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Use of Force Defined

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Education Level and Police Use of Force

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Criminology ((BRIEFSPOLICI))

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Abstract

The use of force by police officers is defined as “acts that threaten or inflict physical harm on suspects” (Terrill 2003, p.56). The capacity and lawful authority for police to use coercive force upon the general public is what distinguishes it from other occupations, making the police profession and its permissible use of force inherently controversial (Bittner 1970; Reiss 1971; Scharf and Binder 1983; Sherman 1980; Walker and Fridell 1993). Although other professions such as correction officers have the legal authority to use force, the general public has the greatest exposure to police officer use of force. The overuse or abuse of force leads to a decrease in the level of confidence the public has in the police (Ross 1999). The concept of the use of force has often not been considered a rigid principle therefore officers are given substantial discretion in deciding upon a reasonable amount of force necessary to subdue a suspect.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ‘out clauses’ as defined by Paoline and Terrill (2012) include situations where the suspect’s characteristics differ (height/weight, skill, mental states, drug/alcohol use, officer fatigue, etc.)

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  1. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA

    John Vespucci

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  1. John Vespucci
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Vespucci, J. (2020). Use of Force Defined. In: Education Level and Police Use of Force. SpringerBriefs in Criminology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42795-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42795-5_1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42794-8

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