Officer and Suspect Characteristics in Use of Force Incidents by Transit Authority Police

• In Event: Use of Force in a Transit Agency

Abstract

There has been a wealth of media attention recently given to the decision-making of police in employing use of force. Although there is an abundance of research on police use of force, little is known about the use of force decision-making by transit authority police. Unlike municipal agencies, transit authority police have the unique jurisdictional boundaries of the transit authority including rails, trollies, buses and their corresponding platforms and stops. The locations where transit officers typically engage with suspects are likely compact and may have vast numbers of innocence nearby, suggesting that the context of use of force decision-making for transit authority police may offer unique challenges. This study examines use of force incidents by the Southeastern Police Transit Authority (SEPTA) controlling for demographic factors of both the officer and suspect(s), as well as type of weapon used, number of suspects and officers involved, and incident location. The analyzed sample includes all incidents where use of force was employed by SEPTA police between the years 2009 and 2016.

Authors

• Kimberly Houser, Rowan University

• Carla Lewandowski, Rowan University

• Evan T. Sorg, Rowan University

• Natalie Schell-Busey, Rowan University