Officer Experience and Police Use of Force

• In Event: Police Use of Force

Abstract

Multiple approaches have been utilized to identify patterns in how police use of force encounters unfold. The current study focuses on characteristics of the police encounter that agencies may have the ability to influence prior to an incident requiring the use of force. We examine the impact of training, length of service, military service, and officer education during police encounters. Specifically, their influence on citizen and officer injuries, level of force used, and resistance by the citizen. We consider how, or if, an agency should seek to identify these during a hiring process, or provide these post hiring, when appropriate. The study utilizes longitudinal data from a single southern police agency to explore these relationships

Authors

• Brian Lawton, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Hyeyoung Lim, University of Alabama at Birmingham