Neighborhood Context and Police Use of Force

Explanations of police coercion have been traditionally embedded within sociological, psychological, and organizational theoretical frameworks. Largely absent from the research are examinations exploring the role of neighborhood context on police use-of-force practices. Using data collected as part of a systematic social observation study of police in Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida, this research examines the influence of neighborhood context on the level of force police exercise during police-suspect encounters using hierarchical linear modeling techniques. The authors found police officers are significantly more likely to use higher levels of force when suspects are encountered in…