January 2022
Volume 64, No. 1 | Go to abstracts
Articles
Page 6
The Need for a Canadian Database of Police Use-of-Force Incidents
Craig Bennell, Andrew Steven Brown, Bryce Jenkins, Ariane-Jade Khanizadeh, Audrey MacIsaac, Tori Semple
Page 30
Examining Press Conference and Press Release Accounts of Canadian Police Shootings
Kevin Walby, Babatunde Alabi
Page 53
Examining Negative Online Social Reaction to Police Use of Force: The George Floyd and Jacob Blake Events
Olivier Péloquin, Francis Fortin, Sarah Paquette
Page 82
Body-Worn Camera Footage in the News: An Experimental Study of the Impact of Perspective and Framing on Viewer Perception
Brigitte Poirier, Justine Collin-Santerre, Rémi Boivin
Page 99
Situational and Ecological Predictors of Conducted Energy Weapon Application Severity
Victoria A. Sytsma, Erick Laming, Ethan Pohl
Abstracts
The Need for a Canadian Database of Police Use-of-Force Incidents
Craig Bennell, Andrew Steven Brown, Bryce Jenkins, Ariane-Jade Khanizadeh, Audrey MacIsaac, Tori Semple
Concerns surrounding the use of force by police officers appear to be growing, fuelled by perceptions that the police use force too frequently, research showing that force is applied disproportionately to members of certain groups, and the view held by some that the mechanisms for holding police responsible for unjustified force are inadequate. In this paper, we advocate for the creation of a national use-of-force database in Canada to gain a better understanding of these issues, adding our voice to those who have already been actively calling for this. We describe some of the potential benefits that would be associated with such a database, including the fact that it would enhance police transparency and accountability, while also increasing our understanding of when and why force is used and what strategies may be useful for reducing inappropriate applications of force. We also highlight some of the challenges we think would be encountered, including mandating nationwide participation, overcoming resistance from the police community, establishing sensible case inclusion criteria, and standardizing data collection. While these are significant challenges, we believe not only that they are possible to overcome but that doing so will provide real value to Canadian society.
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Examining Press Conference and Press Release Accounts of Canadian Police Shootings
Kevin Walby, Babatunde Alabi
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Examining Negative Online Social Reaction to Police Use of Force: The George Floyd and Jacob Blake Events
Olivier Péloquin, Francis Fortin, Sarah Paquette
Dealing with use of excessive force by the police has historically been a struggle in the United States. The 1992 protests in Los Angeles following the death of Rodney King are one example of public response to an instance of excessive use of force. More recently, the death of George Floyd led to widespread protests against excessive use of force and the current model of policing in general. The increasing popularity and availability of social media over the past decade have made it a powerful tool for mobilizing citizens and provided a place for protest. This study looks at the negative reactions of social media users to police use of force in the United States based on analysis of two significant instances: the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Using quantitative, forensic linguistics, and advanced topic modelling methodologies, three prominent aspects of policing identified in the literature – excessive use of force, racial bias, and legitimacy – were analysed from 14 days of tweets following each event. Analyses deal with trends in frequency, case similarities, and topic modelling. The results show important differences in negative online reaction to the two events, particularly regarding excessive use of force: those following the Floyd death focused on the technicalities of the intervention, while those responding to the Blake death focused on its aftermath. Analysis of tweets related to racial bias and police legitimacy revealed similar patterns, with users repeating criticisms such as differential treatment according to race and the need for changes in the policing model. The results also suggest that perceptions of excessive use of force and racial bias are deeply intertwined. Implications and issues are discussed.
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Body-Worn Camera Footage in the News: An Experimental Study of the Impact of Perspective and Framing on Viewer Perception
Brigitte Poirier, Justine Collin-Santerre, Rémi Boivin
The use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by police organizations has increased rapidly in recent years. As a result, the use of BWC footage by mass media has also increased. While such video images can help viewers better understand complex police interventions, there are few studies of the extent to which BWC footage influences audience opinions and interpretations of police work. This article investigates the degree to which news reports of a police use-of-force event are influenced by two potential sources of cognitive bias: camera perspective and the way information about the event is framed. In a study using a three (cellphone, closed-circuit camera, and BWC perspective) by two (neutral and negative frame) experimental design, a total of 634 participants viewed and evaluated a news report of a police use-of-force event. Participant perceptions showed the influence of a BWC perspective bias, but no framing effect was found. Participants who watched the BWC footage were more likely to see the intervention as questionable or blameworthy and to believe that officers had no reasonable grounds for intervening. Results also suggest that the BWC perspective bias can be exacerbated or mitigated by the way information is presented in a news report.
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Situational and Ecological Predictors of Conducted Energy Weapon Application Severity
Victoria A. Sytsma, Erick Laming, Ethan Pohl
Despite being touted as a “less lethal” use-of-force option, conducted energy weapons (CEWs) do pose some risk of injury to civilians, and thus warrant empirical examination. CEWs provide users with multiple use modes constituting various levels of severity; yet apart from the work of Somers and colleagues, almost no research exists investigating these levels of severity. Further, research findings on the impact of suspect resistance on CEW deployment are somewhat mixed. We contribute an innovative application of environmental criminology in a Canadian setting by exploring situational and ecological predictors of CEW application severity, with special attention being paid to reasons cited for CEW use and the impact of subject resistance level. Using all 393 Ontario Provincial Police CEW-related use-of-force reports over a two-year period, we find probe deployment to be the most common level of CEW application severity, irrespective of subject resistance level, and even when officers and subjects are in close proximity to one another. Application of CEW for the purpose of effecting an arrest is consistently the strongest predictor of CEW application severity without any mediating effect of subject resistance level or presence of a weapon. The impact of applying CEWs for the purpose of effecting arrests on CEW application severity is partially mediated by lighting visibility. Results are discussed.