Police Use-of-Force Data: Where We Are and Where We Should Be Going

Abstract

Research on police use of force has become a topic of considerable interest to practitioners and researchers. This article focuses on the various methods used by agencies and researchers to collect use-of-force information. Police managers and researchers often have different interests and needs concern ing these data and collect only the types of information important to their needs. The authors' suggestion is to have a supervisor document all aspects ofpolice- citizen contacts where force is used. The supervisor should receive input from all involved parties, including the officer(s), suspect(s), and witness(es). Finally, a panel of experts could be used to determine if the approach to the situation and any force used were reasonable.