Mapping Violence: Police Use of Force and Gender-Based Violence in New York City

Spatially concentrated policing practices play a key role in the public face of mass incarceration, prompting inquiry into potential negative impact on rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in targeted communities. Using administrative data on police encounters (stops, use of force, and violence) and GBV incidents in New York City, linear regression shows that spatially clustered police encounters predict higher GBV rates, with stronger effects as police use of force intensifies. Community racial composition moderates this relationship such that the association between police use of force and GBV is stronger in communities with an above-average proportion of Black residents.