Police Use Of Excessive Force In Disorganized Neighborhoods

Hays examines how residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods become the victims of both criminals and rogue police officers. Following from theories of social disorganization and collective efficacy, Hays proposes a new theory for predicting police use of force. He argues that as neighborhood poverty, racial/ethnic differences, and residential mobility increase, it becomes more difficult for residents to know each other, to trust each other, and to help each other defend their neighborhoods from criminals and from rogue police officers. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, he finds that residents of disorganized neighborhoods are doubly-victimized OCo both by the criminals who work their neighborhoods and the police who are supposed to protect them."

Policing and firearms: it is a crucial relationship. Should police be routinely armed? If so, what restrictions should be imposed on the use of firearms? Where police are not routinely armed, there is still a need for specialist armed police: how do these units operate, and are they effective? This ground-breaking edited book explores the nexus between policing and firearms with a genuinely international focus. Contributors from Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Venezuela, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada explore the issues from a range of perspectives, including human rights, militarization, police legitimacy, and the risks police firearms pose to the community and to police themselves. This thought-provoking collection is an indispensable resource for law enforcement policymakers and students of policing and criminal justice.

Data is from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods.

The now-famous video tape and the trial of four Los Angeles policemen for kicking and beating Rodney King while 23 other officers looked on has precipitated a national outcry against police violence. Skolnick and Fyfe use the LAPD incident to explain why police use excessive force, and they make bold proposals for what to do about it.

Although the prevalence of police-citizen conflict has diminished in recent decades, police use of excessive force remains a concern of police departments nationwide. This timely book focuses on what is known and what still needs to be learned to understand, prevent, and remediate police abuse of force. The topics covered include: a theory of police abuse of force; the causes of police brutality; measures of its prevalence; the violence-prone police officer; public opinion about police abuse of force; the issue of race; officer selection, training, and attitudes; police unions and police culture; administrative review; procedural justice and the review of citizen complaints; the role of lawsuits; and a survey of police brutality abroad. In the final chapter Geller and Toch suggest new directions for research and practical innovations in law enforcement, from which both police and citizens can benefit. The contributors to this volume are scholars of criminology, criminal justice, social psychology, law, and public administration; former police managers; a police union leader; civilian oversight agency administrators and analysts; civil liberties advocates; police litigation expert witnesses; and media commentators. The combination of theoretical and practical perspectives makes this book ideal for students and scholars of democratic policing and for those in police departments, government, and the media charged with addressing and understanding the problem of improper exercise of force.

Contains ordinances, statutes, executive orders, departmental orders, and other documents pertaining to citizen review from over 30 police departments.