Interactive Police-Citizen Encounters that Result in Force

Abstract

The behavior of officers and suspects during encounters is influenced by the actions, comments, and demeanor of the other actor. The present study looks at the interactive context of police-citizen encounters that result in the use of force. The results of the study show that police-citizen encounters are not only interactive but also asymmetrical with respect to authority. Police use- offorce interactions with civilians are more likely to involve greater levels of force by the police relative to the level of suspect resistance when a suspect appears to have less authority relative to the police officer. During an encounter, police and citizens interpret and decide how to respond to each other. This interpretive process can shape the outcome of an encounter and is an important link to the understanding of police behavior.

Horizons of Context: Understanding the Police Decision to Arrest People With Mental Illness

“…It may not, however, shape the encounter or be predictive of arrest (31). Frequently in the police literature, immediate behavior in police interactions is operationalized by a measure of resistance (19,37). The probability of arrest increases when a suspect is disrespectful to the police (27) or displays extreme hostility (22).…”

“…Officers may also base decisions on the gender, race, or appearance of the suspect (37,38). Specifically, transience may affect police behavior (39).…”

Procedural Justice and Order Maintenance Policing: A Study of Inner‐City Young Men’s Perceptions of Police Legitimacy

“…The likelihood of these extralegal factors seeping into criminal justice agents' decision-making is greatest when legal factors (e.g., offense seriousness, evidence of criminal activity) are murkiest (Kalven & Zeisel, 1966;Reskin & Visher, 1986;Spohn & Cederblom, 1991). An abundant body of knowledge has established that police decisions can be affected by a suspect's race and/or social standing (Alpert, Dunham, & MacDonald, 2004;Mastrofski, Reisig, & McCluskey, 2002;Skogan, 2005), gender (Brunson & Miller, 2006a), demeanor (Engel, Sobol, & Worden, 2000;Klinger, 1996;Lundman, 1996;Worden & Shepard, 1996), and the environment wherein a given police-citizen encounter transpires (Fagan & Davies, 2000;Klinger, 1997;Meehan & Ponder, 2002;Terrill & Reisig, 2003). This gives rise to decision-making that citizens may perceive as arbitrary even when officers have no intention to discriminate and are unaware that they are conveying such an impression.…”

Agressie in de tram

“…Ook zien we dat er weinig wordt ingezoomd op een specifieke beroepsgroep, waardoor de relatie tussen de werkcontext en het verloop van agressieve interacties niet voldoende wordt onderkend. Over agressie tegen politieagenten zijn wel diverse studies verschenen, die (ten dele) oog hebben voor het interactieproces (Vynckier, De Haan, Adang & Goossens, 2012;Alpert, Dunham & MacDonald, 2004;Timmer, 2005). Deze studies 1 Uit hun studie komt naar voren dat 57% van de ondervraagden geconfronteerd is met verbale agressie in de afgelopen twaalf maanden, waarvan 15% elf of meer keren en 20% met fysieke agressie, waarvan 2% elf of meer keren (Abraham, Flight & Roorda, 2011: 24-25).…”