Police Use-of-Force Policy Change: Patterns, Drivers, and Consequences

Abstract

Law enforcement is unique among all professions in the United States in its legally sanctioned authority to employ physical force against civilians. Although organized public police departments have existed in the country for nearly two centuries, formal written policies governing officers' discretion in the use of force are a relatively contemporary phenomenon. Today, nearly every facet of policing is regulated by some combination of laws, policies, and guidelines, and use-of-force policies have become standard practice. Nevertheless, significant gaps remain in our understanding of these policies. How have they evolved over time? What factors have driven these changes? And do changes in policy have any impact on rates of police killings? Drawing on an original dataset, this thesis addresses these questions, offering insight into the patterns, drivers, and outcomes of use-of-force policy change. The findings reveal that between 2003 and 2017, the average restrictiveness of use-of-force policies among the largest U.S. police departments increased, with patterns of change aligning with minority group threat theory. Additionally, the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014 and 2015 are found to have been a catalyst for increases in policy restrictiveness. However, when examining the impact of greater restrictiveness, the findings do not support the conclusion that placing more restrictions on officers' discretion to use force results in a reduction in police killings.