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NCJRS Abstract

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NCJ Number:	164078

Title:	Less-than-Lethal Weapons and Police-Citizen Killings in U.S. Urban Areas

Journal:	Crime and Delinquency Volume:42 Issue:4 Dated:(October 1996) Pages:535- 552

Author(s):	W C Bailey

Date Published:	1996

Page Count:	18

Type:	Survey

Format:	Article

Language:	English

Country:	United States of America

Annotation:	Data from United States cities for 1990 were used to analyze the relationship between the availability to the police of various types of less-than-lethal weapons and the rates of general and race-specific homicides.

Abstract:	The study was prompted by the general consensus in law enforcement circles that less-than-lethal weapons are effective in reducing police killings of citizens in the line of duty. The cities all had populations of more than 100,000. The analysis used bivariate and multivariate techniques to assess the effects of the availability of nonlethal devices on justifiable homicides by police. Findings produced no data indicating that police killing rates are affected by the availability of less-than-lethal weapons. To the contrary, the findings revealed overwhelmingly negligible results. Findings suggest that despite the high hopes of many law enforcement authorities, less-than-lethal weapons do not provide an improvement in preventing police-citizen killings. Nevertheless, methodological issues make it impossible to conclude that less-than-lethal weapons are not capable of significantly reducing police-citizen killings. Tables, notes, and 14 references (Author abstract modified)

Main Term(s):	Police use of deadly force

Index Term(s):	Fatalities; Lawful use of force; Less lethal technologies; Police policies and procedures



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NCJRS Abstract

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