Violence by Municipal Police in Canada: 1977-1992 (From Violence in Canada: Sociopolitical Perspectives, P 223-245, 1995, Jeffrey I Ross, ed.)

• NCJ Number: 159435
• Author(s): J I Ross
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Oxford University Press
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

Based on an analysis of newspaper reports from 1977-92, this study examines the frequency and nature of police use of violence in Canada and discusses the control of police violence.

Abstract

Data address the characteristics of victims and the police involved and the year, date, month, and Province in which the police violence occurred. The outcomes of the incidents are also reported. The majority of incidents involved assault, occurred during the summer months in Ontario, most likely in Toronto. Both victims and officers tended to be males, and officers were usually older than victims. Efforts to control police violence must focus on the control of police organizations. Four major internal institutions and actors exert control on police organization: recruitment divisions screen applicants; personnel training provides education and socialization; policy manuals and standing orders outline guidelines and standard operating procedures; and supervisors and administrators oversee, inspect, and exercise authority through sub-bureaus as well as disciplinary and review boards. A variety of external mechanisms exert control over the police through Federal, Provincial, and some municipal constitutions, statutes, and laws that specify the situations in which force may be used. For the purposes of analyzing the control of police violence, Manning (1980) classifies control mechanisms into the "potentially conflicting" kinds: community (public standards shaped by public opinion, mass media attitudes); political/legal (politicians' statements and reactions to incidents of violence that come to public attention); and occupational (official departmental standards). Manning believes that occupational controls provide the most powerful means of controlling the police. He also identifies at least three ways to improve the control of police violence: move the police into a regulatory model, disarm the police, and change the reward structure that defines and reinforce role priorities. This paper suggests other ways to improve control over police violence. 30 notes and 66 references