Interactive Police-Citizen Encounters that Result in Force
Abstract
The behavior of officers and suspects during encounters is influenced by the actions, comments, and demeanor of the other actor. The present study looks at the interactive context of police-citizen encounters that result in the use of force. The results of the study show that police-citizen encounters are not only interactive but also asymmetrical with respect to authority. Police use- offorce interactions with civilians are more likely to involve greater levels of force by the police relative to the level of suspect resistance when a suspect appears to have less authority relative to the police officer. During an encounter, police and citizens interpret and decide how to respond to each other. This interpretive process can shape the outcome of an encounter and is an important link to the understanding of police behavior.
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Police decisions can be affected by a suspect's race and/or social standing.
“An abundant body of knowledge has established that police decisions can be affected by a suspect's race and/or social standing (Alpert, Dunham, & MacDonald, 2004;Mastrofski, Reisig, & McCluskey, 2002;Skogan, 2005)”
From Procedural Justice and Order Maintenance Policing: A Study of Inner‐City Young Men’s Perceptions of Police Legitimacy (2010) · cites this paper as Alpert, Dunham, & MacDonald, 2004
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Ariel, B., Farrar, W. A., & Sutherland, A. (2015) · Journal of Quantitative Criminology · doi:10.1007/s10940-014-9236-3 · Cited by 621 · see citing works
Gau, J. M., & Brunson, R. K. (2010) · Justice Quarterly · doi:10.1080/07418820902763889 · Cited by 582 · see citing works
Owens, E., Weisburd, D., Amendola, K. L., & Alpert, G. P. (2018) · Criminology & Public Policy · doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12337 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationBurnout and violent victimization in police officers: a dual process model.
Ellrich, K. (2016) · Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management · doi:10.1108/pijpsm-10-2015-0125 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
- Authors
- Alpert, G. P., Dunham, R. G., & MacDonald, J. M.
- Affiliations
- University of South Carolina (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- RAND Corporation (US)
- Venue
- Police Quarterly
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2004-12
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 475-488
- ISSN
- 1098-6111 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-745X
- OpenAlex
- W2030564075
- Cited by
- 130
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 6.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Police Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
- Keywords
- police use of force, police-citizen encounters, interpretive process, police behavior
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