Homicide Studies Special Issue on Police Use of Deadly Force

• Author: William Terrill
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221133402
• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Date: 01 February 2023
• Subject Matter: Special Issue Editor’s Introduction

https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221133402

Homicide Studies

2023, Vol. 27(1) 3 –5

© 2022 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/10887679221133402

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Special Issue Editor’s Introduction

Homicide Studies

Special Issue on Police

Use of Deadly Force

William Terrill1

The police have enormous power and responsibility in relation to the use of deadly

force. Continuing high-profile events involving lethal force illustrate the importance

of this crucial decision and how such force, even if legally justified, can spark outcry

among groups and communities that believe officers could—and should—have

resolved the situations without resorting to lethal force. For this special issue I sought

manuscripts that explore the nature of this crucial decision from any number of per-

spectives (e.g., officers, police leaders, individuals, academics, communities, etc.) and

drawing on any number of approaches (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods,

theoretical, etc.). Researchers were encouraged to be innovative in their research ques-

tions and methodology, as I envisioned the opportunity to push the boundaries in new

and inventive ways to shed light on this crucial issue. The end result is the nine issues

appearing in this issue.

We begin with a systematic review of the deadly force literature over the most

recently completed decade (2011–2020) by Oramas Mora, Terrill, and Foster. The

article is designed to offer a high-level broad perspective into the most recently com-

pleted decade (2011–2020) of research focusing mainly on how often and why the

police use such force. The authors find, not surprisingly given the continued public

discourse surrounding lethal force, that the number of research works has risen sub-

stantially over this time period. Moreover, the body of research during this period

indicates that citizen possession of a weapon continues to be a consistent risk factor.

Further, while many of the studies sought to examine a potential link between race and

lethal force, the findings remain mixed.

In the second and third articles, the authors seek to glean an understanding from

officers in terms of their views surrounding use of force, as well as firearm related

danger. Pickering and Klinger draw on Binder and Scharf’s model of deadly force

decision-making in examining the interactional nature of police-citizen encounters.

1Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

Corresponding Author:

William Terrill, Arizona State University, 411 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.

Email: William.Terrill@asu.edu

1133402HSXXXX10.1177/10887679221133402Homicide StudiesTerrill

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