Controlling Police Use of Deadly Force

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 452, p. 122-134

Abstract

A central problem for democratic government is how to limit their own use of force, particularly their use of deadly force. Government control of force can be accomplished in a number of ways, but principally by controlling opportunities for its exercise & decisions to use it. To control opportunities for the use of deadly force, institutions & their organization must be altered, whereas to control decisions to use it, organizations must manage them. Some major ways to control the use of deadly force by structuring opportunities & decisions are explored. Restricting opportunities for the legitimate use of force appears effective in reducing its use & the harmful consequences of inquiry & death. Current decision models for managing the use of deadly force rely too much on a micromodel detailing the sequential "choice" points in decisions to use deadly force. Such models have distinct limits. Among the more serious ones are that they ignore how the use of deadly force in police encounters with citizens may be averted or precluded & how the behavior of police organizations can affect its use. HA.