Advancing Research and Accountability on Police Use of Deadly Force

• Date: 01 February 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12192
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Author: Christopher S. Koper

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

MICRO-ECOLOGY OF DEADLY FORCE

Advancing Research and Accountability

on Police Use of Deadly Force

Christopher S. Koper

George Mason University

The authorization to use deadly force when necessary to protect the public is the

most solemn responsibility held by the police. It can also be one of the most

controversial and socially disruptive, as we have seen over the past 2 years in

places like Ferguson (Missouri), Baltimore, and Chicago. Nonetheless, our ability to study

police use of deadly force has been hampered by a lack of transparency and data. National

data sources like the Supplemental Homicide Reports and the National Vital Statistics

System capture only fatal deadly force incidents and seem to undercount even these cases

by roughly half. As a result, the development of evidence-based practices to minimize

the use of deadly force is impeded. Also, undoubtedly, police accountability and legitimacy

are undermined, particularly in high-crime, minority communities where many deadly force

incidents occur. Protests and public concern over recent deadly force incidents around the

country have prompted public officials, community activists, researchers, and the President’s

Task Force on 21st Century Policing to issue renewed calls for better—and compulsory—

police reporting of deadly force incidents.

Studying Police Use of Deadly Forcein the Neighborhood Context

In their article, “Race, Crime, and the Micro-Ecology of Deadly Force,” David Klinger,

Richard Rosenfeld, Daniel Isom, and Michael Deckard (2016, this issue) tackle this topic

by studying all police uses of deadly force—both fatal and nonfatal—that occurred in

St. Louis, Missouri, between 2003 and 2012. Their study extends limited prior research

on this issue and yields several important insights. For one, their study again illustrates

(as have others) that fatal deadly force incidents are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg;

in St. Louis, only approximately 16% of incidents involving the use of deadly force result

in a death, and only approximately one third result in a nonfatal wounding. Having

Direct correspondence to Christopher S. Koper, Department of Criminology, Law & Society, George Mason

University, 4400 University Drive, MS 6D12, Fairfax, VA 22030 (e-mail: ckoper2@gmu.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12192 C2016 American Society of Criminology 187

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 15 rIssue 1