The Use Of Firearms By Police Officers: The Impact Of Individuals, Communities And Race
By Mark Blumberg
FROM THE ABSTRACT: “This study examines individual, situational and community determinates of firearms use by police officers. The individual officer analysis indicates that although a variety of social characteristics (i.e., race, height, military service, marital status at appointment, preservice firearms experience, and prior arrest record) do not distinguish between shooters and nonshooters, there are some important exceptions to this pattern. Younger officers and those with fewer years of police experience are significantly more likely to become involved in shooting Incidents and to be "repeat" shooters. On the other hand, females and officers drawn from the middle-class are some~ what less likely to shoot. However, the relatively small number of female officers in the sample and the large number of missing cases for officer-SES precludes a precise statistical analysis of these relationships.
Albany. NY. School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York. Dissertation. December 14, 1982. 358p.