Psychological and sociological factors influencing police officers' decisions to use force: A systematic literature review

Cojean, Sébastien; Combalbert, Nicolas; Taillandier-Schmitt, Anne

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2020.101569

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Racial disparities in policing are a pressing social issue, as reported in both popular media and empirical research (Singh, 2020). There are numerous individual and situational factors that interact and influence police officers' decision to use force, including suspect behavior, neighborhood characteristics, training and experience, internal physiological arousal, prior information (i.e., dispatch), as well as organizational policies (for review see Bolger, 2015 andCojean et al, 2020;Correll et al, 2011;Johnson et al, 2014Johnson et al, , 2018Nieuwenhuys et al, 2012;Pleskac et al, 2018;Taylor, 2020). However, increased attention is given to officers' implicit attitudes and suspect race in informing decisions to shoot (or not to shoot).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial bias and lethal force errors among Canadian police officers.

Andersen

Nota

Boychuk

et al. 2023

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des

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Scientific examination of racial disparities in police shootings shows conflicting evidence of anti-Black, anti-White, or no racial bias. Experimental studies that attempt to control for extraneous factors often lack ecological validity and have inconsistent approaches for measuring racial bias. Given the mounting outcry for police reform, including recommendations for racial bias screening and training, clarifying the relationship between observable lethal force behaviors and implicit racial bias is an urgent matter. Building on limited extant literature, the present study examined racial disparities in shoot/no-shoot decision-making among Canadian police officers (n = 187) during their service's annual recertification assessment that manipulated suspect race (Black or White) in otherwise identical scenarios. Lethal force errors were compared to implicit racial bias scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and other demographic variables including officer sex, age, years of experience, and race. We found no statistically significant difference in error rates for simulations featuring a Black or White suspect for shoot (2.5%, 3.1%, respectively) or no-shoot scenarios (4.6%, 3.0%, respectively). Lethal force errors were not predicted by suspect race, extent of autonomic arousal, or IAT scores. However, the absolute frequencies of lethal force errors were greater in scenarios featuring Black suspects. The current findings suggest that widespread reform to police training is urgently needed to reduce racial disparities in use of force (UOF) and lethal force errors overall. Public Significance StatementAcademic research in psychology presents conflicting evidence for anti-White, anti-Black, and no racial bias. Further, lay popularity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) has informed public policy recommendations to use the IAT as a screening tool for unconscious racial bias among police in Canada. The present study reveals anti-Black biases in police shooting errors that align with North American population studies showing anti-Black bias, but which are not statistically significant compared to scenarios featuring White suspects. Our findings do not support using the IAT as a screening tool for predicting racially biased shooting behavior among police.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial bias and lethal force errors among Canadian police officers.

Andersen

Nota

Boychuk

et al. 2023

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des

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“…While there is a body of literature suggesting that self-efficacy may be protective and lead to more positive outcomes ( Bahora et al., 2008 ; Compton et al., 2006 ; Ellis, 2014 ; Godfredson et al., 2010 ; Hanafi et al., 2008 ; Wells and Schafer, 2006 ), it may also lead to overconfidence and negative performance in some cases ( Moores and Chang, 2009 ). Given historical and present-day events highlighting disproportionate use of excessive force by law enforcement when contending with members in the community experiencing a mental health crisis ( Cojean et al., 2020 ; Kleider et al., 2010 ; Morabito et al., 2012 ) (including those with prior CIT training), it is likely additional and specialized training is warranted ( Amodio and Swencionis, 2018 ; Boxer et al., 2021 ; Lai et al., 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and impact on mental illness and substance use-related stigma among law enforcement

Nick¹,

Williams²,

Lekas³

et al. 2022

Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports

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“…In short, it depends highly on the individual and the current internal system state. And this is-alongside situational factors involved (Cojean et al, 2020)-heavily the result of what the individual acting police officer has explicitly and implicitly learnt so far.…”

Section: Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

(Non-)learning to police: A framework for understanding police learning

Staller

Körner

2022

Front. Educ.

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For professional policing, learning is key. Since learning can be viewed as a complex process between the individual and information, learning takes place both within and outside the police system as well as during and before employment. The current conceptual analysis delineates different areas of (non-)learning related to policing and argues for the management of learning as a key issue for the police’s professionalization. According to this assumption a Police Learning Management Framework is presented, in which the relevant areas of learning as well as the related challenges for police learning on an individual and organizational level are specified. The proposed model calls for a more focused view on police learning which is a prerequisite for professionally coping with the pressing challenges of contemporary policing.

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Psychological and sociological factors influencing police officers' decisions to use force: A systematic literature review

Cited by 25 publications

References 65 publications

Racial bias and lethal force errors among Canadian police officers.

Racial bias and lethal force errors among Canadian police officers.

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and impact on mental illness and substance use-related stigma among law enforcement

(Non-)learning to police: A framework for understanding police learning

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