Demographics, Complexity, and Control: Testing Agency Predictors of Latent Homicide-by-Police

• In Event: Police Organization: Police Practice and Reform

Abstract

Various recommendations have been made to police agencies (both from inside and outside of the profession) for how they might reduce the number of civilians killed or seriously injured by officers. Recommendations have included increasing departmental diversity in terms of gender and race/ethnicity, reducing organizational complexity by flattening hierarchies and decreasing specialization, and controlling officer discretion through the use of formal policies, training, and authorization of “less-lethal” alternatives to firearms. In this study, I test the efficacy of these recommendations using a structural equation model that accounts for several sources of homicide-by-police (HbP) data. Some key findings are that more restrictive vehicle pursuit policies, requiring more new recruits to engage in community policing training, and authorizing the use of chemical weapons (like tear gas) are associated with lower homicide by police rates while having more specialized unit types and authorizing officers to use soft projectiles or neck restraining techniques (such as chokeholds or vascular neck restraint) are associated with higher homicide by police rates. I also find that some HbP data sources are more strongly related to the estimated latent HbP rate, indicating that these sources should be given preference over other sources by researchers interested in comparing agency-level HbP rates.

Author

• Sarah Fry, Northwestern Oklahoma State University