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Evaluating Police Uses of Force - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Evaluating Police Uses of Force

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Provides a critical understanding and evaluation of police tactics and the use of force

Police violence has historically played an important role in shaping public attitudes toward the government. Community trust and confidence in policing have been undermined by the perception that officers are using force unnecessarily, too frequently, or in problematic ways. The use of force, or harm suffered by a community as a result of such force, can also serve as a flashpoint, a spark that ignites long-simmering community hostility.

In Evaluating Police Uses of Force, legal scholar Seth W. Stoughton, former deputy chief of police Jeffrey J. Noble, and distinguished criminologist Geoffrey P. Alpert explore a critical but largely overlooked facet of the difficult and controversial issues of police violence and accountability: how does society evaluate use-of-force incidents? By leading readers through answers to this question from four different perspectives—constitutional law, state law, administrative regulation, and community expectations—and by providing critical information about police tactics and force options that are implicated within those frameworks, Evaluating Police Uses of Force helps situate readers within broader conversations about governmental accountability, the role that police play in modern society, and how officers should go about fulfilling their duties.

ISBN-13: 9781479810161

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: New York University Press

Publication Date: 02-01-2021

Pages: 256

Product Dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

Seth W. Stoughton is Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Jeffrey J. Noble is a police consultant and author of Managing Accountability Systems for Police Conduct: Internal Affairs and External Oversight. Geoffrey P. Alpert is a Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina and author of more than twenty books about criminal justice.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables ix

Foreword Arif Alikhan xi

Preface to the Paperback Edition xiii

Introduction 1

Part I Standards for Evaluating Police Uses of Force 9

Chapter 1 The Constitutional Law Standard 12

When Does the Constitutional Standard Apply? 13

What Does the Constitutional Standard Regulate? 18

How Does the Constitutional Standard Apply? 19

Conclusion 56

Chapter 2 The State Law Standard 58

When Does the State Law Standard Apply? 58

What Does the State Law Standard Regulate? 63

How Does the State Law Standard Apply? 67

Conclusion 96

Chapter 3 The Administrative Standard 97

When Does the Administrative Standard Apply? 97

What Does the Administrative Standard Regulate? 99

How Does the Administrative Standard Apply? 102

Conclusion 124

Chapter 4 The Community Expectations Standard 125

When Does the Community Expectations Standard Apply? 127

What Does the Community Expectations Standard Regulate? 129

How Does the Community Expectations Standard Apply? 134

Conclusion 151

Part II Police Tactics and Force Options 153

Chapter 5 Tactical Considerations 154

A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Tactics and "Officer-Created Jeopardy" 155

Tactical Concepts 159

Applying Tactical Concepts 185

Conclusion 190

Chapter 6 Force Options: Tools, Techniques, and Weaponry 191

Tools 195

Techniques 198

Weaponry 205

Police Canines 219

Police Vehicles 221

Conclusion 223

Conclusion 225

Taking the "Totality of the Circumstances" Seriously 227

From Resistance to Threat 229

The Need for Better Information 231

Summing Up 234

Acknowledgments 237

Appendix of State Laws 239

Notes 289

Index 319

About the Authors 327