NCJ Number
185625
Date Published
2000
Length
193 pages
Annotation
This book presents a four-stage political process model and applies it to the empirical evidence of police violence in Toronto and New York City over a 15-year time span.
Abstract
To better focus the study, three well-publicized cases of police violence from each city, matched on important criteria, are the subject of intensive case studies. The book concludes that most individuals do not respond to police use of excessive force, and such response usually depends on the context of police violence. The book presents and tests a theoretical model of public reaction to police use of force. The model integrates a variety of approaches to improve understanding of how communities come to define and control police use of force. The book is divided into five chapters: (1) What Is Public Police Violence? (2) A Political Process Model of Public Police Violence; (3) The Politics and Control of Police Violence in Toronto; (4) The Politics and Control of Police Violence in New York City; and (5) Beyond Apathy. Figures, tables, notes, appendixes, references, index