NCJ Number
207896
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2004 Pages: 557-564
Date Published
November 2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study used data from the Phoenix Use-of-Force Project (Arizona) to identify any disparity in police use of physical force according to subjects' race/ethnicity.
Abstract
The 1994 study sampled all adult arrests during a 2-week period (n=1,585). Survey forms completed by officers provided information on the type and amount of force used by the officers, the type and amount of force used by the subject, and a variety of situational characteristics of the arrest incident. "Physical force" was defined as any arrest in which the officer used a severe restraint, a weaponless tactic, threatened the use of a weapon, or used a weapon. Citizen race was coded into three dummy variables: White, Black, and Hispanic. The analysis found that police were more likely to use physical force against Black and Hispanic males not in custody (not in jail or held by private security officers at the time of the encounter) compared to White males not in custody, even after controlling for citizen resistance and other theoretically important factors. The large number of control variables increased the credibility of the findings. These findings suggest that future research should examine what factors in officer perceptions of citizen race/ethnicity may increase officer perceptions of the threat level. Study limitations and future research are discussed. 7 tables and 15 references