Issues in Policing SAR 1
- 1. Running Head: Issues in Policing: SAR 1 1 Issues in Policing: SAR 1 Marcos Corley University of Texas at Arlington
- 2. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 2 Abstract The purpose of this essay is provide a proper response to a content review article written by Charles F Klahm and Rob Tillyer titled “Understanding Police use of Force: A Review of the Evidence”. This essay outlines the article in three main points: The first point is a synopsis of all the content reviewed in the article, followed by an in depth analysis of the implications presented with the review, Finally concluding with a response to the overarching issues surrounding the research statistics that were published between the years of 1995 and 2008.
- 3. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 3 The United States of America is currently facing a wide array of societal disputes regarding the enforcement of several policies. These disputes are driven by an overt desire to reform any policies that have been flagged for allegations of rights violations. The most significant of these issues is the debate over police use of force. Infamous cases of police misconduct that sparked national attention have resulted in a rapidly developing concern for public safety. The negative sentiment towards the police is largely proliferated by how the media and some research articles carry the implication that the police have a higher propensity to use force when the suspect is a minority. Due to the mere perception of a breach in social contract held by that implication, masses of people are incorrigibly outraged. This rapidly increasing angst has led to a public outcry for new police training protocol regarding use of force. The legal process of implementing new policies is largely dependent on available information about the problem, making the importance of accurate and viable information astronomical. The Article “Understanding Police use of Force: A Examination of the Evidence” by Charles Klahm and Rob Tillyer (Klahm, 2010) reviews the research articles that have been published on what variables might affect the likeliness that an officer will use force in any given situation. In an effort to fully understand the terminal impacts of Klahm’s review, this essay will provide a synopsis of the content reviewed and discussed in the article, include further analysis regarding the issues presented by the article, and finally deliver a response to the issues and implications at hand. The analysis delivered in Klahm’s article is an extensive examination of 23 peer review articles, based on police use of force studies from 1995-2008. The distinct
- 4. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 4 purpose of the article is to examine the variables used in previously published research on police use of force. The variables that are noted in the article can be broken into three main sections: suspect characteristics, officer characteristics, and encounter characteristics. The theory in all of the aforementioned studies, is that there are some characteristics involved in every police encounter that affect the likeliness that force will be used, and understanding those variables will produce the information needed to reform policies. The sections containing police and suspect characteristics both explore the same intrinsic traits held by an officer as well as the suspect. Examples of some of those variables include: race/ethnicity, age, and gender. The section on encounter characteristics provides research on the various aspects of the encounter itself. Some of these variables include: the influence of drugs or alcohol on a suspect at the time of the encounter, and the number of people observing the encounter. The article quickly showed that many societal conceptions about police use of force are heavily misguided at best. While some of the variables in the 23 studies reviewed, had multiple research articles supporting either positive or negative relationships with the use of force, the methods used to attained that information often varied. For each variable there is also always dissenting research that concluded with evidence supporting the claim that use of force held no relationship to the variable, as well as results that proved the opposite relationship to the one reported. This problem paves the way for the next significant issue with the research that is currently published, and that is the profound difference in every single police department from jurisdictional demographics, to operational differences in protocol, varying definitions to qualify use of force in an encounter, political climate of the jurisdiction, etc. There are several studies
- 5. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 5 that include results that compare findings in different departments, but there is no measure to tap organizational differences, as well as a lack of just comparison or highlighted acknowledgement of these differences, which could explain varying outcomes (Klahm, 2010). These issues flow directly into the two-fold terminal impact of this article. First, there is no way there can be objective and accurate discussion about reforms in policy while there is such a glaring gap in knowledge about the topic. There is also the generally negative mentality that society holds for police officers, which has been the most significant driving force in the call to reform. Klahm has now shown that this entire mindset is built entirely on a cracked foundation of logic and evidence. Not only is this mentality not structurally sound, but also lacks any future plan for repair, giving way to a cosmetic upgrade, coupled with the passive hope that the critical damage will fix itself in time. All of the issues presented in this article carry resounding importance to the continuance of healthy societal function in the United States. As previously stated, policy making for any situation is dependent on the information that is readily available on the problem in order to discuss a successful solution, which leaves accurate research as the only hope to resolve the conveyed grievances. For example, there could be significant holes in our understanding of reported statistics of a published article that compares two departments on their reported number of use of force encounters when in contact with minorities, but provides no context for the make up of the departments themselves. If one of the department’s jurisdictional boundaries resides in a predominantly Black or Hispanic area, the reported number of forceful encounters with a minority would naturally be exponentially higher than that of a police station residing in a predominantly
- 6. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 6 White area. Missing that key bit of contextual information and a criteria by which to judge the reported numbers, it might look like the initial police department struggles with bouts of racism, when the actual fact is that minority races make up most of the people the officers in that department will have any form of contact with, whether positive or negative. The published results of such a finding with no context or varying definitions for use of force between the two reports, would certainly lead to a greater distrust for the police department whose number of reported forceful encounters with minorities is shown to be more frequent than another department. In response to the issues that have been outlined in the article, it has become very clear that more significant research on police use of force is necessary. The impacts outlined above are significant enough to hopefully inspire more accurate research in the future. There are only 2 reported articles of the 23 that the Klahm reviewed that mentioned the variances in different police departments, and even then it was only briefly mentioned with no way to measure or contextualize that information. There is also a call for any new research to be conducted with one specific definition for use of force. This particular demand has to do with the exceptionally broad defining range that has been attached to all the research because of their use of each police department’s definition. The definitions used in the research done so far, can begin as strictly as an encounter involving the use force from the moment verbal commands are issued, and having that definition vary all the way to the extreme that force doesn’t begin until first physical contact. The problems Klahm listed that stem from varying definitions in research, will likely lead to a significant change on that front as well.
- 7. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 7 The argument can be made that Klahm has made major impacts on the future development of use of force training and other potential policies with his article. However, these impacts are not direct or immediate to a future change in policy, simply because he did not offer any of the necessary information for those changes to take place. His impact is in the establishment of the implications that have revealed the unstable basis for serious political discussion in the status quo. Klahm’s involvement in the future political change is more investment based, brought about by prodding researchers into obtaining more precise data. This sentiment is best seen in the closing statement of the article: “Finally, organizational policy, in theory, should be predicated on empirical research. As such, it is imperative that we fully understand the nature and extent of police use of force as well as the factors related to its use. Only then can training protocols be tailored to its appropriate use and policy formulated to instruct officers when they can and should use force” (Klahm, 2010). There is a clear desire from the introduction to the conclusion of this review, to help foster a healthy and well-informed environment for the purpose of having the necessary discussions that are imperative to the creation of universally beneficial and appropriate litigations. In conclusion, Klam’s article facilitates a firm grasp on the concept of police use of force. In the interest of analyzing his writing, three points have been presented. First, there was an appropriate summery of the article for the purpose of understanding the topic and the research surrounding it. Following that, strong analysis of the implications has been provided in order to solidify the harms laid out in the review. Finally, there was a response to those implications in regard to their real world impact.
- 8. Issues in Policing: SAR 1 8 References Klahm, C. F., Tillyer, R. (2010). Understanding Police Use of Force: A Review of the Evidence. Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, 7(2), 214-239.