Author: Christopher Marier
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Force and Fallout: Experimental Evidence from a National Test of the Community Expectations Standard
A persistent “reasonableness divide” exists between the legal standards governing police use of force and the public’s expectations, producing “lawful but awful” uses of force. This study empirically tests the “Community Expectations Standard” (CES), a model that identifies five criteria the public uses to evaluate force: underlying governmental interest, avoidability, officer motivation, subject resistance, and…
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Assessing the Effect of Gender and Diversity on the Traditional Police Culture
Abstract: Women remain underrepresented in policing, and their effect on the traditional police culture remains understudied. The current study combines survey data from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) and National Police Platform to examine differences between the cultural attitudes of women and men, and whether larger proportions of women within law enforcement…
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Supreme Court broadens standard for unreasonable force claims against police
The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier to bring unreasonable force claims against police, ruling unanimously that courts should examine the circumstances beyond the split seconds when an officer fears for their safety in deciding whether they can be tried for unreasonable force. Full story: Supreme Court broadens standard for unreasonable force claims against…
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‘Split-second decision’: Supreme Court returns to the question of police killings
It took just seconds for a routine traffic stop on a Texas highway to escalate into a fatal shooting that left 24-year-old Ashtian Barnes bleeding to death in the driver’s seat. What happened during those seconds and the minutes prior during the April 2016 incident is now central to a Supreme Court case being argued…
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US cities largely saw a drop in violent crime in 2024, yet many still feel unsafe
As U.S. police departments release preliminary or finalized 2024 crime numbers, many are reporting historic declines in homicides and drops in other violent crimes compared to 2023. In many parts of the country, though, those decreases don’t match the public perception. Experts say most cities are seeing a drop in crime levels that spiked during…
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New K-9 Milo offers stress relief to Fort Walton Beach community and police
The Fort Walton Beach Police Department has welcomed a unique addition to its team: Milo, a 9-week-old labradoodle serving as a community wellness K-9. Unlike traditional police dogs, Milo’s role is to provide support at crime scenes, community events, and within the department itself. “I think Milo is a visual reminder that mental health is…
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Mississippi Police Use Tasers Freely, and Injuries Follow
In many places across the nation, the repeated shocking of Ms. Vivian Burks—a 65-year-old great-grandmother with no criminal record who was not acting aggressively and was largely under the officers’ control—would be considered an improper and dangerous use of a Taser by the police. Not in Mississippi. Here, police agencies set their own rules about…
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A tough-on-crime approach is back in US state capitols
Within minutes of his inauguration, new Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is expected to issue a variety of orders targeting crime. The tone-setting move reflects a national trend. After a period of relaxed sentencing laws, a tough-on-crime approach is back in political favor in the U.S. Republicans and Democrats alike are promoting anti-crime initiatives as a…
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‘Pizzagate’ gunman killed by police during traffic stop in North Carolina
The “Pizzagate” gunman who fired his rifle in a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant in 2016 after acting on a debunked conspiracy theory has died following a fatal traffic stop. Edgar Maddison Welch was shot by police over the weekend and died from his injuries on Monday, authorities in North Carolina said Thursday. Almost 10 years…
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‘It’s beyond human scale’: AFP defends use of artificial intelligence to search seized phones and emails
The Australian federal police says it had “no choice” but to lean into using artificial intelligence and is increasingly using the technology to search seized phones and other devices, given the vast amount of data examined in investigations. The AFP’s manager for technology strategy and data, Benjamin Lamont, said investigations conducted by the agency involve…