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Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

William Terrill, Jason Robert Ingram, Logan J. Somers and Eugene A. Paoline III

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between police use of force and citizen complaints alleging improper use of force.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between police use of force and citizen complaints alleging improper use of force.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study utilizes official use of force and citizen complaint data, as well as surveys of patrol officers, from the Assessing Police Use of Force Policy and Outcomes Project, a multimethod National Institute of Justice funded study.

Findings

Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the number of use of force incidents that officers were involved in, as well as the types and levels of resistance they encountered from citizens, was related to use of force complaints from citizens. That is, those officers that were involved in more use of force situations were engaged in force encounters where the highest level of citizen resistance was “failure to comply,” and faced higher cumulative levels of citizen resistance, received more complaints alleging improper use of force.

Research limitations/implications

Studies of citizen complaints against police officers, especially those alleging improper use of force, should consider the number of force incidents officers are involved in, as well as other theoretically relevant force correlates.

Practical implications

Administrators, concerned with citizen allegations for improper use of force against their officers, should work to encourage their personnel to minimize the number of use of force applications, or at least less cumulative force, to resolve encounters with citizens.

Originality/value

While prior studies have examined police use of force and citizen complaints independently, the current study examines the empirical connection between use of force behavior and the generation of complaints from citizens.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

William Terrill, Eugene A. Paoline III and Jason Robert Ingram

The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of key findings from research published from the Assessing Police Use of Force Policy and Outcomes study, a project funded by…

995

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of key findings from research published from the Assessing Police Use of Force Policy and Outcomes study, a project funded by the National Institute of Justice.

Design/methodology/approach

Key findings from a national survey of police agencies on use of force policy and from an in-depth look at police use of force outcomes across eight cities published over the last ten years are synthesized to provide a cumulative perspective regarding the outcomes of the project.

Findings

The majority of police departments had a written force policy and reporting requirements, however, there was no commonly accepted force policy. Patrol officers were conservative in their views of what is reasonable force, administrative policy does matter in influencing force usage, and the use of a TASER impacted the likelihood of injury for both officers and citizens. Additional findings were also reviewed in the areas of complaints, police culture, first-line supervision, college education, and promotional aspirations.

Originality/value

While federal funding for policing related research projects are commonplace, taking a look back ten years later and summarizing key findings is uncommon. Doing so provides concise feedback to practitioners in one readily digestible manuscript. Furthermore, the paper also demonstrates the additional value to the original investment made by the National Institute of Justice.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2023

Logan J. Somers and William Terrill

The focus of the current study is to assess whether officers' broad attitudinal orientations are linked with their situational perceptions of danger in various armed citizen…

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Abstract

Purpose

The focus of the current study is to assess whether officers' broad attitudinal orientations are linked with their situational perceptions of danger in various armed citizen encounters.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on survey data from 672 officers employed at a large metropolitan police department. The police culture literature is used to inform measures of occupational stress, danger, citizen distrust, views of upper management, and role orientation in relation to how officers perceive danger across a series of scenarios involving armed citizens that varied in terms of firearm placement and citizen resistance. Along with a host of control variables, a series of multivariate models are used to evaluate the degree to which these aggregated cultural views may shape officers' situational perceptions of danger.

Findings

The results indicate that a stronger endorsement of broad attitudinal orientations involving occupational danger and citizen distrust are linked with higher perceptions of danger in armed-citizen encounters, especially as the situations become more discretionary.

Originality/value

Empirical research related to police culture has typically relied upon highly aggregated assessments of how officers view their occupational and organizational work environments. However, yet to be explored is whether these broad views impact officers' assessments of specific encounters, particularly those that are dangerous in nature. The findings from this study also have the potential to inform ambiguous use of force standards that are heavily influenced by officers' situational assessments of danger.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Book part
Publication date: 10 June 2016

William Terrill, Eugene A. Paoline and Jacinta M. Gau

This chapter seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness of procedural justice, use of force, and occupational culture in relation to police legitimacy.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness of procedural justice, use of force, and occupational culture in relation to police legitimacy.

Methodology/approach

The authors review the existing literature and offer an integrated methodological approach that would better assist researchers in their quest to enhance police legitimacy.

Findings

Using a systematic design that assesses police legitimacy from a variety of sources has the potential to help answer critical questions with regard to improving police practice.

Originality/value

This is a novel study approach, which has yet to be implemented but which may offer great insight with respect to improving police legitimacy.

Details

The Politics of Policing: Between Force and Legitimacy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-030-5

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Article
Publication date: 7 March 2008

William Terrill, Fredrik H. Leinfelt and Dae‐Hoon Kwak

This research seeks to examine police use of force from a smaller police agency perspective in comparison with what is known from previous research using data from larger‐scale…

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Abstract

Purpose

This research seeks to examine police use of force from a smaller police agency perspective in comparison with what is known from previous research using data from larger‐scale agencies.

Design/methodology/approach

Using police use of force reports involving arrests (n=3,264) over a three‐year period (2002‐2004) from a small police agency located in the upper‐Midwest, this study utilizes descriptive and multivariate analyses to examine how and why officers use force.

Findings

While officers resorted to physical force (beyond handcuffing) in 18 percent of the arrest encounters, the majority of force is located at the lower end of the force continuum (e.g. soft hand control). However, unlike officer behavior, much of the resistant behavior displayed by suspects is toward the upper end of the spectrum (e.g. defensive/active). The results also indicate that the most powerful predictor of force is the presence and level of suspect resistance presented to officers. These findings are placed within the context of prior work.

Research limitations/implications

Since the current study relies on official data from a single police agency, the findings come with caution in terms of generalizability.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on police use of force by examining everyday force usage in a small police department.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

John D. McCluskey and William Terrill

This paper seeks to examine a variety of measures of complaints and their relationship to police officers' use of coercion in encounters with suspects.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine a variety of measures of complaints and their relationship to police officers' use of coercion in encounters with suspects.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods, involving the systematic social observation of police, were combined with complaint data from the St Petersburg Police Department to examine the influence of complaints on use of coercion in everyday encounters. Hierarchical models, which included theoretically relevant control variables, were used to test multiple measures of departmental and citizen complaints as predictors of officers' use of coercion.

Findings

The analyses indicate that, net of other important predictors, officer complaint rate for force and verbal discourtesy is associated with higher levels of coercion in encounters with suspects. The analyses also indicate that officers' verbal discourtesy complaint rate is associated with higher levels of coercion, but complaint rates for physical force are not related to higher levels of coercion.

Research limitations/implications

The current results do not necessarily generalize to all police departments, since the department, at that time, was a leader in community policing.

Practical implications

The influence of complaints for force and discourtesy on coercion suggests that police departments could benefit from greater attention toward officers who generate complaints for discourtesy from the public.

Originality/value

This paper examines the utility of official complaint data as a determinant of officers' coercive behavior in encounters with suspects. The research would be of interest to police executives concerned with creating “early warning systems” as well as police scholars concerned with the determinants of officer coercion.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Jason Robert Ingram, Robert R. Weidner, Eugene A. Paoline III and William Terrill

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of sergeants’ less lethal force policy perceptions on subordinate officers’ policy perceptions. Sergeants are a critical level…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of sergeants’ less lethal force policy perceptions on subordinate officers’ policy perceptions. Sergeants are a critical level of supervision in police departments with respect to policy administration, particularly in regard to the use of force. Little empirical research, however, has been conducted on either officer policy perceptions or this aspect of the supervisory role.

Design/methodology/approach

Surveys of 765 patrol officers and 146 patrol sergeants served as the data source. Multilevel modeling procedures were used to test for supervisory influences on officer force policy perceptions while controlling for relevant officer-level variables. Additional analyses were conducted to examine potential moderating effects for this sergeant-officer attitudinal relationship.

Findings

Findings revealed that sergeant policy perceptions, views of top management, and their level of support had a significant impact on officers’ force policy perceptions. Furthermore, post hoc analyses revealed that sergeant support moderated the sergeant-officer force policy perception relationship.

Research limitations/implications

The results indicate that officers’ force policy perceptions are associated with the attitudinal dispositions of sergeants. Future work could expand the focus on administrative attitudinal outcomes beyond less lethal force policies as well as other perceptions of the work environment.

Practical implications

For police leaders, the findings illustrate the need to pay attention to mid-management levels and the organizational climate, as negative orientations can impact additional domains (i.e. policies and procedures) and other organizational members (i.e. subordinates).

Originality/value

The study adds to the limited body of research on two accountability mechanisms of departments: administrative rulemaking and frontline supervision.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

Eugene A. Paoline and William Terrill

To examine the extent to which cultural fragmentation among police officers results in differences in searches of suspects and their surroundings during proactive traffic stops.

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the extent to which cultural fragmentation among police officers results in differences in searches of suspects and their surroundings during proactive traffic stops.

Design/methodology/approach

Cluster and multivariate analyses are performed utilizing survey and observational data collected as part of the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN).

Findings

Differences in search behavior among patrol officers are found as a result of variation in cultural alignments. That is, patrol officers that adhere to the culture (in varying degrees) from an attitudinal standpoint are more likely to engage in searches than those who most ardently resist cultural attitudes.

Research limitations/implications

Although the classification scheme captured many of the core attitudes associated with police culture, it did not measure all of them. Also, the departments studied would compare to most American municipal police organizations, but would make poor comparisons to very large urban or small rural agencies, where culture might operate in different ways.

Practical implications

Police administrators can use this information if they wished to alter the rate at which search behavior occurs.

Originality/value

This study fills a research void in policing by examining whether attitudinal variation in cultural commitment results in different behavioral patterns. This work also adds to a larger body of social science research by finding an attitude‐behavior relationship.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2016

Abstract

Details

A. C. Littleton’s Final Thoughts on Accounting: A Collection of Unpublished Essays
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-389-4

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1997

Lorraine Green Mazerolle and William Terrill

Describes a problem‐oriented policing program in Jersey City that seeks to identify, analyze, and target drug, disorder, and violent crime problems in public housing. Describes…

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Abstract

Describes a problem‐oriented policing program in Jersey City that seeks to identify, analyze, and target drug, disorder, and violent crime problems in public housing. Describes the problem scanning and identification processes that were used to detect hot spot locations within six public housing sites in the study. Begins the research with a premise that public housing sites differ from one site to the next and that, even within some public housing sites, some common area places will have problems, while others will not. Research findings support this premise. Concludes that there is a distribution of crime problems both across and within public housing sites challenging the hot spot label universalistically applied to public housing sites. The problem identification process has implications for the way problem‐solving teams approach policing public housing sites.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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