A Comprehensive Examination on Police Use of Force From Individual, Situational, and Structural Perspectives

Police use of force continues to be a topic of much discussion in the community, media, and academia. Officer and citizen characteristics are commonly examined in use of force incidents; however, the impact of neighborhoods and structural factors are understudied. Using 7,858 use of force incidents reported by the Dallas Police Department from 2014 to 2016, this study examines the effects of individual, situational, and structural factors on use of force encounters. Results show that Black and Hispanic/Latino citizens are more likely to have more severe force used against them, even when controlling for other factors, while most situational factors showed significant associations with police use of force. Surprisingly, no structural variables showed a significant influence on police use of force.