A Theory of Use of Force Review

• In Event: Police Use of Force and Early Intervention Systems

Abstract

This paper develops a normative theory of use of force review systems in policing. By surveying contemporary practice and thought in this area (including use of force review protocols in several large police departments, mandates for use of force review systems contained in federal consent decrees, and relevant prescriptive literature), I aim to identify the normative ideals that use of force review systems can potentially advance. While use of force reviews are commonly understood as mechanisms for increasing compliance with existing organizational norms, I argue that at their best they also serve to elaborate and reconsider those norms in a deliberative way. When they do so, they exemplify the “experimentalist” model of public administration developed by Charles Sabel and others over the past two decades. By framing the point of use of force reviews in a broader theoretical context, I hope to identify the features those systems share in common with managerial practices in a variety of other fields, including child protective services, nuclear power regulation, and commercial air travel -- all of which may contain valuable lessons for police management. Along the way, I connect use of force reviews with the theory and practice of problem-oriented policing.

Author

• David Thacher, University of Michigan