NCJ Number
199663
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2003 Pages: 119-127
Date Published
March 2003
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes physical force and resistance in police-citizen encounters by investigating the original call received by the officer.
Abstract
There is a lack of research on the relationship between calls for service and police use of force. Responding to calls for service from citizens is the most efficient source of information exchange between the police and the public. Some social scientists believe that telephoned calls for service offer a more realistic depiction of aggregate levels of crime than do police records. By knowing the reason for the call for service, it is possible to assess all force incidents based on the initial crime reported in the service call. It is likely that the majority of situations involving the use of force by police officers are the result of an escalation of conflict between police officers and civilians. This study introduced a measure of “relative” force between the police and civilians and examined whether “relative” levels of force varied according to the type of offense a police officer was responding to. The data consisted of all use of force reports collected from 1996 to 1998 by the Miami-Dade Police Department that contained complete information on suspect and officer force. Police use of force was measured according to the level of force used by an officer relative to the suspect’s resistance. The majority of findings were insignificant. One noteworthy finding was the statistically significant difference in the levels of force used relative to suspect resistance between property offense calls and domestic disturbance calls. The mean value indicated more force relative to suspect resistance during property offense calls. A “nonviolent” property call for service was more likely to elicit higher levels of force relative to suspect resistance than a “violent” service call such as a domestic disturbance. This may be because police officers arrive at domestic disturbance calls prepared for a confrontation, and are more easily able to take control of the situation. Researchers and police administrators should focus attention on the situational variables affecting the handling of property offense calls and develop appropriate training methods for use of force situations. 1 figure, 3 tables, 3 notes, 32 references