Representative Bureaucracy: Examining Demographic Alignments and Use of Force Patterns in England and Wales

• In Event: POL Panel 10. Police use of force: impacts, training and opportunities for change.

Abstract

The concept of representative bureaucracy, that public institutions ought to reflect the demographic composition of the society they serve to effectively cater to the diverse needs of citizens, has long been advocated as a remedy for identified disproportionalities in police-public interactions, such as stop and search and the use of force. Over the past several decades, extensive scholarly work has delved into the concept of representativeness within policing. However, it remains unclear whether demographic alignment between police officers and citizens in terms of age, gender and ethnicity is likely to reduce the probability of taser in use of force encounters.

Drawing on administrative police data, our study centres on two key aspects: (1) the demographic characteristics of both citizens and officers and (2) larger geographical areas within these police forces. We aim to present how both aspects can enhance our understanding of the nature and patterns of use of force.

We utilize data from police-recorded Use of Force forms from three police force areas in England: Greater Manchester Police, Hampshire Police, and the Metropolitan Police Service. After any incident where an officer uses force, officers are legally required to submit a UoF form, which provides information on citizen and officer characteristics and use of force tactics deployed. The study uses data collected over three years, from January 2019 to December 2021 (N=552516). Findings indicate that instances where an officer, who has recorded the use of force, shares the same gender and ethnicity as the citizen involved, are associated with a reduced likelihood of red-dotting, or firing the Taser compared to any other use of force. Overall, these results support the idea that a gender and ethnic similarity or ‘match’, may have a de-escalatory potential. Therefore, we propose a heightened focus on enhancing representativeness throughout police forces in England and Wales.

Authors

• Amal Ali, London School of Economics

• Jasmine Oware, London School of Economics

• Krisztián Pósch, University College London