The influence of selected community and agency characteristics on the variable rate of the use of lethal force across U.S. law enforcement agencies.

• In Event: POL Panel 23. The impact and experiences of use of force and the promise of control mechanisms

Abstract

In the U.S., there is a longstanding and deepening concern about the number of police homicides and their variation across areas and critical demographics. This concern has led to hundreds of studies testing hypotheses about the difference in police homicide rates by jurisdictions. Our literature review of more than fifty studies has identified various samples, methods, and measures used in these studies and a lack of consistent findings for any of the tested hypotheses. This study seeks to address some of these limitations and, by using newly collected data provided by a nationally representative sample of law enforcement agencies [LEAs], brings an alternative view to the debate. A key item provided by the LEAs was their annual count of subjects shot at and hit by an officer, regardless of whether the shot resulted in injury or death. Using these data, this study tests for the impact of 15 frequently tested and supported hypotheses selected from our review. We examine the influence of social conditions and agency characteristics on variations in the rate of police use of lethal force per resident as well as the rates of lethal force targeted at White and Black civilians. The analyses use multivariate, multi-level regressions to produce models that explain the variations in the frequency of the use of lethal force. The results will show the impact of the tested factors on the overall lethal force rate and how these factors vary across demographic-based-dependent measures.

Authors

• Christopher D Maxwell, Michigan State University

• Joel H Garner, Unaffiliated

• Weiwei Li, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Jackie Sheridan-Johnson, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Bruce Taylor, NORC at the University of Chicago