By Expert Panel to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board

In the Spring of 2022, we, the Independent Expert Panel, were engaged by the Thunder Bay Police Services Board (the Board) to provide advice in support of taking immediate actions to address ongoing issues of policing in Thunder Bay. As part of this engagement, we were asked to develop a final report to help guide the Board moving forward. After an initial round of public and private consultations in July of 2022, there was an urgent need to address three areas, including recruitment of leadership and the strengthening of workplace culture within the Thunder Bay Police Service (the Service), which prompted the release of our Interim Report in September 2022, followed by additional in-person and virtual consultations in October 2022. This is our final report, and we offer it with a sense of urgency. We have heard widespread dissatisfaction and a profound lack of trust in the community and within the Service. Hundreds of thoughtful recommendations made over the last few years as part of previous inquests, reviews, and investigations lie unimplemented or inadequately executed. Our extensive consultations with members of the public and the Service brought to our attention the significant consequences of persisting with the status quo. The time for small fixes, tinkering and modest change has long passed; bold transformative action is well overdue. The Board, the Chief of Police and Senior Command of the Service, as well as the City of Thunder Bay must commit themselves to taking immediate action now with a keen and watchful eye and the support of the province and appropriate oversight agencies, in particular, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC). Failure to do so will only strengthen the prevailing sense of despair and intensify calls for external intervention, such as disbandment of the Service. There is an obligation for the Government of Ontario, through these oversight agencies, to ensure that the Board and the Service have the funding and support required to fully implement the necessary changes. The citizens of Thunder Bay cannot bear these costs alone.

Thunder Bay, ON: Thunder Bay Police Services, 2023. 202p.

By Delores Jones-Brown, Joshua Ruffin, Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, Akiv Dawson and Cicely J. Cottrell

In a five-to-four decision announced in February of 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the parents of an unarmed fifteen-year-old Mexican national killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a cross-border shooting, cannot sue for damages in U.S. civil court. Here, we critique the majority and dissenting opinions and attempt to reconcile the strikingly different approach each used to resolve the case. Using a publicly available data set, we examine the homicide in Hernández v. Mesa, against the circumstances and context in which underage youth were killed by police within the United States over a five year period before, during and after the death of Michael Brown. The circumstances of the 121 cases suggest a greater need for police accountability if the justice system is to remain true to the protective “child saving” ideology that launched the founding of the juvenile court.

Criminal Law Bulletin. 56(5): 833-871, 2020.

By Kenneth J. Weiss

Suicide by cop (SbC) is a variant of victim-precipitated homicide. In SbC, a citizen intent on dying provokes police, often with credible threats of violence. A fatality results in ambiguity about manner of death (homicide versus suicide). Decedents’ families may raise claims of civil-rights violations, asserting insufficient restraint by officers. Police officers, when questioned, may justify their actions as reasonable and necessary force. Defendant officers and municipalities are concerned about police safety and adverse economic and public-perception consequences of litigation. This article explores the history and evolution of the SbC phenomenon, examines related civil case law, and reviews the contours of police-citizen interactions in SbC cases. There is potential liability for officers whose actions must be objectively reasonable to prevail in court. Since SbC can be admitted as evidence, there may be an expanded role for forensic psychiatry in distinguishing manner of death. Expert testimony can also aid fact finders in appreciating the decisions of officers faced with ambiguous and threatening situations. The author recommends collaboration between law enforcement and mental health professionals to improve recognition and handling of difficult situations involving persons with mental illness.

Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, Vol. 51, Issue 1 1 Mar 2023 11p.

By P. M. Di Nota , G. S. Anderson , R. Ricciardelli , R. N. Carleton3 and D. Groll

Background Recent investigations have demonstrated a significant prevalence of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among Canadian public safety personnel, including police officers. What remains unknown is the relationship between mental disorders and suicide among sworn police officers, and the prevalence of both among civilian police workers. Aims To examine the relationship between suicidal ideation, plans and attempts and positive mental health screens for depression, anxiety, panic disorder, alcohol abuse and PTSD among Canadian sworn and civilian police employees. Methods Participants completed an online survey that included self-report screening tools for depression, anxiety, panic disorder, alcohol abuse and PTSD. Respondents were also asked if they ever contemplated, planned or attempted suicide. Between-group (Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP], provincial/municipal police and civilians) differences on mental health screening tools were calculated using Kruskal–Wallis analyses. The relationship between mental disorders and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts was evaluated with a series of logistic regressions. Results There were 4236 civilian and sworn officer participants in the study. RCMP officers reported more suicidal ideation than other police and scored highest on measures of PTSD, depression, anxiety, stress and panic disorder, which were significantly associated with suicidal ideation and plans but not attempts. Relative to provincial and municipal police, civilians reported more suicide attempts and scored higher on measures of anxiety. Conclusions The results identify a strong relationship between mental health disorders and increased risk for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among sworn and civilian Canadian police employees.

Occupational Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 3, April 2020, Pages 183–190,

By Nishant Krishnan, Lisa M. B. Steene, Michael Lewis, David Marshall & Jane L. Ireland

Suicide has long been considered as nearing ‘epidemic levels’ in law enforcement populations. Nevertheless, despite the argued scale of the problem, no review has yet systematically examined the evidence base to elucidate the risk factors or predictors implicated in the suicidal behaviours of police ofcers. The current review aims to do this, by considering a fnal sample of 20 papers that met inclusion criteria. Findings from this qualitative review revealed fve superordinate risk factors (i.e., problematic substance use close to, or at the time of death; presence of depression and previous suicide attempts; differences in trauma response; exposure to excessive and prolonged job-related stress, including dissatisfaction; absence of a stable intimate relationship), which when taken in isolation each incrementally contributed to suicide risk, but when found to be comorbid, appeared to markedly increase the likelihood of completed suicide. Implications for suicide prevention, policy design, and treatment formulation are discussed, along with limitations and directions for future research.

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 37, pages 939–951 (2022)

By The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

This brief presents research findings obtained from a broad, but not exhaustive, review of research studies relevant to the prevention of suicide among law enforcement officers. Contents include the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among officers, relevant risk and protective factors, effective strategies and best practices for preventing suicide among officers, and knowledge gaps that require additional research. The discussion of evidence-based strategies and best practices notes that research indicates suicide prevention programs are more likely to succeed when they are comprehensive, which involves combining multiple strategies that impact risk and protective factors at various levels of influence (individual, interpersonal, community, and societal). Areas of influence discussed in relation to law enforcement officer suicide are leadership and culture, access to culturally competent mental health services, peer support, suicide prevention training and awareness, event response, family support, and limiting access to means of suicide. Among the knowledge gaps identified are suicide-related data, the effectiveness of preventive strategies and practices, and suicide prevention among subgroups.

Alexandria, VA: The International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2020. 32p.

By Scott A. Harman-Heath

Three times a day in the United States, a police officer kills someone. On any given day, this person might be an active shooter, a hostage-taker, or a bomber. But on that same day police might also kill a motorist reaching for his license (Philando Castile), someone selling loose cigarettes (Eric Garner), someone who used a counterfeit bill at a grocery store (George Floyd), or someone fleeing a traffic ticket for a malfunctioning brake light (Walter Scott). Intuitively, these scenarios present radically different uses of deadly force, but the nomenclature we use for deadly force does not account for this—all police killings are simply “deadly force.” This Article suggests that this is a mistake that stunts both scholarship and discourse. Instead, this Article contends, police killings demand a new taxonomy, one that easily and intuitively distinguishes between different types of deadly force. This Article proposes a framework that distinguishes between police killings we intuitively understand to be problematic and those we are more willing to accept. It does so by proposing that deadly force be divided into three categories—preemptive, anticipatory, and reactive—according to the degree of speculation an officer relies on when they decide to use deadly force. Importantly, because this Article advances a descriptive as opposed to doctrinal theory, its proposal need not be adopted by courts to afford substantial benefits to scholars, officers, or litigants. Rather, this Article aims to aid scholars’, litigants’, and courts’ attempts to classify and explain the differences between police killings. Unlike the catch-all term “deadly force,” this Article’s framework recognizes and accounts for the dissimilarity of many police killings, which have nothing in common besides the end result.

Cornell Law Review Vol.106:1689

By John M. Violanti and Andrea Steege

Purpose –—The purpose of this paper is to update the assessment of national data on law enforcement worker suicide based on the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance database (NOMS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Design/methodology/approach –—Death certificate data for 4,441,814 decedents, age 18–90 who died in one of the 26 reporting states were the source of NOMS data. Utilizing proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs), the ratio of suicides in law enforcement occupations in those who are 18– 90 years old with a designated usual occupation was calculated. Findings –—Findings indicate a significantly higher proportion of deaths from suicide for law enforcement officers (PMR = 154, 95% CI = 147–162), compared to all the US decedents in the study population who were employed during their lifetime. Law enforcement personnel are 54% more likely to die of suicide than all decedents with a usual occupation. PMRs were highest for African-Americans, Hispanic males and for females. PMRs were similar for detectives, corrections officers and all law enforcement jobs, when not stratified by race, ethnicity and sex. Research limitations/implications –—Bias may arise because a PMR can be affected by disproportionate increased or decreased mortality from causes of death other than suicide. Practical implications –—A better understanding of the scope of law enforcement suicide can inform policy focused on the planning and initiation of prevention programs. Originality/value –—The use of a national database to study law enforcement worker suicide adds to other information available on law enforcement worker suicide in specific geographic areas. The discussion on prevention in this paper presents ideas for policy

Policing. 2021 ; 44(1): 18–31. doi:10.1108/PIJPSM-09-2019-0157. 16p.

U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice

The analysis focused on the police role and responsibilities; police organization, management, and operations; the coordination and consolidation of police service; police personnel selection, training, and career development; police-community relations; police ethics; the implementation of policing standards through State commission on police standards; and the community's role in law enforcement. Individual sections detailed the history of the police, police attitudes toward their role, internal and external controls, police leadership, the use of technology, police misconduct, the role of private police, citizen crime precautions, and community crime prevention planning.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1967. 250p.

By Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman

This book analyzes the expanding crime opportunities created by the Internet and e-commerce, and it explains how concepts of crime prevention developed in other contexts can be effectively applied in this new environment. The authors note that the Internet and associated e-commerce constitute a lawless "wild frontier" where users of the Internet can anonymously exploit and victimize other users without a high risk of being detected, arrested, prosecuted, and punished. For acquisitive criminals who seek to gain money by stealing it from others, e-commerce through the Internet enables them to "hack" their way into bank records and transfer funds for their own enrichment. Computer programs that are readily available for download on the Web can be used to scan the Web for individual computers that are vulnerable to attack. By using the Internet addresses of other users or using another person's or organization's computers or computing environment, criminals can hide their trails and escape detection. After identifying the multiple opportunities for crime in the world of e-commerce, the book describes specific steps that can be taken to prevent e-commerce crime at particular points of vulnerability. The authors explain how two aspects of situational crime prevention can prevent Internet crime. This involves both a targeting of individual vulnerabilities and a broad approach that requires partnerships in producing changes and modifications that can reduce or eliminate criminal opportunities. The authors apply the 16 techniques of situational crime prevention to the points of vulnerability of the e-commerce system. The points of vulnerability are identified and preventive measures are proposed. In discussing the broad approach of institutionalized and systemic efforts to police e-commerce, the book focuses on ways to increase the risks of detection and sanctions for crime without undue intrusions on the freedom and privacy of legitimate Internet and e-commerce users.Links coming….

Devon, U.K. Willan Publishers. 2003. 224p.

By Rory Kramer and Brianna Remster

An estimated 61.5 million Americans encounter police annually and more than one million are threatened or subjected to police use of force during these encounters. Much research exists on the efficacy for crime control of the policing practices that produce those encounters, but outside of formal consequences such as incarceration, the criminology of police harms has been slower to emerge. In this review, we describe the slow violence that contemporary policing practices disproportionately inflict on people of color. These wide-ranging harms constitute cultural trauma and shape health, well-being, academic performance, government participation, community membership, and physical space. As a result, routine policing practices help create and maintain the racial and class status quo. We close by considering the limits of popular reforms given those harms and urge researchers to take a broader approach by studying nonpolicing alternatives to public safety alongside crime control efficacy and incorporating more critical perspectives to build a more comprehensive assessment of modern policing practices.

Annu. Rev. Criminol. 2022. 5:43–66

By Maša Galič, Abhijit Das and Marc Schuilenburg

There is great enthusiasm for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the criminal justice domain in the Netherlands. This enthusiasm is connected to a strong belief – at least on the side of the government – that experimenting with new technologies can enhance security as well as improve government efficiency. New digital systems are considered as leading to rational, scientific and value-neutral ways to generate knowledge and expertise within the criminal justice domain. AI in this domain therefore holds a central position not only in policy documents,3 but can also be seen in numerous examples in practice. The Dutch police stand at the forefront of predictive policing practices, at least in Europe, being the first to deploy an AI-based system for predictive policing nation-wide, and continue to set up an increasing number of predictive policing projects. Facial recognition technology is increasingly used in public space, both by the police and municipalities, often in public-private partnerships constituted within smart city initiatives. And AI-based systems, such as Hansken, are used for the purpose of finding evidence among huge amounts of data gathered in contemporary criminal investigations.6 It should be noted, however, that in the Dutch public sector the term AI is oftentimes used in a broad manner, including algorithmic systems of various complexity. The term AI is used not only for data-driven algorithms (where algorithms are trained on the basis of input data) or rule-based algorithms (where the steps, methodologies and outcomes can be traced to pre-programmed instructions implemented by a human), but also for older and much simpler types of statistical analysis (e.g., actuarial risk assessment tools, which are based on the correlation between certain factors and past statistics concerning recidivism). Because of this broad use of the term AI and a lack of publicly available information on the functioning of many technological systems used in practice, it is sometimes difficult to know whether the system used in the criminal justice domain is strictly speaking AI-based or not. In any case, older methods for statistical analysis should be seen as a precursor of contemporary advanced AI techniques. The development of risk assessment technology, such as predictive policing and tools used for the assessment of the risk of recidivism, is namely taking place on a continuum, where several generations can be discerned.

e-Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal .2023. 57p.

By JohannaSprenhrt and DominikBrodowski

In ever more areas, it becomes evident that the transformative power of information technology – and so-called ‘artificial intelligence’ in particular – affects the administration of criminal justice in Germany. The legal framing of issues relating to the use of ‘AI technology’ in criminal justice lags behind, however, and is of high complexity: In particular, it needs to take the European framework into account, and has to cope with the German peculiarity that the prevention of crimes by the police is a separate branch of law, which is regulated mostly at the ‘Länder’ (federal states) level, while criminal justice is regulated mostly on the federal level. In this report, we shed light on the practice, on legal discussions, and on current initiatives relating to ‘predictive policing’ (1.), ‘predictive justice’ (2.) as well as evidence law and the use of ‘artificial intelligence’ in the administration of criminal justice (3.) in Germany

e-Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal .2023. 57p.

By Scott Wolfe, Travis Carter and Jedidiah Knode

This report presents the results of an external benchmark analysis of Michigan State Police (MSP) traffic stops conducted during 2020. There are five primary sections to this report: Census benchmark, traffic-crash benchmark, veil-of-darkness (VOD) benchmark, post-stop outcome analyses, and Secure Cities Partnership analyses. The goal of these analyses is to understand the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in traffic stop behavior. Below we briefly describe the methodology used for each analysis and summarize the main findings. When reviewing the results, it is imperative to understand the difference between “disparity” and “discrimination.” Disparity is an observed difference in the proportion of traffic stops involving a specific group of people compared to that group’s representation in another source of data. Discrimination, on the other hand, involves a police officer intentionally targeting and stopping racial or ethnic minorities solely because of their group status (i.e., racially profiling people and engaging in biased stop behavior). In this way, discrimination involves intent, whereas observed disparity cannot speak to whether an officer acted with intent. This report and its findings can speak only to the extent of racial/ethnic disparity in MSP traffic stops. The data cannot ascertain whether racially discriminatory practices are occurring within MSP.

East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice, 2021. 101p.

By U.K. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS)

Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the then Home Secretary commissioned HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) under section 54(2B) of the Police Act 1996 to assess current vetting and counter-corruption capacity and capability in policing across England and Wales. This was to include forces’ ability to detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.

We were asked to consider current vetting (and re-vetting), arrangements for transferees, whistleblowing arrangements, the work of counter-corruption units and, where relevant, wider Professional Standards Departments.

London: HMICFRS, 2022. 163p.

By Mark Hoekstra CarlyWill Sloan

This paper examines race and police use of force using data on 1.6 million 911 calls in two cities, neither of which allows for discretion in officer dispatch. Results indicate White officers increase force much more than minority officers when dispatched to more minority neighborhoods. Estimates indicate Black (Hispanic) civilians are 55 (75) percent more likely to experience any force, and five times as likely to experience a police shooting, compared to if White officers scaled up force similarly to minority officers. Additionally, 14 percent of White officers use excess force in Black neighborhoods relative to our statistical benchmark.

AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW VOL. 112, NO. 3, MARCH 2022 (pp. 827-60)

By Frank Edwards, Hedwig Lee, and Michael Esposito

This article from the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America estimates the variation in the risk of being killed by police use of force in the U.S. across racial groups. The authors found that risk of being killed by police peaks between the ages of 20 and 35 for men and women of all racial groups. Black men and women, as well as American Indian/Alaska Native men and women, and Latino men have a much higher lifetime risk of being killed by police than their white counterparts. The highest risk, however, was among Black men who face a one in 1000 chance of being killed by police over their lifetime. Presently, police violence is the leading cause of death for young Black men in the United States.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2019; 116(34): 16793-16798.

By Desmond Ang and Jonathan Tebes

Roughly a thousand people are killed by American law enforcement officers each year, accounting for more than 5% of all homicides. We estimate the causal impact of these events on civic engagement. Exploiting hyper-local variation in how close residents live to a killing, we find that exposure to police violence leads to signicant increases in registrations and votes. These effects are driven entirely by Blacks and Hispanics and are largest for killings of unarmed individuals. We find corresponding increases in support for criminal justice reforms, suggesting that police violence may cause voters to politically mobilize against perceived injustice.

Working paper, Harvard University, 2022. .30p.

By Desmond Ang, Panka Bencsik, Jesse Bruhn§ and Ellora Derenoncourt

How do high-profile acts of police brutality affect public trust and cooperation with law enforcement? To investigate this question, we develop a new measure of civilian crime reporting that isolates changes in community engagement with police from underlying changes in crime: the ratio of police-related 911 calls to gunshots detected by ShotSpotter technology. Examining detailed data from eight major American cities, we show a sharp drop in both the call-to-shot ratio and 911 call volume immediately after the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Notably, reporting rates decreased significantly in both non-white and white neighborhoods across the country. These effects persist for several months, and we find little evidence that they were reversed by the conviction of Floyd’s murderer. Together, the results illustrate how acts of police violence may destroy a key input into effective law enforcement and public safety: civilian engagement and reporting.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government,2021. 27p.

By Alex S. Vitale

The massive uprising that followed the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020— by some estimates the largest protests in US history—thrust the argument to defund the police to the forefront of international politics. That case had been put persuasively a few years earlier in The End of Policing by Alex Vitale, now a leading figure in the urgent public discussion over policing and racial justice.

The central problem, Vitale demonstrates, is the dramatic expansion of the police role over the last forty years. Drawing on firsthand research from across the globe, he shows how the implementation of alternatives to policing—such as drug legalization, regulation, and harm reduction instead of the policing of drugs—has led to reductions in crime, spending, and injustice.

London; New York: Verso, 2017. 247p. (Updated in 2021)