Oslo: Campbell Collaboration, 2013. 147p. Source: Internet Resource: Campbell Systematic Reviews 2013:1; Accessed January 23, 2013 at: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library.php Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library.php Shelf Number: 127363 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relations |
Author: Persico, Nicola Title: An Economic Analysis of Black-White Disparities in NYPD's Stop and Frisk Program Summary: We analyze data on NYPD's "stop and frisk program" in an effort to identify racial bias on the part of the police officers making the stops. We find that the officers are not biased against African Americans relative to whites, because the latter are being stopped despite being a "less productive stop" for a police officer. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 18803: Accessed February 21, 2013 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18803.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18803.pdf Shelf Number: 127656 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Frisk (New York City) |
Author: Dunn, Christopher Title: NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Activity in 2012 Summary: In May 2012, the New York Civil Liberties Union released a detailed analysis of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk activity during 2011. Based on the NYPD database that the Department now makes public following earlier NYCLU litigation, the 2011 report examined stops, frisks, summonses, arrests, the use of force and gun recoveries, all on a citywide and precinct basis. The 2011 report also delved into the wide racial disparities in the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk regime. Since the release of the NYCLU report last year, the stop-and-frisk controversy in New York City has grown enormously. Shortly after release of the report, public officials and candidates seeking to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg started to regularly raise concerns about the stop-and-frisk program. In the summer of 2012, Mayor Bloomberg went on the offensive, attempting to aggressively defend the program by claiming that it reduces shootings and saves lives. In October 2011, a federal judge presided over a hearing in a case brought by the NYCLU and others challenging the part of the stop-and-frisk regime conducted at private residential buildings enrolled in the “Clean Halls” program in the Bronx. In January 2012, the court ruled that the NYPD was systematically stopping building residents, visitors and passersby unlawfully. Meanwhile, a package of NYPD reform bills in the City Council, collectively referred to as the Community Safety Act, has generated robust public discussion and is moving towards passage. Among other things, the bills would ban profiling by the NYPD and create an inspector general to review Department practices. Finally, just days before the release of this report, a federal judge heard closing arguments in a two-month trial challenging the enormous number of street stops that are at the heart of New York City’s stop-and-frisk regime. A ruling in that case is expected this summer. With all of these developments, a close examination of the stop-and-frisk activity from 2012 becomes particularly important. As with last year’s NYCLU report, this report discloses detailed information about all aspects of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program, including detailed breakdowns by precinct. New to this report is an analysis of marijuana-related aspects of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk regime. Details: New York: New York Civil Liberties Union, 2013. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.nyclu.org/publications/report-nypd-stop-and-frisk-activity-2012-2013 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyclu.org/publications/report-nypd-stop-and-frisk-activity-2012-2013 Shelf Number: 128795 Keywords: MinoritiesPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Search (New York, U.S.) |
Author: Open Society Justice Initiative: StopWatch Title: Viewed with Suspicion: The Human Cost of Stop and Search in England and Wales Summary: Police forces across England and Wales are using stop and search more than ever. Last year alone, the police carried out over two million stops, and a million stop and searches. But at the same time, the proportion of these stops and searches that lead to an arrest has declined significantly. Data also shows that Black people are stopped at seven times the rate of White people. Asians are stopped at twice the rate of Whites. The statistics are alarming. But what do they mean? What does this “disproportionality” mean in terms of people’s lives? How does it affect relations with the police and society as a whole? The Open Society Justice Initiative conducted interviews with nine people whose lives have been directly affected by stop and search. The nine individuals come from London, Leicester, and Manchester. They are a small sample, but their stories echo those repeated day after day in the lives of ordinary people who happen to fit the stereotypes that feed ineffectual policing. For those not on the receiving end of stop and search, it is easy to dismiss the experience as a minor inconvenience, something necessary to make everyone safer. Many are in denial about the real cost of stop and search. Failure to heed the warnings in these stories risks fostering a more damaged, more divided, and more dangerous society. Details: New York: Open Society Justice Initiative; London: StopWatch, 2013. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2013 at: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/viewed-with-suspicion-human-cost-stop-and-search-in-england-and-wales-20130419.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/viewed-with-suspicion-human-cost-stop-and-search-in-england-and-wales-20130419.pdf Shelf Number: 128919 Keywords: DiscriminationPolice DiscretionRacial Profiling in Law Enforcement (U.K.)Stop and Search |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly? Summary: The public expect the police to protect them from harm by using the powers granted to them by Parliament in an effective and fair manner. Arguably, some of the most intrusive and contentious powers are those of stop and search. For decades the inappropriate use of these powers, both real and perceived, has tarnished the relationship between constables and the communities they serve, and in doing so has brought into question the very legitimacy of the police service. Thirty years after the riots in Brixton, concerns about how the police use stop and search powers were again raised following the riots in England in August 2011. Over a million stop and search encounters have been recorded every year since 2006 but only 9% of these led to an arrest in 2011/12. Statistics also showed that members of black and minority ethnic groups were stopped and searched more than white people (compared to the resident population). Whilst there is strong public debate about the disproportionate use of the powers on certain groups, there is surprisingly little attention paid by either the police service or the public to how effective stop and search powers are in reducing or detecting crime. In a society where policing is based upon the principle of consent, the police service needs the support of the public in order to be effective. By using their powers fairly and in a way that is effective in keeping the public safe, the police can build community confidence and encourage people to be more socially responsible in helping to reduce crime and disorder. Her Majesty‘s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is an independent inspectorate. It has a legal responsibility under section 54 of the Police Act 1996 to inspect forces in England and Wales, and to report on their efficiency and effectiveness. The objectives for this inspection were: to determine how effectively and fairly the police service is using the powers of stop and search in the fight against crime; to establish whether operational police officers know how to use stop and search powers tactically as part of evidence-based practice to fight crime; and to identify how the powers can be used in a way that builds the public‘s trust in the police, supporting the legitimacy of the service rather than eroding it. Details: London: HMIC, 2013. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/stop-and-search-powers-20130709.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/stop-and-search-powers-20130709.pdf Shelf Number: 129537 Keywords: DiscriminationPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyStop and Search (U.K.) |
Author: Ofer, Udi Title: Stop-and-Frisk: A First Look. Six Months of Data on Stop-and-Frisk Practices in Newark Summary: This analysis is based on six months of reports, the full second half of 2013, released by the Newark Police Department under the new Transparency Policy, and focuses on the stop-and-frisk data components of the policy. The study compares Newark to its close neighbor to the east, New York City, whose stop-and-frisk practices have been the subject of much criticism and media attention. We made this comparison in order to put into perspective the six months of data reported by the Newark Police Department. While six months of stop-and-frisk data is insufficient to draw definitive conclusions about the Newark Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices, the ACLU-NJ believes that the initial concerns raised by these data are strong enough to warrant corrective actions now. This study has three primary findings on stop-and-frisk activities in Newark from July to December 2013: (1) High volume of stop-and-frisks. Newark police officers use stop-and-frisk with troubling frequency. In Newark today, police officers make 91 stops per 1,000 residents. Last year in New York City, the NYPD made 24 stops per 1,000 residents. In the final six months of 2013, the NYPD made approximately 8 stops per 1,000 residents, compared to Newark's 91 stops per 1,000 residents during the same period. (2) Black Newarkers bear the disproportionate brunt of stop-and-frisks. Although black Newarkers represent 52 percent of the city's population, they make up 75 percent of all stops. The disparities between stops of black Newarkers and white Newarkers are probably even higher than the data currently reveals given that the Newark Police Department did not report data on stops of Latino residents during the six months analyzed in this report, meaning that the number of white individuals stopped in the data is likely inflated. (3) The majority of people stopped are innocent. Twenty-five percent of people stopped by the Newark Police Department are arrested or issued a summons. In other words, three out of four people stopped in Newark, including many who face interrogation and a frisk, have been determined by the police to be innocent of any wrongdoing. While such an innocence rate is lower than in New York City, this high rate of innocence still raises significant concerns about police department overuse of its stop-and-frisk authority. The study concludes with a series of recommendations for greater compliance with the Newark Police Department's Transparency Policy and for ensuring that stop-and-frisk abuses do not take place, including by establishing permanent civilian oversight over the police department through a strong Civilian Complaint Review Board and Inspector General's Office. An Appendix is also included with additional data on stop-and-frisk activities in Newark, including by precinct, age, and sex. Details: Newark, NJ: American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://www.aclu-nj.org/files/8113/9333/6064/2014_02_25_nwksnf.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclu-nj.org/files/8113/9333/6064/2014_02_25_nwksnf.pdf Shelf Number: 132104 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and SearchStop-and-Frisk |
Author: Vila, Bryan Title: Developing A Common Metric For Evaluating Police Performance In Deadly Force Situations Summary: There is a critical lack of scientific evidence about whether deadly force management, accountability and training practices actually have an impact on police officer performance in deadly force encounters, the strength of such impact, or whether alternative approaches to managing deadly force could be more effective. The primary cause of this lack is that current tools for evaluating officer-involved shootings are too coarse or ambiguous to adequately measure such highly variable and complex events. There also are substantial differences in how key issues associated with police deadly encounters are conceptualized, even by subject matter experts, how agencies can or should train for them, and what officers should - or reasonably can - be held accountable for. As a consequence, trainers and policy makers have generally been limited by subjective or rough assessments of deadly force performance or how challenging a deadly force situation was. Our research addressed this problem by using a novel pairing of two well-established research methods, Thurstone scaling and concept mapping. With them, we developed measurement scales that dramatically improve our ability to measure police officer performance in deadly force encounters. We expect that these metrics will make it possible to better evaluate the impact of management and training practices, refine them, and make assessment of accountability more just and reasonable. Details: Final Report to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2014. 178p. Source: Accessed September 29, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/247985.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/247985.pdf Shelf Number: 133476 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice DiscretionPolice EducationPolice MisconductPolice PerformancePolice Use of Force (U.S.) |
Author: Kappelman, Kristin Title: An Analysis of Vehicle Pursuits in the Milwaukee Police Department, 2002 to 2009 Summary: Law enforcement officers are often required to make decisions quickly in precarious situations, and these decisions must reflect an officer's obligation to protect and serve the community-at-large. Police pursuit driving is a prime example of this decision-making dilemma, as it presents the opportunity to apprehend a suspect, while also presenting the possibility of endangering the lives of the officers and general public. Law enforcement personnel must find a reasonable balance that weighs the potential of apprehending a suspect against the potential for personal injury and property damage. Past research has indicated that nationwide, approximately 40% of all pursuits resulted in an accident (Dunham, Alpert, Kenny, & Cromwell, 1998 and Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2009). Roughly 50% of all pursuit collisions occurred in the first 2 minutes of the pursuit and more than 70% of all collisions transpired before the sixth minute of the pursuit (Hill, 2002). Injuries happened in 20% of all pursuits (Dunham, et al., 1998), with third-party individuals not involved in the pursuit constituting 42% of people injured or killed in pursuits (Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2010). On average, 1 person dies every day in the United States as a result of a police pursuit (Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2010). Approximately 1% of all pursuits or 1 out of 100 high-speed pursuits resulted in a fatality (Dunham, et al., 1998 and Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2010), with 1 law enforcement officer dying every 11 weeks in a pursuit and approximately 1% of all line of duty deaths occurring in a vehicle pursuit (Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2010). Approximately 44% of pursuits resulted from a stop for a traffic violation, while 39% resulted from a felony (e.g., armed robbery, vehicular assault, stolen vehicle) (Alpert, 1997). Law enforcement personnel made the decision to terminate a pursuit in 4.7% of pursuits (Schultz, Hudak, & Alpert, 2009), while 75% of pursuits resulted in the capture of a suspect (Dunham et al., 1998). Police pursuit driving is a hazardous, but on occasion, necessary, public safety activity. This report is a review of all police pursuits performed by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 20091. This eight-year review will serve as a baseline to determine the frequency and circumstances surrounding vehicle pursuits. This initial report does not address the impact of specific policies or procedures followed by MPD during the reporting period. This analysis will provide data to conduct future reviews of MPD policy, procedures, and training. Details: Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, 2010. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2014 at: http://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cityFPC/Reports/Report_Vehicle_Pursuits.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cityFPC/Reports/Report_Vehicle_Pursuits.pdf Shelf Number: 133838 Keywords: Police DiscretionPolice Pursuit DrivingPolice Pursuits (Milwaukee, WI)Vehicle Pursuits |
Author: Amnesty International Title: On the Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson Summary: Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed African American man, was fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Brown's death set off a long-overdue conversation on race, policing and justice as well as protests that, as of this publication, are ongoing. The events in Ferguson have also raised a range of human rights concerns, including the right to life, the use of lethal force by law enforcement, the right to freedom from discrimination and the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Amnesty International wrote to Ferguson Police Department on August 12 and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 13, reminding authorities of their international human rights obligations. On August 14, a delegation of Amnesty International observers was deployed to Ferguson. This briefing outlines some of the human rights abuses and other policing failures witnessed by those observers and include key recommendations on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers and the policing of protests. Details: New York: Amnesty International USA, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2014 at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/onthestreetsofamericaamnestyinternational.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/onthestreetsofamericaamnestyinternational.pdf Shelf Number: 133933 Keywords: Human Rights AbusesPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force (U.S.) |
Author: Adamson, Sue Title: Evaluation of the West Yorkshire Police Community Scrutiny Panels (Stop and Search): Final report Summary: - West Yorkshire Police introduced divisionally based Scrutiny Panels for Hate Incidents and Stop and Search early in 2005 with the aim of increasing transparency and accountability of police procedures and thereby promoting public confidence. This evaluation was tasked to specifically consider the Stop and Search element of the scrutiny panels. - West Yorkshire Police produced force guidelines for the Scrutiny Panels providing common minimum standards but divisions were expected to tailor implementation to local circumstances. There is therefore considerable variation in the structure and operating procedures of the panels. However few panels had formally defined their local arrangements. This omission may contribute to lack of clarity in the understanding of panel members about their role and police expectations of their commitment. - The size and composition of the panels varies considerably. Some panels are probably too small either in the listed pool of members or in attendance to be an effective public scrutiny. Although all panels include representatives from partner agencies and community members, the balance varies considerably and some panels are light on the latter. - All panel members include representatives of minority ethnic groups. Half of the survey respondents, excluding police officers, were white, one quarter Pakistani and smaller numbers from other ethnic groups. More men than women are involved with the panels and there have been particular difficulties in reaching women of Asian background. Few panels had succeeded in including young people. It is important that the panels are representative not only of the communities they serve but of those who are most likely to be the subjects of stop and search. - Few of the panels have provided formal training to panel members although some have introduced information packs which panel members can use for reference purposes. Ensuring that panel members can work from a knowledgebase is essential to the effectiveness of the panels. - All except one panel conform to the force guidelines for monthly meetings. Panels vary in the timing and location of meetings. Some always meet in the same place (frequently the police station), some alternate between different geographic locations within their divisions and others make efforts to meet on non-police premises. Some panels meet in the afternoon, some in the evening and others alternate. These variations have been introduced to maximise attendance at meetings. - Most panels comply with the force guidance that police representation should include an inspector although there are some where the rank is lower always or sometimes. On the other hand chief inspectors attend some panels. Senior police officer input is welcomed by panel members in signalling to members and police officers the value of the panel. - Most panels are chaired by police officers although for one there is a regular lay chair and for others a revolving chair. Panel members generally though the quality of the chairmanship was more important than whether or not the chair was a police officer. - Almost all the respondents to the survey thought that the meetings were open and transparent and all that members had the opportunity to have their say. - There was some variation in the way that stop and search forms were presented, notably in whether the panel members selected the forms for scrutiny and whether they were able to examine the forms themselves. It is important for transparency that this takes place. Some panels presented stop and search statistics while others did not. - Panels vary in their recording of their proceedings. All the panels submit a monitoring form to police headquarters after each meeting but in some panels this is not available to panel members. Some panels however produce formal minutes. Some panels formally feedback on unresolved issues raised at previous meetings but in others this is more adhoc. Feedback is essential for accountability. The monitoring form/minutes can provide a useful aide memoire in providing feedback. - Few panel members thought that the panel proceedings had shown irregularities in police conduct of stop and search. Those that were expressed included insufficient grounds for stop and search and the large numbers of cases where those stopped had refused their copy of the form. - Half the respondents to the survey and most of those interviewed identified issues in the recording of stop and search. These included incomplete recording, illegibility and counter signature of faulty forms by supervising officers. - The scrutiny panels have the potential to impact on community knowledge about stop and search, improve the transparency and accountability of the stop and search process, and raise public confidence in the police, particularly among ethnic minority communities. However these impacts are restricted by issues of representativeness of the community, superficiality of scrutiny because of an insufficient knowledgebase or time constraints and feedback to the community. - The scrutiny panels can have an effect on police performance of stop and search although again this is limited because the panel sees only a record. There is however evidence that the panels are improving recording of stop and search and can identify issues of supervision and training. The panels cannot address disproportionality in stop and search but can address the perception of that disproportionality among community members. - A number of good practice suggestions and performance indicators have been identified, Details: University of Hull, Department of Criminology and Sociological Studies, 2007. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/14346/1/Cole_WYP_Stop_and_Search_Scrutiny_Panels_-_Full_Report.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/14346/1/Cole_WYP_Stop_and_Search_Scrutiny_Panels_-_Full_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 134924 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Discretion Police PerformancePolice-Citizen Interactions Stop and Search (U.K.) |
Author: Rieken, Johannes Christian Title: Making situated police practice visible: a study examining professional activity for the maintenance of social control with video data from the field Summary: This PhD studies the professional practice of policing from a situated perspective. It explores with social psychological theories and methods how officers attend to incidents, showing that discretion exists within the ambiguity of a concrete situation that an officer interprets then and there. With Body-Worn Video(BWV), a head-mounted camera introduced into UK policing in 2007, officers record as part of their practice. Within the framework of Subjective Evidence-Based Ethnography (SEBE) (Lahlou, 2011) self-confrontation interviews of officers with their recordings allow insights into situated decision-making processes. I also became a Special Constable to train as an officer and organised a working group of police on the use of video, to gain insight into institutional factors. Hence, video use in policing is both an object of study and enabler of methodological innovation for this work. The empirical material is analysed to explore the interplay of institutions with concrete situations as displayed in officer recorded footage, focusing in particular on affordances (Gibson, 1986), connotations of action (Uexk=ull, 1956), sequential dimension (Knoblauch et al., 2006, Sacks et al., 1974) and social encounters (Goffman, 1961). The PhD develops 3 papers. Paper 1 focuses on discretion: crucial to the policing of an incident is whether it is pursued formally or informally. This categorisation occurs in a process where officers anticipate formal outcomes. They therefore often have discretion to construct an incident as warranting a formal response or not. So officers frame the situation as well as respond to it. Paper 2 expands on the formal/informal distinction to consider the trade-offs they have to make under cross constraints. Being able to simultaneously maintain an appearance of control Manning, 1977), adherence to due process, and attend to situational demands is only possible because officers have discretion in the process of co-constructing an incident in the 'correct' formats. Paper 3 discusses the relevance of seeing and visibility for policing. It also explores the impact of camera-mediated visibility on officer practice, therefore, addressing the implications of increasing visibility on policing and the biases resulting from using BWV as data for research. As the emphasis on appearance grows, officers lose the discretion that comes as part of interpreting a situation, forcing them to be more mechanistic in how they police incidents. Details: London: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2013. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 18, 2015 at: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/775/ Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/775/ Shelf Number: 134966 Keywords: Law Enforcement Technology (U.K.)Police Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Polices and PracticesVideo Recordings |
Author: Fachner, George Title: Collaborative Reform Initiative - An Assessment of Deadly Force in the Philadelphia Police Department Summary: In 2013, in response to an increase in officer-involved shootings, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey requested technical assistance from the COPS Office. Launched in November 2013, the Collaborative Reform Initiative in Philadelphia focuses on the use of deadly force over a seven-year period. The COPS Office's training and technical assistance provider for the assessment, CNA, reviewed hundreds of departmental policies, manuals and training plans; conducted 164 interviews with community members and department civilian and sworn personnel; facilitated focus groups with city and department stakeholders; and directly observed operations, including the use of force review board hearings of 20 officer involved shooting incidents. Through its 48 findings, the assessment identifies serious deficiencies in the department's use of force policies and training, including a failure to maintain a certified field training program; deficient, inconsistent supervision and operational control of officer involved shooting investigations and crime scenes; and oversight and accountability practices in need of improvement, the most notable being the need for the department to fully cooperate with the Police Advisory Commission. To address these issues, the report prescribes 91 recommendations to help the department improve with respect to the use of force and implement industry best practices. The COPS Office will work with the Philadelphia Police Department over the next 18 months to help them implement these recommendations and will provide two progress reports during this time. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2015. 188p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2015 at: http://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0753-pub.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0753-pub.pdf Shelf Number: 135005 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice BehaviorPolice BrutalityPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force (Philadelphia) |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois Title: Stop and Frisk in Chicago Summary: In the past year, the nation's attention has turned to police practices because of high profile killings, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, and Eric Garner in New York. But concerns about policing extend beyond the use of force and into the everyday interactions of police with community members. In black and Latino communities, these everyday interactions are often a "stop and frisk." Under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), officers are allowed to stop you if the officer has reasonable suspicion that you have been, are, or are about to be engaged in criminal activity. Once you are stopped, if an officer has reasonable suspicion that you are dangerous and have a weapon, the officer can frisk you, including ordering you to put your hands on a wall or car, and running his or her hands over your body. This experience is often invasive, humiliating and disturbing. Chicago has failed to train, supervise and monitor law enforcement in minority communities for decades, resulting in a failure to ensure that officers' use of stop and frisk is lawful. This report contains troubling signs that the Chicago Police Department has a current practice of unlawfully using stop and frisk: - Although officers are required to write down the reason for stops, in nearly half of the stops we reviewed, officers either gave an unlawful reason for the stop or failed to provide enough information to justify the stop. - Stop and frisk is disproportionately concentrated in the black community. Black Chicagoans were subjected to 72% of all stops, yet constitute just 32% of the city's population. And, even in majority white police districts, minorities were stopped disproportionately to the number of minority people living in those districts. - Chicago stops a shocking number of people. Last summer, there were more than 250,000 stops that did not lead to an arrest. Comparing stops to population, Chicagoans were stopped more than four times as often as New Yorkers at the height of New York City's stop and frisk practice. In the face of a systemic abuse of this law enforcement practice, Chicago refuses to keep adequate data about its officers' stops. Officers do not identify stops that result in an arrest or ordinance violation, and they do not keep any data on when they frisk someone. This failure to record data makes it impossible for police supervisors, or the public, to identify bad practices and make policy changes to address them. The abuse of stop and frisk is a violation of individual rights, but it also poisons police and community relations. As recognized by the Department of Justice, the "experience of disproportionately being subjected to stops and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment shapes black residents' interactions with the [the police], to the detriment of community trust," and "makes the job of delivering police service... more dangerous and less effective." Details: Chicago: ACLU of Illinois, 2015. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2015 at: http://www.aclu-il.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ACLU_StopandFrisk_6.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclu-il.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ACLU_StopandFrisk_6.pdf Shelf Number: 135064 Keywords: Police DiscretionPolice-Community Interactions Police-Community Relations Racial DisparitiesRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Frisk (Illinois)Stop and Search |
Author: Quinton, Paul Title: Fair cop 2: Organisational justice, behaviour and ethical policing - An interpretative evidence commentary Summary: Fair decision-making and respectful treatment of the public by the police has previously been shown to foster police legitimacy, which, in turn, encourages people to cooperate with the police and not break the law. This paper provides a commentary around new survey research (Bradford et al 2013 and Bradford and Quinton 2014) that shows fairness and respect, internally within police organisations, can have a similar effect on the attitudes and behaviour of the workforce. Fairness at a supervisory and senior leadership level was associated with officers 'going the extra mile' without personal gain, following work rules, valuing the public, feeling empowered, and supporting ethical policing. These effects were largely brought about by fair treatment encouraging officers to identify with the organisation and its values, rather than a police subculture. The positive impact of fairness on attitudes and behaviour was found to exceed that of the traditional 'carrot and stick' approach, which ran the risk of fostering unthinking compliance with the rules even when officers thought it might be the 'wrong thing' to do. By linking the 'internal' organisational justice and 'external' procedural justice models together, it is possible to see how fairness and respect inside the police could, in the longer term, improve the public's perceptions of, and their voluntary cooperation with, the police. It also highlights the risk to policing of perceived unfairness within police organisations, because of its detrimental effect on staff attitudes and behaviours. Details: Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK: College of Policing, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Fair_cop%202_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Fair_cop%202_FINAL_REPORT.pdf Shelf Number: 135135 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice Behavior (U.K.)Police DiscretionPolice EthicsPolice-Citizen InteractionsProcedural Justice |
Author: Walton, Shamik Title: Zero tolerance policing: an evaluation of the NYPD's use of stop and frisk Summary: In New York City, racial disparities persist in enforcement, primarily because of the NYPD's overreliance on stop and frisk. The racial disparities in the period examined (2008-2012) are consistent with the overall trend from 2003. This trend correlates with the implementation of Operation Impact as a NYPD crime reduction strategy. The policing priorities established at Compstat meetings set the tone for enforcement. As such, Compstat is viewed as a major driver of stop and frisk, especially in impact zones. There are also disparities in the allocation of resources between enforcement and community outreach. Community Policing has shown its effectiveness as a bridge between the community and the police. Community Policing could be incorporated into Compstat to offset the collateral damage of disproportionate policing. Details: Boston: Northeastern University, 2014. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 7, 2015 at: http://iris.lib.neu.edu/dlp_theses/11/ Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://iris.lib.neu.edu/dlp_theses/11/ Shelf Number: 135173 Keywords: CompstatPolice DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Frisk (New York City)Zero Tolerance Policing |
Author: O'Neill, Megan Title: The Fife Division (Police Scotland) Stop and Search Pilot Evaluation Summary: In the context of increased attention and scrutiny regarding stop and search in Scotland, the introduction of Police Scotland's stop and search pilot, which aims to improve data recording practices, accountability and community confidence in the use of stop and search, is to be welcomed. Prior to this surprisingly little research or academic attention had been devoted to stop and search in Scotland, save some notable exceptions (see Background, Section 2 below). Police Scotland selected 'P' Division as the pilot site and the pilot was launched in Fife in July 2014, with support being provided by the National Stop and Search Unit. An independent academic evaluation was commissioned at the end of that month, with an expectation that the final report would be delivered in March 2015. Our tender was accepted in August 2014 and we began our work in September 2014, with our researcher arriving in mid-November 2014. We concluded our data collection period in February 2015. The aims of the stop and search pilot in Fife were (see Appendix 1 for a complete list): 1. Improving the data on which stop and search is based. This relates to the use of the stop and search database, crime rates statistics for various relevant offences, and the use of various intelligence analysis software packages. 2. Improving accountability. This includes compliance recording checks, monitoring of crime trends, dip sampling of public satisfaction, learning from complaints against the police, and independent reporting to scrutiny boards. 3. Improving confidence in the use of stop and search. Included here are issuing letters to parents of children stopped and searched; providing advice slips to persons stopped and searched; quality assurance by lay advisory groups; use of local community engagement groups; working with schools, colleges and universities; enhanced training of staff and media and social media exposure. The two main aims of our evaluation of the stop and search pilot in Fife Division were: 1. To assess the process of introducing and implementing the new methods for stop and search in Fife. 2. To assess 2. To assess the extent to which the desired outcomes for the stop and search pilot have been achieved. Details: Edinburgh: University of Dundee and Edinburgh Napier University, 2015. 141p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Stop_and_Search_Pilot_Evaluation_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Stop_and_Search_Pilot_Evaluation_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 136022 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Search |
Author: Murray, Kath Title: Stop and Search in Scotland: A Post Reform Overview - Scrutiny and Accountability Summary: This report examines police stop and search practice in the first two years of Police Scotland, following the amalgamation of the eight Scottish forces under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 in April 2013. The report follows on from an earlier evaluation of stop and search published by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research which examined police practice between 2005 and 2010 (Murray, 2014). This found that by 2010, search rates in Scotland were around four times higher than in England and Wales; that seventy per cent of recorded searches were undertaken without reasonable suspicion; and that searches were disproportionately targeted towards young people in some parts of Scotland. Since its publication, the use of stop and search in Scotland has been subject to an unprecedented degree of media and political attention. Yet despite this spotlight, relatively little is known about police practice in the post-reform period. A Scrutiny Review report by the Scottish Police Authority published in May 2014 provided a snapshot of police practice in the first nine months of Police Scotland. Further cross-sectional data were provided in a review by HM Inspectorate of Policing in Scotland (HMICS, 2015b), and some statistics have been published in the media. Nonetheless, the story seems confused. On the one hand, Police Scotland Executives have pointed to a fall in searches in the post-reform period (e.g. Herald 9/4/15). On the other hand, officers have expressed concerns in relation to a disproportionate focus on stop and search, and pressure to increase the numbers of searches (HMICS, 2015a; 32, 2015b; 54). One of the objectives in this report is to untangle these different interpretations. The report examines police practice from three perspectives: national; local and comparative. At the national level, the trends seem encouraging. In the first two years of Police Scotland, the overall number of recorded searches fell by 38%. The number and proportion of non-statutory searches has fallen, and the overall trend in relation to young people is positive. In 2014/15, the number of recorded searches on sixteen year olds fell by 39% from the previous year. At the local level, the picture is mixed. The overall fall in searches was underpinned by the five ex-Strathclyde Divisions. These Divisions accounted for 83% and 81% of all recorded searches in 2013/14 and 2014/15 respectively. This means that the national picture was not necessarily representative of police practice in the remaining nine Divisions. For example, the use of non-statutory search and the proportion of searches carried out on young people varied considerably across Scotland. Taking a comparative perspective, search rates remain stubbornly high, over and above what might be expected in a small country with relatively low rates of recorded crime. Looking across the 43 forces in England/Wales and the 14 Scottish Divisions, Scottish Divisions accounted for seven of the ten highest ranking Divisions and forces, with the ex-Strathclyde Divisions taking the top five places. Search rates were also comparatively high in other parts of Scotland. For example, in 2014/15, the per capita search rate in Tayside was higher than London. The analysis shows how police practice can be viewed in different ways, each equally valid. This means that precedence should not be given to one outlook over another. Whilst the national picture appears positive, this does not necessarily reflect local policing in Scotland. Nor does the national trend reflect the fact that search rates in Scotland remained unduly high in the first two years of Police Scotland. The report suggests that stop and search rates in Scotland may be attributed to a combination of strict performance management, weak regulation, and to a lack of scrutiny and accountability prior to reform. By the same token, the recent fall in recorded searches can be linked to increasing levels of political and media scrutiny in the post-reform period. On the one hand, this engagement is both welcome and overdue. Prior to the formation of the single service the use of stop and search was not openly accounted for and remained beyond public scrutiny. On the other hand, the degree of critical attention directed towards Police Scotland has destabilized the single service at a time of huge structural change. The report concludes that one of the key challenges therefore is to make the use of stop and search formally accountable. That is, to establish robust governance processes that provide transparency, and ensure that the use of stop and search, and other key powers, are subject to rigorous scrutiny and monitoring. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Stop-and-search-in-Scotland.-A-post-reform-overview-22ndJune2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Stop-and-search-in-Scotland.-A-post-reform-overview-22ndJune2015.pdf Shelf Number: 136408 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionPolice PerformancePolice PracticeStop and Search |
Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Re-Engineering Training On Police Use of Force Summary: Over the past year, the policing profession has been shaken by controversies over the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Antonio Zambrano-Montes, and many others. I don't know anyone who would dispute that the reputation of American policing has suffered from these incidents. At times, it has seemed like every time you turn on the TV, you see another story about the police that hits you like a punch to the stomach. PERF's Board of Directors was quick to realize that the rioting last summer in Ferguson was not a story that would fade away quickly, and we decided to hold a national conference in Chicago about the implications of Ferguson for policing. That meeting, held on September 16-17, just five weeks after the Ferguson incident, was written up in "Defining Moments for Police Chiefs," our last Critical Issues in Policing report. One of the key issues we discussed that day in Chicago was the need to rethink the training that police officers receive on de-escalation strategies and tactics. As we look back at the most controversial police shooting incidents, we sometimes find that while the shooting may be legally justified, there were missed opportunities to ratchet down the encounter, to slow things down, to call in additional resources, in the minutes before the shooting occurred. It became clear that this issue of de-escalation was one of many ways in which the training of police officers can be improved. Our goal is to give police officers better tools for avoiding unnecessary uses of force, particularly deadly force. So we began planning for another national research project and conference, titled "Re-Engineering Use of Force." This report is the result of this project. You will see that this report, like others in the Critical Issues series, consists largely of the discussions by participants at our May 7, 2015 conference. Nearly 300 police chiefs and other law enforcement executives, federal government officials, academics, and representatives from policing agencies in the UK came together in Washington to share their views on what should be included in new approaches to training on use of force. We also fielded a survey of police agencies on their use-of-force training, reviewed research, and sent PERF staff to Scotland to observe their training firsthand. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2015. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Critical Issues in Policing Series: Accessed August 20, 2015 at: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining.pdf Shelf Number: 136502 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice DiscretionPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: An Integrated Approach to De-Escalation and minimizing Use of Force Summary: Persons with mental illnesses, drug or alcohol addictions, or disorders such as autism can present police officers with difficult challenges. In some cases, a person may brandish a weapon or otherwise appear to pose a threat to the public, to the police, or to himself or herself. The threat may be a real one, or the situation may be less dangerous that it appears, and often it is difficult to assess the level of danger. These situations often are complicated when, because of their conditions, persons cannot communicate effectively with police officers. In some cases, they may appear to be threatening or uncooperative, when in fact they are unable to understand an officer's questions or orders. Many police agencies have recognized the special challenges they face in dealing with these populations of persons with various conditions, and have undertaken specialized training programs designed to teach officers to understand these situations when they happen, and to make special efforts to de-escalate the situations when that is possible. As one recent news report expressed it, "With that mind-set, the officer can use alternative tactics: words instead of guns, questions instead of orders, patience instead of immediate action. The method may not only defuse a tense situation, authorities say, but [also may] result in treatment at a screening center for the suspect rather than weeks in jail." When police fail to understand that they are dealing with a person with a special condition, the result is sometimes a use of force that may be legally and morally justifiable, especially if the person appeared to be threatening the safety of others, but which produces a very unfortunate outcome-a situation that some observers call "lawful, but awful." For police departments, the challenge is to adopt policies and training programs that are designed to improve the handling of these difficult encounters and reduce the chances of force being used unnecessarily. This report summarizes the findings of PERF research on this topic and presentations made at a PERF Summit in Washington, D.C. in February 2012 on "An Integrated Approach to De-Escalation and Minimizing Use of Force." At this one-day meeting, police chiefs and other experts described their experiences on issues such as the following: - How "slowing the situation down" and getting a supervisor to the scene can reduce the chances of violence; - How Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) and other partnerships with mental health officials can result in more effective handling of encounters with members of special populations; - Identifying "chronic consumers" of police resources and helping them to avoid crisis situations; - Special considerations in dealing with veterans in crisis; - Avoiding overreliance on weapons, such as Electronic Control Weapons, as opposed to hands-on tactics and verbal skills; - Recognizing the real threats to officers that can be posed by persons with mental illnesses or other conditions, and the anxiety that officers feel about such situations; - Training officers in "tactical disengagement"; - The importance of training for officers in these encounters, and practicing strategies to de-escalate volatile situations; - Use-of-force continuums and other tools for discussing use-of-force options; - The defunding of mental health care, and the "cycling" of mentally ill persons through lockups, jails, and prisons; and - The negative impact on a police agency's "legitimacy" that can occur from a "lawful, but awful" event. As in other reports in the Critical Issues Series, we present the discussions from our meeting in the police chiefs' and other experts' own words, in order to convey their insight and experience. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Critical Issues in Policing Series: Accessed August 31, 2015 at: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Critical_Issues_Series/an%20integrated%20approach%20to%20de-escalation%20and%20minimizing%20use%20of%20force%202012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Critical_Issues_Series/an%20integrated%20approach%20to%20de-escalation%20and%20minimizing%20use%20of%20force%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 136622 Keywords: Crisis InterventionMentally Ill PersonsPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen Interactions |
Author: Thompson II, Richard M. Title: Police Use of Force: Rules, Remedies, and Reforms Summary: Several high-profile police shootings and other law enforcement-related deaths in the United States have sparked intense protests throughout the country and a fierce debate in Congress concerning the appropriate level of force police officers should wield in a society that equally values public safety and the lives of each of its citizens under law. These incidents have been the subject of several congressional hearings, have prompted the introduction of various legislative measures, and have catalyzed a new civil rights movement in the United States aimed at reforming the criminal justice system. Reformers claim that police work too closely with local prosecutors resulting in insufficient oversight and have called for greater involvement by the federal government. The law enforcement community and its supporters have countered that these recent deaths are anomalous in otherwise exemplary police conduct, and that placing the federal government in direct regulation of state and local police would present an unwarranted intrusion into state and local affairs. To provide legal context for this debate, this report will address three overarching questions: (1) what are the constitutional rules governing an officer's use of force; (2) what role has Congress played in providing a remedy for a violation of these rules; and (3) what are the potential reforms to these rules and remedies? Rules. In a line of cases beginning in the mid-1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that all claims of excessive force occurring during an arrest or investigatory stop-deadly or otherwise-are governed by the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures. Under prevailing judicial precedent, all uses of force must be "objectively reasonable" based on the totality of the circumstances viewed through the lens of the officer in the field. This requires a fact-intensive inquiry that is not easily reduced to categorical rules, but some general trends can be discerned from the case law. For instance, the courts have been deferential to officers in the field who are required to make split-second decisions in dangerous situations. Also, officers need not use the least intrusive means to effectuate a seizure so long as their actions are reasonable. Remedies. In an effort to provide teeth to federal constitutional restraints, Congress has enacted three federal statutes that accord various remedies for police use of excessive force. First is the federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. 242, which prohibits officers from willfully depriving another of a constitutional right while acting under color of law. Enacted shortly after the Civil War, many have argued that Section 242's specific intent mens rea requirement is too high a threshold to provide an adequate deterrence to excessive force. Moreover, the federal circuit courts are split on how to apply this test, with some requiring a strict form of intent and others permitting a reckless disregard jury instruction. Second is the federal civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. 1983, which provides a civil cause of action for deprivations of one's constitutional rights. While generally viewed as successful in providing monetary damages to those injured by officers in the field, the doctrine of qualified immunity has frequently shielded officers from liability when the law was not "clearly established" at the time. Third is the more recently enacted "pattern or practice" statute, 42 U.S.C. 14141, which authorizes the Attorney General to sue local municipalities whose police forces have engaged in a pattern of excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. Reforms. Various reform bills have been introduced in the 114th Congress to provide additional restraints on police use of force, including the Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 2052), which would criminalize the use of chokeholds, and the Police Accountability Act of 2015 (H.R. 1102), which would create a new federal crime for certain homicides committed by law enforcement officers. Additionally, several bills would place requirements on states to report use of force statistics to the federal government. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: R44256: Accessed November 6, 2015 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44256.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44256.pdf Shelf Number: 137208 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Hyland, Shelley Title: Police Use of Nonfatal Force, 2002-11 Summary: This report presents data on the threat or use of nonfatal force by police against white, black, and Hispanic residents during police contact. This report describes the characteristics of the contact, the type of force threatened or used, and the perceptions that force was excessive or the police behaved properly during the contact. It also examines trends in the threat or use of force and the relationship between officer and driver race and Hispanic origin in traffic stops involving the threat or use of force. Data are from the 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2011 Police-Public Contact Surveys, which were administered as supplements to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Highlights: Across the four PPCS data collections from 2002-11, blacks (3.5%) were more likely to experience nonfatal force during their most recent contact with police than whites (1.4%) and Hispanics (2.1%). A greater percentage of persons who experienced the use of force (44.1%) had two or more contacts with police than those who did not experience force (27.5%). Blacks (13.7%) were at least slightly more likely to experience nonfatal force than whites (6.9%) and Hispanics (5.9%) during street stops. Of those who experienced force during their most recent contact, approximately three-quarters described the verbal (71.4%) or physical (75.0%) force as excessive. Of those who experienced force during their most recent contact, 86.7% did not believe the police behaved properly. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2015 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/punf0211.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/punf0211.pdf Shelf Number: 137296 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen Contact |
Author: Scotland. Advisory Group on Stop and Search Title: The report of the Advisory Group on Stop and Search Summary: 27. Stop and search is an area of policing that requires constant scrutiny and oversight. It involves the use of police enforcement powers or practices that can affect general public attitudes to policing. If used proportionately and in a targeted manner, with positive outcomes by way of prohibited items being found, it can assist with public confidence. If not, it can undermine attitudes to the police, especially in deprived areas where the tactic has been used a great deal on children and young men. "Policing by consent" relies on the support and confidence of the public throughout the country, and is no less important in such areas where so much crime happens. 28. Stop and search is important but represents only a small part of policing. It has received considerable attention, in particular because of the excessive use of non-statutory stop and search. Non-statutory stop and search lacks any legal framework and is of questionable lawfulness and legitimacy, with poor accountability. 29. There are a number of complicated issues regarding consent in the context of policing, and specifically in the context of police search. In non-statutory stop and search, concerns have been expressed about how genuine and informed any "consent" has been, in view of the age and vulnerabilities of some of the individuals being asked to consent, especially given the perceived imbalance in power between the police and public. 30. Our key recommendations are that there should be a statutory Code of Practice, that the Code should be consulted on before implementation, that there should be early consultation on whether the police should have a power to search children under 18 for alcohol, that there should be a detailed implementation and training plan and that stop and search should end at the point that the Code of Practice comes into effect. We also make recommendations about data gathering, a legislative change to ensure the rights of the child are fully considered and we recommend that discussions take place between the relevant organisations on the most appropriate ways to deal with vulnerable children and adults. 31. We recommend that a statutory Code of Practice should be issued dealing with all aspects of stop and search by Police Scotland. The Code should be issued by the Scottish Ministers, subject to Parliamentary oversight prior to commencement. Thereafter the Code should be kept under review at regular intervals, again subject to Parliamentary oversight on revision. 32. We recommend that use of non-statutory stop and search should end when the Code of Practice is introduced. The group are not unanimous on this point. A minority of members preferred a precautionary approach that would wait, allow recent changes by Police Scotland to bed in, gather more evidence and ensure that there would be no unintended consequences to ending consensual search. I have attempted to in part address these concerns by recommending a period of transition and consultation. 33. A substantial focus of our work was on trying to identify any gaps in police powers, should consensual stop and search end. The majority in the group are satisfied that no significant gaps would exist. We found that officers have often relied on consensual search where other statutory and more appropriate ways to intervene existed. We recommend that before consensual stop and search ends there should be a detailed implementation plan that includes training for officers to make them better aware of the statutory powers that they have. 34. The main gap highlighted to us by the Police was the ability to search children under 18 for alcohol. We have not been able to form a concluded view on whether a gap in powers exists that could not be dealt with by existing powers, and also on whether a power to search children for alcohol would be desirable. We therefore recommend that there should be a public consultation that involves children and young people. The sheer scale of the activity around alcohol underlines Police Scotland"s view that this continues to be an area of concern and the inability to use search powers to remove alcohol from young people is a potential problem. We therefore recommend that this should be considered separately, subject to wider consultation, specifically involving children and young people. 35. If non-statutory stop and search is ended, officers of Police Scotland will still be able to carry out their duties effectively. Abolition will not result in any significant gaps. Specifically, officers will still be able to respond to any welfare or protection issues they encounter. Action will still be possible even when required on an emergency basis, whether carried out by police officers, social workers, medical staff or others. Details: Edinburgh: Advisory Group on Stop and Search, 2015. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484527.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484527.pdf Shelf Number: 137328 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice DiscretionSearch and SeizureStop and Search |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Title: Selective Policing: Racially Disparate Enforcement of Low-Level Offenses in New Jersey Summary: Police departments across the country increasingly have come to rely on the aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses to maintain social order and deter more serious crimes. Such a strategy involves the exercise of unfettered discretion by individual police officers. They decide whether and when to make arrests for minor misbehaviors that pose little or no harm to the community. This can lead to the uneven enforcement of low-level offenses, which falls disproportionately on Black and Latino communities. understand the impact such arrests have on communities of color, and implement the appropriate changes. The origins of this report stem from a 2013 American Civil Liberties Union national study of racial disparities in the context of marijuana possession arrests. That report found that Blacks in New Jersey were nearly three times more likely to be arrested than Whites. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey decided to further examine those findings by taking a closer look at the arrests for numerous low-level offenses, specifically disorderly conduct; defiant trespass; loitering; and marijuana possession. We examined the most recent data available from police departments in four cities. The cities were chosen to reflect New Jersey's diversity in population density, demographics, and geographic location. The four cities are Jersey City, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, and Millville. The results of the study demonstrate a pattern of racially disparate enforcement practices in all four cities. In each case, the study identified extreme racial disparities in the number of arrests of Black and White people for low-level offenses. We were unable to gauge the full extent of the disparities because of serious flaws in the data collection practices of each police department. Key findings from the report: - Racial disparities between Black and White arrests exist in every city studied. For the most recent years available, the data show Blacks in Jersey City are 9.6 times more likely to be arrested than Whites for the low-level offenses studied. In Millville, it's 6.3 times more likely; in Elizabeth, it's 3.4 times more likely; and in New Brunswick, 2.6 times more likely. - Racial disparities between Hispanic/Latino and White arrests are present where data are available. Arrest data for Hispanics/Latinos are not kept in a consistent manner from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Where data were available, however, the study found disparities. For example, for the most recent years available, in Jersey City, Hispanics/Latinos were 2.9 times more likely to be arrested than Whites for the offenses studied. In Millville, Hispanics/Latinos were 6.3 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. - Some law enforcement agencies do not track Hispanic/Latino data. For example, the Elizabeth Police Department does not track Hispanic/Latino arrests, despite serving a population that is 60% Hispanic/Latino. - Police departments are not keeping records in accessible, reliable formats. Some departments were simply missing arrest data for several years. Haphazard record keeping was evident in all four police departments. Jersey City, for example, conducted a hand count of its arrest records for 2011 and discovered significantly more marijuana possession arrests than were found by a computer search. The lack of accurate, reliable records makes evaluating the departments' practices difficult (sometimes impossible), hindering transparency and accountability. - Individuals charged with low-level offenses are generally not involved in serious crimes. For example, 95% of the low-level arrests in Jersey City did not involve any other offense classified as "serious" by the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Because the study focused on low-level offenses, arrests that included charges for more serious offenses were excluded from the analyses. The study data revealed a clear pattern of Black and Hispanic/Latino communities disproportionately bearing the brunt of policing practices that focus on a strict enforcement of low-level offenses. The human cost of these arrests and convictions can include having to pay court costs and fines; criminal records that follow individuals for the rest of their lives; and the loss of income, housing, child custody, or immigration status. In extreme cases, a confrontation with police over a low-level offense can escalate into an episode of violence. Almost as troubling as the revelations about the disparity in the number of arrests, is the routine lack of diligence in record keeping and the haphazard collection of enforcement data. Without full, careful, and transparent reporting of the arrests made by a city's police department, the public cannot be adequately informed about the work of the department; the community cannot hold officials accountable for the actions being taken; and the police departments cannot determine the effectiveness of its policing strategies. Despite incomplete data from the police departments due to breakdowns in their reporting practices, a clear picture emerged. The effort to fight crime with an aggressive strategy of arresting people for low-level offenses served mainly to create unacceptable disparities in the number of Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos arrested. The racial disparities uncovered by this study are deeply troubling and call for immediate action to identify their causes. Only then can law enforcement agencies begin to understand the impact such arrests have on communities of color, and implement the appropriate changes. Details: Newark, NJ: ACLU of New Jersey, 2015. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2016 at: https://www.aclu-nj.org/files/7214/5070/6701/2015_12_21_aclunj_select_enf.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.aclu-nj.org/files/7214/5070/6701/2015_12_21_aclunj_select_enf.pdf Shelf Number: 137658 Keywords: Minority GroupsPolice DiscretionRacial DisparitiesRacial Profiling in Law Enforcement |
Author: New York (City). Department of Investigation Title: Police Use of Force in New York City: Findings and Recommendations on NYPD's Policies and Practices Summary: Use of force is a defining issue in modern policing. Police officers, by the very nature of their duties, are entrusted, empowered, and at times obligated by local governments to use force against citizens when appropriate. In exchange for this grant of power, communities and their police departments require that the use of force be governed by a set of standards. These standards stem from the premise that the force used must be reasonable, an idea rooted in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Reasonable use of force and constitutional policing require equal treatment of all individuals, proper application of force, and accountability for the conduct of police officers. Following the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island in 2014 and others across the nation, there has been a public call for greater accountability when police officers use force that appears neither reasonable nor proportional. Police departments and police accountability agencies across the country have taken up the issue of use of force in an effort to improve policing and ensure that all officers are worthy of the tremendous power and trust afforded them by their communities. In January 2015, the New York City Department of Investigation's Office of the Inspector General for the New York City Police Department (OIG-NYPD) released its first report, Observations on Accountability and Transparency in Ten NYPD Chokehold Cases (Chokehold Report). In that report, OIG-NYPD found that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) disciplinary system was complex, multi-tiered, and often delivered inconsistent results in cases involving chokeholds. OIG-NYPD promised to further investigate NYPD's use of force by reviewing a larger sample of force investigations. This Report, which is a larger and more sophisticated inquiry into use of force, fulfills that promise. Many of the issues addressed in the Chokehold Report surface again in this larger data set. This Report examines five aspects of use of force within NYPD: (1) trends; (2) reporting; (3) de-escalation; (4) training; and (5) discipline. The Report begins by highlighting data and trends from excessive or unnecessary force cases substantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). CCRB substantiated 207 allegations of force in 179 cases between 2010 and 2014, a notably modest number, given the size of NYPD, and a positive indication of the NYPD's restraint. OIG-NYPD's review involved only non-deadly force cases investigated by CCRB, as no lethal force was used in the 179 substantiated cases. As discussed below, this investigation demonstrates several issues of real concern. Because accountability begins with access to reliable data, this Report describes how NYPD does and does not track use-of-force data, and how the usefulness of that information can be improved by adopting a more precise use-of-force policy coupled with standardized force reporting. This Report next presents the findings of an independent analysis of force cases where some officers not only missed the opportunity to de-escalate the incident, but took measures which affirmatively escalated the encounter. Given these findings, the Report examines policies of other law enforcement agencies regarding de-escalation tactics and reviews what NYPD is currently doing to address excessive force and de-escalation through training. The Report then suggests ways in which training and policy can be improved with respect to de-escalation tactics and other related skills. Lastly, this Report analyzes and evaluates NYPD's disciplinary system, including a close review of cases where OIG-NYPD, through independent review, determined that the use of force was not reasonable by any standard and not justified by any exigent circumstances or the need to protect an officer's or the public's safety. Historically, NYPD has frequently failed to discipline officers who use force without justification. This Report thus offers recommendations to improve the disciplinary process so that officers who use excessive force are properly held accountable. Details: New York: NYC Department of Investigation, 2015. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2016 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/oig_nypd_use_of_force_report_-_oct_1_2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/oig_nypd_use_of_force_report_-_oct_1_2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137708 Keywords: Complaints Against PolicePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice DiscretionPolice LegitimacyPolice MisconductPolice Policies and ProceduresPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: New York City Department of Investigation Title: Observations on Accountability and Transparency in Ten NYPD Chokehold Cases Summary: Section 203-11 of the Patrol Guide, which governs "Use of Force," explicitly and unequivocally prohibits members of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD") from using "chokeholds" in their interactions with the public: Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air. Patrol Guide 203-11 (emphasis in original). The death of a Staten Island man, Eric Garner, on July 17, 2014, after he was brought to the ground by an officer's arm around his neck in the course of an arrest, cast a spotlight on the use of chokeholds by NYPD officers and the enforcement of the chokehold prohibition under Section 203-11. Mr. Garner's death generated widespread public outcry, elevated chokeholds as a major concern within the rubric of the use of force, and prompted a flurry of videos purportedly showing NYPD officers using chokeholds in a variety of encounters with members of the public. The decision by a grand jury, on December 3, 2014, not to issue an indictment in the Garner case only increases the need for independent administrative review of these issues. In response to Mr. Garner's death, the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD ("OIG-NYPD") conducted a focused review of the ten most recent cases where the Civilian Complaint Review Board ("CCRB") determined that NYPD officers used "chokeholds." What OIG-NYPD found raises questions not only about the way in which NYPD has enforced the chokehold ban in recent years, but also, far more importantly, about the disciplinary process in general and interactions between NYPD and CCRB. While no definitive conclusions regarding the use of chokeholds can or should be drawn from the finite universe of cases reviewed here, OIG-NYPD's study sheds light on areas where further careful analysis and study are warranted: how discipline is determined and imposed in use-of-force cases, gaps in inter- and intra-agency communication during the investigation of use-of-force cases, and officer training regarding communication skills, de-escalation strategies, and the use of force. This focused review, in effect, presents a road map of key policing issues with regard to the use of force that OIG-NYPD intends to explore and probe more deeply in the coming months. Details: New York NYC Department of Investigation, Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, 2015. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2016 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/chokehold_report_1-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oignypd/assets/downloads/pdf/chokehold_report_1-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137709 Keywords: Complaints Against Police Police Accountability Police Brutality Police Discretion Police Legitimacy Police Misconduct Police Policies and Procedures Police TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: 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: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Use of Force: Taking Policing to a Higher Standards. 30 Guiding Principles Summary: The policies, training, tactics, and recommendations for equipment detailed in this document amount to significant, fundamental changes in a police department's operations and culture. It is important that these changes be undertaken in a comprehensive manner, and not in a piecemeal or haphazard way. The policy changes must be backed up with thorough, integrated retraining of all officers. These changes have implications for officer safety. This approach can increase officer safety, as well as the safety of community members, by teaching officers how to "slow down" some incidents and avoid escalating situations to the point where officers or members of the public are endangered. But to better protect officers, agencies must provide comprehensive new training, new tactical skills, and new equipment to support the new policies. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Critical Issues in Policing Series: Accessed February 17, 2016 at : http://www.policeforum.org/assets/30%20guiding%20principles.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/30%20guiding%20principles.pdf Shelf Number: 137871 Keywords: Police DiscretionPolice Policies and PracticesPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: East Bay Community Law Center Title: Stopped, Fined, Arrested: Racial Bias in Policing and Traffic Courts in California Summary: Across the country, low-income people who commit minor offenses are saddled with fines, fees and penalties that pile up, driving them deeper into poverty. What's worse, they are arrested and jailed for nonpayment, increasing the risk of losing their jobs or their homes. Stopped, Fined, Arrested - Racial Bias in Policing and Traffic Courts in California brings to light a disturbing truth that remains ever present in the lives of Californians: there are dramatic racial and socioeconomic disparities in driver's license suspensions and arrests related to unpaid traffic fines and fees. Public records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and U.S. Census data demonstrate that in primarily Black and Latino communities, driver's license suspension rates range as high as five times the state average. Moreover, data collected from 15 police and sheriff's departments across California show that Black motorists are far more likely to be arrested for driving with a suspended license for failure to pay an infraction citation than White motorists. Never before has this volume of data been available for the public to analyze. This new data and interactive maps show: - Rates of driver's license suspensions due to a failure to appear or pay a ticket are directly correlated with poverty indicators and with race. The highest suspension rates are found in neighborhoods with high poverty rates and high percentages of Black or Latino residents. - The Bay View/Hunter's Point neighborhood in San Francisco, zip code 94124, has a relatively high rate of poverty (23.5%), the highest percentage of Black residents in San Francisco (35.8%) and a suspension rate of 6.7%, more than three times the state average. Neighboring zip code 94123, which includes the Marina District, has a substantially lower poverty rate (5.9%), a low percentage of Black residents (1.5%) and a suspension rate five times below the state average (0.4%.). - Black and Latino motorists are disproportionately arrested for driving with a suspended license and for warrants for failure to appear or pay on an infraction citation. - In the City and County of San Francisco, the population is 5.8% Black, yet 48.7% of arrests for a "failure to appear/pay" traffic court warrant are of Black drivers (over-represented by 8.4x). White people are 41.2% of San Francisco's residents, yet only 22.7% of those arrested for driving with a suspended license (underrepresented by 0.6x). - In Los Angeles County, Black people are 9.2% of the population yet 33% of those arrested for driving with a suspended license (over-represented by 3.6x). White people are 26.8% of the county's residents, yet only 14.8% of those arrested for driving with a suspended license (under-represented by 0.6x). Stopped, Fined, Arrested situates license suspensions and arrests in the broader context of systemic racial bias in policing and courts, and builds upon the findings of our first report, which showed the harsher impacts that low-income people face in California's "pay-to-play" justice system. Stopped, Fined, Arrested also highlights the immediate and long-lasting detrimental impacts of these current policies and practices on California's residents, families, communities, economy and public trust in law enforcement and the courts. From income and job loss to reduced health, psychological harm and family separation, arrests and incarceration due to unpaid infraction debt carries significant collateral consequences that burden California's economy and judicial system while doing very little to further public safety or the interests of justice. Over-policing, license suspensions and the subsequent arrests due to inability to pay come at a great cost to our state's resources, to public safety, to the fair administration of justice and, as this report documents, to people and communities across the state. These great costs demand comprehensive changes to California's court system and policing policies. Details: s.l.: East Bay Community Law Center, Bank on the Road, 2016. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 14, 2016 at: http://ebclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Stopped_Fined_Arrested_BOTRCA.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://ebclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Stopped_Fined_Arrested_BOTRCA.pdf Shelf Number: 138682 Keywords: Police DiscretionRacial BiasRacial DiscriminationRacial ProfilingRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementTraffic Offenses |
Author: Association of the Bar of the City of New York Title: Report on the NYPD's Stop-and-Frisk Policy Summary: The New York Police Department's (NYPD) - stop, question and frisk- policy has been a major, highly controversial feature of policing under the Administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The exponential growth in the use of this tactic during the first decade of Bloomberg's mayoralty has resulted in nearly five million stops, a stark increase from its prior use. The number of reported stops grew from 97,296 in 2002 to 685,724 in 2011, before drop-ping to 533,042 in 2012. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly laud the stop-and-frisk policy as a significant component of the City's successful effort to reduce violent crime, a means of keeping guns off the street and improving the quality of life in the neighborhoods most affected by crime. Indeed, through a variety of strategies, the crime rate in the City has been reduced substantially over the past 20 years. Indeed, the police must be able to stop and frisk individuals as a crime-fighting strategy, within the limits set by law. However, the stop and frisk policy has raised a number of important concerns: - Only approximately 6% of the stops have resulted in arrests and approximately 2% in the recovery of weapons. Thus, the overwhelming majority of stops result in no discovery of wrongdoing. This is the case even though the law permits the police to make such stops only if they - reasonably suspect- that the person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a crime, and may only frisk a person who has already been stopped legally if they reasonably believe that the person is armed. These data, plus extensive anecdotal evidence, suggest that many stops may not be justified under federal and state constitutional protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition, many of the arrests occur under questionable circumstances, such as when people are asked to remove marijuana from their pockets and then arrested for possessing marijuana - in public view. - Eighty-five percent of those stopped are black and Latino, and are overwhelmingly male. While the NYPD asserts that is understandable because most of the criminal activity is in neighborhoods with predominantly black and Latino populations, the data suggest that even controlling for neighborhood demographics, black and Latino individuals are stopped more often. The policy has engendered substantial opposition, with those opposed saying it not only violates the rights of many of those stopped but also stigmatizes a substantial segment of the population and further alienates and marginalizes young black and Latino men who face ever more difficult hurdles in progressing within society. In addition, the policy engenders distrust in the affected communities, and the mutual disrespect between the police and the younger generation in those communities undermines confidence in how the police go about their vital work. Details: New York: The Bar Association, 2013. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2016 at: http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072495-StopFriskReport.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072495-StopFriskReport.pdf Shelf Number: 138964 Keywords: Police Discretion Racial Disparities Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement Stop and Frisk (New York City) Zero Tolerance Policing |
Author: Murray, Kath Title: Landscape Review on Stop and Search in Scotland Summary: This report presents a landscape review of academic and policy research and evidence on stop and search in Scotland. The report was commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) via the Scottish Institute for Policing Research. It is not an exhaustive systematic evidence review. Rather the aim is to provide an overview of the key findings and themes in the existing evidence base, and relate these to the direction of police policy and practice in Scotland. The review also aims to support the Authority's commitment to building a stronger and more holistic research picture on the wider societal impact of stop and search. Details: Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, 2015. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Landscape_review_stop_search_270116.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Landscape_review_stop_search_270116.pdf Shelf Number: 139394 Keywords: Police Accountability Police Behavior Police Discretion Police Performance Police PracticeStop and Search |
Author: StopWatch Title: StopWatch Submission to the Consultation on Police Powers to Stop and Search Summary: The Home Office consultatio' document defines the purpose of stop and search as being to 'fight against crime'. According to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC), however, most police forces have no clear approach to using stop and search powers, nor a strategy or objective for their exercise. Existing definitions of the purpose of stop and search lack the clarity and precision required to ensure appropriate regulation of police powers and evaluation of their effectiveness. The absence of circumscription heightens the risk of those powers being abused. The exercise of police powers to stop an individual in a public place, to detain them for questioning, and to search their person or their belongings, constitutes an invasion of liberty and privacy. The powers are intrusive and coercive, and the circumstances in which they are exercised are frequently embarrassing, humiliating, intimidating and frightening for the individual concerned. - Stop and search has potentially damaging effects on individuals, communities and wider society. The powers can only be justified if there is evidence that they contribute significantly to the public good and if there is no less intrusive or coercive means to achieve the same end. The evidence of effectiveness, insofar as it exists, is unconvincing and there has been insufficient effort dedicated to the development of a less costly and less invasive alternative. Stop and search powers can be abused and used arbitrarily, without proper grounds and for improper purposes. The exercise of these powers must therefore be properly supervised to ensure that they are lawful, necessary, proportionate, properly circumscribed, and subject to adequate legal safeguards against abuse. Police officers do not have a right to stop and search. They have a duty to investigate crime and contribute to community safety; to promote equality, prevent illegal discrimination; and to protect our rights and freedoms. The police are granted powers to carry out these duties. Stop and search powers require a secure base of community support. Police action must both be fair and rational, and be perceived as so being by individuals and wider society. Without community consent and legitimacy, the use of the power becomes corrosive and ineffective Details: London: Stopwatch, 2013. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 13, 2016 at: http://www.stop-watch.org/uploads/documents/StopWatch_consultation_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.stop-watch.org/uploads/documents/StopWatch_consultation_final.pdf Shelf Number: 139406 Keywords: Police AccountabilityPolice DiscretionPolice PracticeStop and Search |
Author: Bradford, Ben Title: Enabling and Constraining Police Power: On the Moral Regulation of Policing Summary: In this paper we consider some of the ethical challenges inherent in the regulation of discretionary police power. Discretion is central to police policy and practice, but it also provides a level of freedom that opens up the space for injustice and inequity, and this is seen most vividly in recent debates about unfairness and racial profiling in the distribution and experience of police stops in the US and UK. How to regulate discretionary power is a challenging question, and this is especially so in the context of practices like stop-and-search/stop-and-frisk. The ability to stop people in the street and question them is central to policing as it is understood in many liberal democracies, but under conditions of unfairness and questionable efficacy - when the application of this particular police power appears unethical as well as ineffective - one can reasonably ask whether the power should be dropped or curtailed, and if curtailed, how this would work in practice. Details: London: London School of Economics, 2015. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: LSE Law, Society and Economy Working Papers 23/2015: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: https://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/wps/WPS2015-23_BradfordJackson.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/wps/WPS2015-23_BradfordJackson.pdf Shelf Number: 139848 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionPolice EthicsRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementStop and Search |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department Summary: This report present the outcome of the Department of Justice's investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department (BP D). After engaging in a thorough investigation, initiated at the request of the City of Baltimore and BPD, the Department of Justice concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law. BPD engages in a pattern or practice of: (1) making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests; (2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans; (3) using excessive force; and (4) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally -protected expression. This pattern or practice is driven by systemic deficiencies in BPD's policies, training, supervision, and ac countability structures that fail to equip officers with the tools they need to police effectively and within the bounds of the federal law. We recognize the challenges faced by police officers in Baltimore and other communities around the country. Every day, police officers risk their lives to uphold the law and keep our communities safe. Investigatory stops, arrests, and force - including, at times, deadly force - are all necessary tools used by BPD officers to do their jobs and protect the safety of thems elves and others. Providing policing services in many parts of Baltimore is particularly challenging, where officers regularly confront complex social problems rooted in poverty, racial segregation and deficient educational, employment and housing opportunities. Still, most BPD officers work hard to provide vital services to the community. The pattern or practice occurs as a result of systemic deficiencies at BPD. The agency fails to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training; fails to collect and analyze data regarding officers' activities; and fails to hold officers accountable for misconduct. BPD also fails to equip officers with the necessary equipment and resources they need to police safely, constitutionally, and effectively. Each of these systemic deficiencies contributes to the constitutional and statutory violations we observed. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2016. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2016 at: http://civilrights.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/20160810_DOJ%20BPD%20Report-FINAL.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://civilrights.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/20160810_DOJ%20BPD%20Report-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 140031 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Shjarback, John Title: Cops, Culture, and Context: The Integration of Structural and Cultural Elements for Explanations of Police Use of Force Summary: This dissertation integrates concepts from three bodies of literature: police use of force, neighborhood/ecological influence on police, and police culture. Prior research has generally found that neighborhood context affects police use of force. While scholars have applied social disorganization theory to understand why neighborhood context might influence use of force, much of this theorizing and subsequent empirical research has focused exclusively on structural characteristics of an area, such as economic disadvantage, crime rates, and population demographics. This exclusive focus has occurred despite the fact that culture was once an important component of social disorganization theory in addition to structural factors. Moreover, the majority of the theorizing and subsequent research on police culture has neglected the potential influence that neighborhood context might have on officers' occupational outlooks. The purpose of this dissertation is to merge the structural and cultural elements of social disorganization theory in order to shed light on the development and maintenance of police officer culture as well as to further specify the relationship between neighborhood context and police use of force. Using data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN), I address three interrelated research questions: 1) does variation of structural characteristics at the patrol beat level, such as concentrated disadvantage, homicide rates, and the percentage of minority citizens, predict how an officer views his/her occupational outlook (i.e., culture)?; 2) do officers who work in the same patrol beats share a similar occupational outlook (i.e., culture) or is there variation?; and 3) does the inclusion of police culture at the officer level moderate the relationship between patrol beat context and police use of force? Findings suggest that a patrol beat's degree of concentrated disadvantage and homicide rate slightly influence officer culture at the individual level. Results show mixed evidence of a patrol beat culture. There is little support for the idea that characteristics of the patrol beat and individual officer culture interact to influence police use of force. I conclude with a detailed discussion of the methodological, theoretical, and policy implications as well as limitations and directions for future research. Details: Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, 2016. 280p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: https://repository.asu.edu/items/39457 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://repository.asu.edu/items/39457 Shelf Number: 140045 Keywords: Neighborhoods and CrimePolice AccountabilityPolice CulturePolice DiscretionPolice Use of Force |
Author: Morrow, Weston Title: Examining the Potential for Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Use of Force During NYPD Stop and Frisk Activities Summary: Since the 1990s, stop and frisk activities have been a cornerstone of the New York Police Department (NYPD). The manner in which the NYPD has carried out stop, question, and frisks (SQFs), however, has been a focal point of discussion, resulting in public outrage and two major lawsuits. Recently, the Federal District Court Judge ruled that the NYPD was engaging in unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices that targeted predominately Black and Latino New Yorkers. Questions surrounding the NYPD's SQF practices have almost exclusively focused on racial and ethnic disproportionality in the rate of stops without necessarily considering what transpired during the stop. This study will fill that void by examining the prevalence and nature of use of force during those stops, along with testing the minority threat hypothesis. By combining micro-level measures from the NYPD's 2012 "Stop, Question, and Frisk" database with macro-level variables collected from the United States Census Bureau, the current study examines police use of force in the context of SQF activities. The results should help judges, policy makers, police officers, and scholars understand the nature of police use of force in the context of SQFs. Details: Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, 2015. 203p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/157948/content/Morrow_asu_0010E_15162.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/157948/content/Morrow_asu_0010E_15162.pdf Shelf Number: 140046 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForceRacial DiscriminationRacial Profiling in Law Enforcement Stop and FriskStop and Search |
Author: Todd, Hilary Ellen Marta Title: The effects of citizen monitoring on the police: an examination of citizen monitoring and police use of justified force Summary: Citizen monitoring of police officers is an area of increasing importance in law enforcement research. The most powerful weapon against police misconduct is rapidly becoming the cellular phone and other hand held photography and videography devices. The practice of recording the police conducting their work either properly or improperly and subsequently uploading the footage onto the Internet has had marked effects on members of the force. Monitoring and surveillance are known to have a significant impact on individuals and their resulting actions (Campbell and Carlson, 2002). This study offers an examination of surveillance on the police population. Through the use of a qualitative approach, the present study explores the impact citizen monitoring has on police officers. The study addresses officers' perceptions of citizen monitoring, and the impact the interviewees felt it had on their use of justified force. Guided by the question: "What impact does citizen monitoring have on police use of force, and would body worn cameras (BWC) serve as a means to mitigate this impact?", this exploratory study found that indeed, the officers interviewed may be impacted by citizen monitoring, and further, that a great deal of uneasiness exists within the force around the potential adoption of BWC technology. Details: Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University, 2015. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Shelf Number: 134047 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCitizen MonitoringPolice AccountabilityPolice Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForceSocial Media |
Author: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Title: Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers: A Study of Deadly Force and Shooting Incidents 2007-2011 Summary: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is pleased to present its first-ever study of Tennessee law enforcement officers and the use of deadly force and shooting incidents while in the line of duty. Each year, TBI issues a Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA) report based on crime statistics gathered from Tennessee law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS), but this study is different. This report takes an in-depth look at officers who have used force or deadly force with a weapon while protecting Tennesseans and the effect that force had on the officers, their respective department and their community. The study used a three pronged approach to the issues. Round table discussion meetings were held in four regions of the state where law enforcement leaders provided input on trends, causes, policy and costs of the use of firearms by officers. Then, a survey was sent to all law enforcement agencies in the state to ascertain the number of use of deadly force incidents during a five year time period between 2007 and 2011. Researchers also conducted 12 in-depth interviews with officers who have been involved in shooting situations to get a first-hand perspective to the effects on officers. Eight of those have been published in this report. Details: Nashville, TN:Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/tbi/attachments/2013%20Tennessee%20Law%20Enforcement%20Officers.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/tbi/attachments/2013%20Tennessee%20Law%20Enforcement%20Officers.pdf Shelf Number: 140051 Keywords: Deadly Force Police Decision-Making Police DiscretionPolice Shootings Police Use of Force |
Author: Murray, Kath Title: Understanding and Preventing Youth Crime Survey (UPYC) Early Findings: Stop and Search in Glasgow and Edinburgh Summary: This report presents data and analysis on children's experiences of stop and search in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The analysis in the report is based on data from the Understanding and Preventing Youth Crime (UPYC) survey, a UK wide project that examines children's experiences of crime, victimisation and policing. The report was commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in order to meet Recommendation 11 of the SPA Scrutiny Review on Stop and Search: The SPA should commission research, in conjunction with others, to establish the short and long term impact of stop and search on different groups and communities. In particular, this should cover the short and long term impact of stop and search activity on young people. (SPA, 2014; 26) The UPYC questionnaire was administered to 2,186 secondary school children in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham between September 2014 and December 2015. In Glasgow and Edinburgh, 1,286 pupils aged between twelve and sixteen years old took part in the survey, while in Sheffield and Birmingham, 900 children took part. This report focuses on children's experiences in Glasgow and Edinburgh (some comparisons are drawn with Sheffield and Birmingham). The report examines the overall and varying prevalence of stop and search, police effectiveness, and how children feel about being stopped and searched. The key findings are shown below. The overall and varying prevalence of stop and search - Overall, nearly a quarter of children in Glasgow and Edinburgh (23%) said that they had been stopped and searched at least once in their lifetime. - The overall prevalence of stop and search in Glasgow and Edinburgh (23%) was around three times higher than Sheffield and Birmingham (8%). - Across the four cities, prevalence ranged from 5% in Birmingham, to 26% in Glasgow. - Children in Glasgow were more likely to have been searched on multiple occasions, compared to children in Edinburgh. Amongst those children who were searched in the last 12 months, over a fifth (21%) in Glasgow had been searched on six or more occasions, compared to 2% in Edinburgh. School year/age (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - One of the strongest predictors of being stopped and searched was school year. In Glasgow and Edinburgh, 37% of children in S4 (15 and 16 year olds) had been stopped and searched on at least one occasion, compared to 11% in Birmingham and Sheffield. Gender (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - The prevalence of stop and search was slightly higher among boys than girls, at 26% and 21% respectively. - However, boys were more likely to be searched on multiple occasions. Amongst those who had been searched in the last twelve months, 20% of boys had been stopped and searched six times or more, compared to 11% of girls. - When controlling for other factors, multivariate analysis showed that boys were around 1.6 times more likely to be stopped and searched than girls. Ethnicity (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Asian children were less likely to be stopped and searched, compared to White children. Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences across the ethnic groups in the survey. Education and social class (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Children who said that they did badly at school were more likely to have been searched, compared to those who said that they performed well at school. Over half (53%) of those who said that their achievement was poor or well below average had been stopped and searched, compared to 13% who said that their achievement was well above average or excellent. - When controlling for other factors, children who attended state schools were 2.6 times more likely to have been searched, compared to children who attended independent schools. However, self-reported offending rates between these two groups did not vary. Family support and involvement (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - The prevalence of stop and search was lower amongst children with higher levels of family support and involvement. Children whose parents rarely knew their whereabouts, what they were doing, or whom they were with were more likely to have been stopped and searched by the police. For example, 73% of children who said that their parents/carers seldom or never knew where they were had been searched, compared to 18% who said that their parents/carers often or almost always knew where they were. Offending behaviour (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Half of the children (50%) in the survey said they had never taken part in a crime, rising to three quarters (75%) when excluding illegally downloading music or films from the internet. Excluding illegal downloads, 9% of children said they had committed an offence on two or more occasions in the last year. - When controlling for other factors, children who had been involved in a group fight in the last twelve months were 4.6 times more likely to have been stopped and searched, compared to children who had not. - However, other types of offending, including weapon carrying and drug misuse, were not significantly associated with being stopped and searched. - The likelihood of being searched was higher amongst children who said that they had committed an offence in the last 12 months, compared to those who had not. - However, in absolute terms, the number of children who were searched and said they had not committed a crime was higher than the number who had been searched and had committed a crime. Alcohol (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Children who had drunk alcohol in the last month were 2.5 times more likely to have been stopped and searched, compared to those who had not. - The demographics of stop and search appeared to be out of kilter with the demographics of stop and search. In general, the prevalence of underage drinking (in the last month) was higher in Edinburgh (compared to Glasgow), amongst girls (compared to boys) and amongst children who attended independent schools (compared to mainstream state schools). Note however, that we do not know whether alcohol was consumed at home, or in public, or how the alcohol was accessed. Victimisation (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Children who said that someone had taken, or tried to take something from them either by force or the threat of force (i.e. robbery) were 2.8 times more likely to have been searched, compared to those who had not. - Children who said that either they or a friend had been physically attacked on the way home from school on more than one occasion were 6 times more likely to have been searched, compared to those who had not. The effectiveness of stop and search (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Overall, 13% of stop and search encounters in the last twelve months resulted in detection. This finding is consistent with Police Scotland data, which shows that between June and December 2015, 14% of stop searches involving 12 to 16 year olds resulted in detection. By contrast, Police Scotland data show that 24% of all stop searches carried out on persons of all ages in the same period were positive. - The prevalence of stop and search was higher in neighbourhoods with higher perceived levels of crime and disorder, suggesting that officers generally targeted the 'right places'. - However, at the individual level, involvement in criminal behaviour was a poor indicator for stop and search. Of those children who had been stopped and searched, 61% said that they had not been involved in offending behaviour in the last 12 months (excluding illegal downloading). How children feel about being stopped and searched (Glasgow and Edinburgh) - Children who had been stopped and searched tended to be equivocal or negative about their experiences. A third (34%) said that the officers were 'not at all' fair, compared to 14% who said that the officers were 'very fair.' - A third (35%) said the officers were 'a bit' professional, compared to around a fifth (18%) who said that the officers were 'very' polite and respectful. - Nearly a third of children in Glasgow (32%) said that the police were 'not at all' polite and respectful, compared to 18% in Edinburgh. - Half of those respondents who were searched said that the officers had explained the reason. Of these children, three quarters (75%) said that they understood the reason. - Four in ten (39%) said the officers had asked if they were happy for the search to go ahead. Most of these children (79%) gave their agreement to be searched. - Children mostly felt annoyed at being searched, rather than scared or embarrassed. A third of children (35%) said that they felt 'very' annoyed, and a quarter (25%) said they felt 'quite' annoyed. - Very few children (7%) said that being stopped and searched made them feel 'very' safe on the streets, while 70% said it did not make them feel at all safer. - The views of children who had been stopped and searched at least once tended to be more negative towards the police, compared to those who had not been searched. For example, more than a third (37%) of children who had been searched said they thought the police 'almost never' treated young people with respect, compared to 15% who had not been searched. - A third (34%) of children who had been stopped and searched thought that the police 'almost never' made fair decisions when dealing with young people, compared to 14% who had not been searched. - Over half (53%) of children who had been stopped and searched thought that the police appreciate what young people think, compared to 32% who had not been searched. Details: Glasgow: Scottish Police Authority, 2016. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/128635/352708/uypcstopandsearch Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/128635/352708/uypcstopandsearch Shelf Number: 140368 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionJuvenile OffendersPolice Behavior Police Discretion Police Practice Stop and Search |
Author: Durna, Tuncay Title: Situational Determinants of Police Use of Force: Who the Suspect is vs. What the Suspect Does Summary: As providers of security services for the public, police officers should be more concerned with what the citizen does rather than who the citizen is. This concern should be reflected in police behavior regarding use of force towards the suspects. Borrowing from sociological and psychological perspectives, present study examines the determinants of police use of force using data collected by Garner and Maxwell in 1996-1997 about adult custody arrests in six urban law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Unlike many of the previous studies, the extent of force is expanded to include threat of force as well as different levels of physical force. Results provide strong and consistent evidence that probability of using force and the amount of force used by the police mostly depend on what the suspect does as opposed to who the suspect is, even after controlling for other factors. Suspects behavior and demeanor towards the police appear as the most important factors explaining use of force behavior. The results also explain the effects of the race and gender relations as well as the presence of bystanders and other officers at the scene. Details: Guilderland, NY: International Police Executive Symposium, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 34: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: http://ipes.info/WPS/WPS_No_34.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://ipes.info/WPS/WPS_No_34.pdf Shelf Number: 140680 Keywords: Police Behavior Police DiscretionPolice Use of Force |
Author: Quintanar, Sarah Marx Title: Man vs. Machine: An Investigation of Speeding Ticket Disparities Based on Gender and Race Summary: This paper analyzes the extent to which police behavior in giving speeding tickets differs from the ticketing pattern of automated cameras. The automated tickets provide an estimate of the population of speeders at a given location, time, and even severity of the violation. The data, obtained from Lafayette, Louisiana, provides a wide range of details concerning characteristics of the violation such as location, date, time of day, legal speed, speed over the limit, day of the week, and also specific details about the ticketed driver. The probability of a ticketed driver being African-American or female is significantly higher when the ticket was given by a police officer in contrast to an automated source, implying that police use gender and race as a determining factor in issuing a speeding ticket. Potential behavioral reasons of this outcome have been discussed. Details: Baton Rouge: Department of Economics Louisiana State University, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper 2009-16: Accessed November 10, 2016 at: http://bus.lsu.edu/McMillin/Working_Papers/pap09_16.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://bus.lsu.edu/McMillin/Working_Papers/pap09_16.pdf Shelf Number: 145089 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice DiscretionRacial DiscriminationRacial Profiling in Law EnforcementTraffic Enforcement |
Author: Summerfield, Tansi Susan Lillian Title: Police Decision-Making: The Impact of Choice on the Use-of-Force Decisions Summary: Research on choice and decision-making has indicated that excessive choice can negatively influence decision-making performance. Choice overload research has mostly focused on consumer purchases, thereby limiting the generalizability to applied professional settings. This research examined 112 Canadian police cadets on decision-making in a use-of-force situation. Cadets interacted with a high threat virtual judgment scenario wherein they had to choose the most appropriate intervention option available to immobilize the subject and stop the threat. Cadets participated in one of two limited choice groups or one extensive choice group and were evaluated on performance, response time (RT), self-reported confidence, and physiological arousal. The goal of the research was to determine if choice overload occurs in applied police settings and whether increased arousal mediates the effect of choice on decisions. It was predicted that the participants with fewer choices would perform better, respond quicker, and be more confident than those with more choices and increased arousal would further decrease the extensive choice group's performance, RT, and confidence. Choice overload was observed, but not in the predicted way; results revealed that greater choice did not have detrimental effects on decision-making. Instead, the specific intervention option participants had available (OC-spray vs. pistol) influenced performance, speed, and confidence more than number of choices did. Results also indicated no consistent pattern of arousal. It is recommended that further research be conducted to determine what impact the different intervention options available have on decision-making in use-of-force situations. Details: Regina, SASK: University of Regina, 2017. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 19, 2018 at: https://ourspace.uregina.ca/handle/10294/7705 Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: https://ourspace.uregina.ca/handle/10294/7705 Shelf Number: 149862 Keywords: Police Decision-MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Use of Force |
Author: Perry, David Title: Critical Factors in Police Use-of-Force Decisions Summary: This study investigated law enforcement officers' perceptions of the legal, normative, and practical considerations that are implicit in their decisions when faced with using physical force. Law enforcement officers observe and protect fundamental human rights. A significant problem, however, is that physical force is sometimes misused, impacting public confidence in police services. The study was framed by Durkheim's conflict theory and Beirie's concepts of police corporate culture and social control. It used a grounded theory method and predeveloped case scenarios presented to 2 male focus groups of 7 and 6 participants respectively, and 2 female focus groups of 5 and 7 participants, who were police officers in Canada, to explore for gender differences in response strategies, decisions to use force, and arguments for their decisions, following the model set forth by Waddington (2009). Additionally, data were also collected through 12 individual semistructured interviews. Open, axial, and selective manual coding was used in the data analysis. The data collection and analysis for this study resulted in the development of, the paradigm of safety, a theory that reflects how female officers' useof-force decisions differ from the decisions of their male colleagues. These decision factors, when incorporated into their response strategies, reflect the timing and need for using force. This study promotes positive social change by providing information that will inform police policies and training practices. This information will enable police administrators and legislators to enhance workplace safety for their officers that are more consistent with democratic rights and freedoms for citizens by reducing use-of-force in conflict circumstances Details: Minneapolis, MN: Walden University, 2015. 249p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 20, 2018 at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2269&context=dissertations Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2269&context=dissertations Shelf Number: 149864 Keywords: Police Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Policies and PracticesPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: Newton, Samuel P. Title: Kidnapping Reconsidered: Courts' Merger Tests Do Not Remedy the Inequities Which Developed from Kidnapping's Sensationalized and Racialized History Summary: Kidnapping has a troubled history in the law. It was instituted, perpetuated, and expanded almost exclusively after publicized and sensationalized cases where the children of wealthy whites were taken. In the same periods, courts and legislatures largely ignored the cries of minorities, particularly slaves or free blacks, that they too had been kidnapped. In the public hysteria over the relatively few kidnappings of white children, legislatures expanded the offenses definition to the point that it lost all meaning and became unconstitutionally vague. To remedy this problem, courts created kidnapping merger tests. But these tests have had little consistency or coherency, and troublingly, they have done little to solve the issues of discriminatory enforcement that have plagued kidnapping since its inception. Legislatures should reconsider kidnapping and narrow its definition in order to prevent the arbitrary use of police or prosecutorial discretion. If legislatures refuse to act, then courts should strike down kidnapping statutes as vague and as violations of double jeopardy and equal protection, as well as a cruel and unusual punishment. Details: William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Vol. 28 (2019). 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3364421 Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3364421 Shelf Number: 156738 Keywords: Criminal Law Kidnapping Police DiscretionProsecutorial Discretion Racial Discrimination |