NCJ Number
188044
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 47 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2001 Pages: 155-172
Editor(s)
Ronald E. Vogel
Date Published
April 2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examines the temporal connection between police use of deadly force and civilian homicides on a national level.
Abstract
The connection between police use of deadly force and the criminal homicide rate has long been recognized in the literature. The present study suggests that earlier research has underestimated the importance of the temporal relationship between the homicides that present the greatest level of public danger and police use of deadly force. One major explanation for police killings is the danger-perception theory. This theory states that the level of police use of deadly force is contingent on the danger police officers experience, either real or perceived. The basic hypothesis of the danger-perception theory remains the same, but aggregate levels of police killings of civilians over time can be explained through the ratio-threat model. The model predicts that as the frequency of particularly dangerous criminal incidents increases, police killings of civilians increase proportionally. The study predicts that justifiable citizen homicides and robbery related homicides will have the strongest temporal associations with police killings of civilians. Through a time-series analysis of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports over a 21-year period, the ratio-threat hypothesis is confirmed. The results suggest that, on a national level, there exists a temporal connection between predatory crime and police use of deadly force. References