Exploring patterns of TASER use by the Police: An Officer-level Analysis

Citation

Donner, C.M. (2012), "Exploring patterns of TASER use by the Police: An Officer-level Analysis", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 35 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2012.18135baa.006

Exploring patterns of TASER use by the Police: An Officer-level Analysis

Exploring patterns of TASER use by the Police: An Officer-level Analysis

Article Type: Perspectives on policing From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 35, Issue 2

Justin Ready and Michael White,Journal of Crime & Justice,Vol. 34, Issue 3,2011,pp. 190-204

The empirical research on the TASER and other conducted energy devices (CEDs) has been expanding as police departments increasingly adopt them as a force alternative. However, few studies have examined officer-level patterns and variations in TASER use. This study was designed to gather information on patterns of TASER use, officers’ willingness to use the device in specific types of situations, and their personal insights on how this technology is changing police work. The authors investigate the prevalence/frequency of TASER use, and the characteristics that distinguish non-users, users and high-frequency users of the TASER.

The authors utilized data of 580 police officers across ten US police departments who carry the TASER. In addition to selecting agencies based on variability in size, the authors also restricted the study to departments that have use-of-force policies that are tied to suspect resistance and that have not recently undergone administrative changes. The TASER-use questionnaire was divided into three topic areas: the frequency and nature of their experiences using the TASER, the officers’ attitudes relating to the appropriate use of the device and their willingness to use the weapon in specific types of situations, and the officers’ work experience, assignment, and demographic attributes. The overall survey response rate was 66 percent.

About 80 percent of the officers indicated they had been in a situation where they drew the TASER on a suspect but did not deploy the weapon, and about half of the officers reported that they have deployed their weapon on a suspect at least once since being issued the TASER. The findings show that 15 percent of the respondents were responsible for 60 percent of all TASER deployments. One quarter of the officers who had used the TASER at least once indicated they had used it in a situation where deadly force would have been legally justified. Conversely, one-fifth of the officers stated they had used the TASER on a suspect who was only being passively resistant.

Moreover, the results demonstrate significant differences between those who have not used the TASER (nonusers), those who have used it occasionally (users), and those who have used it frequently (high-frequency users). Non-users were older than users and high-frequency users. Almost half of the nonusers have a four-year college degree, whereas only one-third of high-frequency users have graduated from college. Less than one-fifth of non-users were racial minorities, while half of high-frequency users were racial minorities. Non-users had more field experience than the TASER users, and they also worked in cities with lower crime rates.

The authors caution that use of any type of force requires close examination by police administrators. They suggest that departments adopt Early Warning Systems, which are structured to flag indicators of potentially problematic behavior. Once flagged, the first-line supervisor must investigate the case and determine whether the behavior can be legitimately explained, or whether intervention is needed. The authors also suggest that departments carefully scrutinize their use-of-force policies and their academy/in-service training curriculums. There have been concerns that officers are becoming over-reliant on TASER use and that officers may be resorting to the TASER too quickly, instead of taking the time to defuse the encounter with less coercive but more labor-intensive methods (listening, communication and arbitration). Given the delicate nature of any force used by the police, administrators should explore the appropriateness of officers’ use of this weapon, and the training that officers experience.

Christopher M. DonnerUniversity of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA