NCJ Number
227049
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 237-252
Date Published
May 2009
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Interviews with 38 police officers of various ranks in Mumbai, India, focused on their perceptions of how police use of deadly force against criminals was viewed by their colleagues, the police organization, other criminal justice agencies, the media, politicians, and the general public.
Abstract
The study found that, on the whole, the officers interviewed were confidant that they had the support of society as a whole in combating increased criminal gang activities with so-called “encounters,” defined as spontaneous, unplanned “shoot-outs” between the police and alleged criminals in which the criminal is usually killed, with few or no police injuries. In Mumbai, police encounters are a type of crime control introduced in response to burgeoning organized crime in the city. The officers interviewed felt there was general organizational approval and support for “encounters” as a means of crime control. Officers’ perception of the political reaction to encounters in Mumbai was mixed. The majority of officers felt that although there was some interference in aspects of encounters, politicians did not object to encounters per se, particularly if they were effective in countering organized criminal activities in the city. The officers viewed media coverage of encounters similarly. Twenty-five of the 38 officers felt that the public’s attitude toward encounters was unconditional approval. Regarding the views of other criminal justice agencies toward encounters, the officers generally believed that other agencies, including the courts, supported police officers’ discretion in deciding when and where encounters should occur in addressing violent criminal gangs. 11 notes and 21 references