Jacinta Gau
Associate Professor Of Criminal Justice, University Of Central Florida
Key Findings
- There was a significant difference between Black and White officers’ use of force.
- White officers were more likely to use force, such as OC spray and hard hand tactics compared to Black officers.
- Black officers were more likely to use soft hand tactics and conductive energy devices or other impact weapons.
- White citizens were unlikely to display resistance or non-physical non-compliance during interactions with police.
- Black suspects were more likely to display resistance but less-likely to be physically aggressive during interactions with police.
- White officers display higher levels of force towards Black citizens.
- While Black officer’s use of force is not related to race, more experienced Black officers used more force than less experienced Black officers.
- Citizens reacted similarly to police interactions regardless of their race or the officer’s race.
Description
In the article, “Race and the Police Use of Force Encounter in the United,” Gau and her co-authors examine the relationship between race, relationships between police and citizens, and use of force. Many policy experts claim that the tension between police officers and citizens stems from a lack of diversity in police forces and their communities; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. Police departments have increased representation of Black officers to roughly equal the population. The researchers conducted their study by using data from a National Institute of Justice study on police use of force. The authors note that although this data is from the United States, the issues and effects can be generalized globally. The current study’s data included eight mid-to-large police agencies from cities nationally with more than 6,000 cases regarding police use of force that involved Black and White citizens and officers. The results showed there was a significant difference between Black and White officer’s use of force. White officers were more likely to use force, such as oleoresin capsicum (OC or pepper) spray and hard hand tactics, such as punching an attacker, than Black officers. Black officers were more likely to use soft hand tactics, such as holding an attacker’s fist, and conductive energy devices or other impact weapons. The data also showed that White citizens were unlikely to display resistance or non-physical non-compliance during interactions with police. Black suspects were more likely to display resistance but less-likely to be physically aggressive during interactions with police. The researchers found that White officers display higher levels of force towards Black citizens. While Black officer’s use of force is not related to race, researchers found that more experienced Black officers used more force than less experienced Black officers. Finally, the researchers noted that citizens reacted similarly to police interactions regardless of their race or the officer’s race. In conclusion, the authors found race differences between officers and citizens regarding use of force and resistance but suggest further research to determine the impact of neighborhood variables.