NCJ Number
137990
Date Published
1992
Length
168 pages
Annotation
This book reviews the research and historical reform trends that have influenced the development of police policy on firearms and hot pursuit use and training.
Abstract
Following a discussion of some of the legal issues that pertain to the use of deadly force, with a focus on firearms and pursuit driving, two chapters discuss the nature of and trends in research on deadly force with firearms. These chapters are followed by one that reviews the impact of research and public attitudes on police policy and training for the use of firearms. This chapter addresses the specific components of firearms policies, the research on policies, and the advances that have occurred in training officers to act in accordance with these guidelines. Given the sparseness of research on police pursuit driving, only one chapter addresses such research, followed by a chapter on policy issues for pursuit driving. The discussion notes that police policies on both firearms use and pursuits attempt to balance the need to apprehend suspects with the value of human life. Historical trends in both of these areas have been toward policies that further restrict police power to use these forms of deadly force. The final chapter identifies and discusses the forces that generated the social movement of reform for police use of firearms and the much slower pace of reform in police pursuit driving. Court case list, 171 references, and a subject index