EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE WITH POLICE OFFICERS

Excessive Use of Force with Police Officers

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to enquire if there was a connection between police officer characteristics (e.g., rush, gender, age) and interior activities enquiries for accusations of use of force. Cumulative logistic regression forms were fitted to facts and numbers extracted from staff documents of officers engaged by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Analysis displayed that officers with less than five years know-how employed in the Sheriff's Department had odds of being enquired for accusations of utilising force that were almost 4.4 times the odds amidst officers with 20 or more years of experience. Officers with five to nine years know-how were eight times more probable to be enquired for use of force accusations than those with 20 or more years of experience. In general, the smaller the departmental know-how, the higher the odds of being investigated. No important racial disparities were discerned in enquiries for accusations of use of force. Officers with annals of accusations of use of force enquiries were substantially more probable to be subsequently enquired for supposed values of force. It was resolved that enquiries for accusations of use of force by officers might be decreased substantially if more vigilance were paid to teaching and mentoring of new and junior officers

Table of Content

ABSTRACT2

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION4

Research Background5

Aim and Objective6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8

Historical conceptualization of force11

Police -public encounters17

Legitimate versus excessive use of force19

Community perception of the police22

Law enforcement culture and perception23

Minimizing police use of force25

Data36

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION41

Variables and measures41

Statistical technique46

Bivariate analysis50

Multivariate analysis52

Police Interview55

Discussion57

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION60

REFERENCES64

Chapter 1: Introduction

The issue of force employment by police officers 1 was a topic of much research, but little was known from the perspective of internal affairs investigations. The present study sought to fill this gap in knowledge by delving into new territory and examining internal affairs files regarding police use of force allegations. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there were common characteristics possessed by police officers that were investigated for allegations of using force. Thus, this study differed from other research on police use of force in that it examined actual cases in which an officer was investigated for allegedly using improper force. It is important to point out that an investigation does not necessarily mean that the officer actually used force or that if force was used, it was excessive; the purpose of the investigation was to determine whether the allegation of force occurred, and if it was within policy. Thus, the focus of this research was internal affairs investigations of allegations of using force.

Some internal affairs investigations into allegations of police use of force are initiated after a citizen files a complaint, and others are initiated as a matter of policy based on the circumstances in which force was used (e.g., an officer -involved shooting). During the collection of data for this study, it was discovered that none of the officer -involved shootings involved a citizen ...