DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03152.v1
title: Police Use of Force in Metro-Dade, Florida, and Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, 1993-1995
title: Version 1

description: This study gathered data on police use of force in
 Metro-Dade, Florida, and Eugene and Springfield, Oregon. The study
 differed from previous research in that it addressed the level of
 force used by the police relative to the suspect's level of
 resistance. The data for Metro-Dade (Part 1) were collected from
 official Metro-Dade Police Department Control of Persons Reports from
 the last quarter of 1993 and all of 1994 and 1995. The Eugene and
 Springfield dataset (Part 2) was created from items in the Police
 Officers' Essential Physical Work Report Form, which was completed by
 members of the Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, Police Departments
 during April 1995. The dataset includes all police-citizen contacts,
 rather than being limited to the use-of-force situations captured by
 the Metro-Dade data. In Part 1 (Metro-Dade Data), information on the
 subject includes impairment (i.e., alcohol and drugs), behavior
 (i.e., calm, visibly upset, erratic, or highly agitated), level of
 resistance used by the subject, types of injuries to the subject, and
 types of force used by the subject. Information on the officer
 includes level of force used, medical treatment, and injuries. Other
 variables include ethnic match between officer and the subject and
 relative measures of force. Demographic variables include age,
 gender, race, and ethnicity of both the subject and the officer. In
 Part 2 (Oregon Data), information is provided on whether the officer
 was alone, how work was initiated, elapsed time until arrival,
 reasons for performance, perceived mental state and physical
 abilities of the suspect, amount and type of resistance by the
 suspect, if another officer assisted, perceived extent of effort used
 by the suspect, type of resistance used by the suspect, if the
 officer was knocked or wrestled to the ground, if the officer
 received an injury, level of effort used to control the suspect,
 types of control tactics used on the suspect, whether the officer was
 wearing tactical gear, how restraint devices were applied to inmate,
 time taken to get to, control, resolve, and remove the problem, how
 stressful the lead-up time or the period following the incident was,
 if the officer worked with a partner, types of firearm used, and if
 force was used. Demographic variables include age, gender, weight,
 and height of both the suspect and officer, and the officer's duty
position.
description: Collecting and interpreting information on
 police use of force has been a persistent problem for police managers
 and researchers. Although data on this issue are critical to both the
 police and the public, the data remain difficult to collect, measure,
 and interpret objectively. The Violent Crime Control and Law
 Enforcement Act of 1994 requires the United States Attorney General
 to collect information on law enforcement officers' use of
 force. This act has led to an energetic effort to collect data on all
 police use-of-force incidents, including excessive force, by various
 groups and methods. This study gathered data on police use of force
 in Metro-Dade, Florida, and Eugene and Springfield, Oregon. The study
 differed from previous research in that it addressed the level of
 force used by the police relative to the suspect's level of
resistance.
description: The data for Metro-Dade (Part 1) were collected
 from official Metro-Dade Police Department Control of Persons Reports
 from the last quarter of 1993 and all of 1994 and 1995. These data
 were reported by the officer's supervisor after talking to the
 officer, suspect, and available witnesses. The department's
 computerized information database was used to create the dataset. The
 Eugene and Springfield dataset (Part 2) was created from items in the
 Police Officers' Essential Physical Work Report Form, which was
 completed by members of the Eugene and Springfield Police Departments
 during April 1995. The data included all police-citizen contacts,
 rather than being limited to the use-of-force situations captured by
the Metro-Dade data.
description: Part 1 (Metro-Dade Data), information on the
 subject includes impairment (i.e., alcohol and drugs), behavior
 (i.e., calm, visibly upset, erratic, or highly agitated), level of
 resistance used by the subject, types of injuries to the subject, and
 types of force used by the subject. Information on the officer
 includes level of force used, medical treatment, and injuries. Other
 variables include ethnic match between officer and the subject and
 relative measures of force. Demographic variables include age,
 gender, race, and ethnicity of both the subject and the officer. In
 Part 2 (Oregon Data), information is provided on whether the officer
 was alone, how work was initiated, elapsed time until arrival,
 reasons for performance, perceived mental state and physical
 abilities of the suspect, amount and type of resistance by the
 suspect, if another officer assisted, perceived extent of effort used
 by the suspect, type of resistance used by the suspect, if the
 officer was knocked or wrestled to the ground, if the officer
 received an injury, level of effort used to control the suspect,
 types of control tactics used on the suspect, whether the officer was
 wearing tactical gear, how restraint devices were applied to inmate,
 time taken to get to, control, resolve, and remove the problem, how
 stressful the lead-up time or the period following the incident was,
 if the officer worked with a partner, types of firearm used, and if
 force was used. Demographic variables include age, gender, weight,
 and height of both the suspect and officer, and the officer's duty
position.
description: Response Rates: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Several Likert-type scales were used in Part 2.
description: Not applicable.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Metro-Dade Data
DS2: Oregon Data
description: Police use-of-force incidents in Metro-Dade, Florida, and
police-citizen contacts in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon.