Discretion in Police Use of Force Decision-Making: A Scoping Review

Police officers have a great deal of discretion in any given police-citizen encounter (Rydberg and Terrill in Police Q 13(1):92–120, 2010 ). However, especially in use-of-force cases, it is a controversial facet of police work. Previously, scholars have pointed out the importance of empirical resear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of police and criminal psychology 2024-09, Vol.39 (3), p.454-468
Main Authors: De Buck, Ann, Raes, Jolina L., Verhage, Antoinette
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Decision making
Inclusion
Law and Psychology
Law enforcement
Mixed methods research
Police
Police discretion
Psychology
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Summary:Police officers have a great deal of discretion in any given police-citizen encounter (Rydberg and Terrill in Police Q 13(1):92–120, 2010 ). However, especially in use-of-force cases, it is a controversial facet of police work. Previously, scholars have pointed out the importance of empirical research on factors that influence police officers’ use of force decisions. The present scoping review provides an update of recent empirical studies. The review spans 2006–2023 and analysed 102 articles published in major journals. The findings generally showed a wide range of possible factors influencing police decision-making in use-of-force cases in interactions with citizens. Understanding police discretion in use-of-force decisions appears to be complex. Future research should aim to develop an integrative theoretical framework for understanding police use of force encompassing different levels of analysis.
ISSN:0882-0783
1936-6469
DOI:10.1007/s11896-024-09683-w