Mapping definitions and measures of police violence in health literature: a scoping review

Abstract Background Police violence continues to be a significant public health problem, especially in the United States. A limited but growing body of research has explored the relationship between police violence and health outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to police violence may be a contributing factor to health inequities, particularly among Black Americans. Yet, there remains a lack of consensus on a conceptual and operational definition of police violence within health disciplines. This scoping review aims to address this gap by mapping the definitions and measures for assessing police violence in health literature. Methods We comprehensively searched PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and APA PsycInfo databases. We included studies published as peer-reviewed primary research in health journals and in the English language. Eligible studies measured police violence. Results Of the 1692 references identified, 204 references were retained for full-text review, and 114 references reporting on 98 studies met the inclusion criteria. We identified over 100 terms for police violence, which we clustered into 22 categories including abuse, assault, harassment, killing, and violence. The most common terms were “police violence,” “police abuse,” and “police brutality.” Only two-thirds of studies ( n = 76) included a definition of police violence. Police violence was most frequently defined as “police killings” ( n = 23) and excessive use-of-force ( n = 10). Self-reports of police violence were the most common measure ( n = 48). Other measures included counts of fatal police violence from open-source and governmental databases, as well as counts of deaths/injuries classified as “legal intervention” in medical records. Conclusions The health literature lacks a clear and consistent definition of police violence. While multiple measures show some potential for surveillance of police violence, few studies have conducted in-depth psychometric analyses. Recommendations for future research include developing an explicit definition of police violence and reporting psychometric data for measures. Additionally, there is a need for systematic data collection of police violence in health settings and the establishment of a federally supported and accessible public database of police violence to address underreporting and undermeasurement of police violence.