There is a plethora of social scientific literature fraught with examples of law enforcement officers' use of lethal force, most frequently illustrating the misuse of lethal force. Many suggestions have been offered as to what might be done to constrain these officers. However, little social scientific research has been done on the technological development and deployment of "less-than-lethal weapons." These devices in and of themselves are not the sole solution, but they do provide an alternative to lethal force.
There have been two major national conferences within the last two decades exploring this type of technology; albeit as a general rule the awareness of these types of devices still remains quite low among law enforcement.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barrineau, H.E. III (1987). Civil liability in criminal justice . Cincinnati, Ohio: Pilgrimage Press .
2.
Binder, A. and Scharf, P. (1982). Deadly force in law enforcement. Crime and Delinquency, 28 (1), 1-23.
3.
Brown, M.F. (1984). Use of deadly force by patrol officers: Training implications. Journal of Police Science and Administration , 12 (2), 133-140.
4.
California penal code (1988). St. Paul. MN : West Publishing.
5.
Carmody, D. (1982, February 15). New York unleashing dogs to patrol buildings and parks. New York Times, Part 1, p. 1.
6.
Chapman. S.G. (1968). An update on the United States and Canadian police dog programs. Journal of Police Science and Administration , 11 (4), 435-441.
7.
Chapman. S.G. (1980). Police dogs versus crowds. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 8 (3), 316-321.
8.
Cox, T., Faughn, J., and Nixon, W. (1985). Police use of metal flashlights as weapons: An analysis of relevant problems. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 13 (3), 244-250.
9.
Davidson, G.P. (1981). Anxiety and authority: Psychological aspects for police hostage negotiation situations. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 9 (1), 35-38.
10.
England, D. (1968). Controversy trails police K-9 corps. The Christian Science Monitor, Part I, 1.
11.
Friedrick. R. (1980). Police use of force: Individuals, situations, and organizations. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, November: 82-97.
12.
Fyfe, J. (1980). Geographic correlates of police shootings: A microanalysis . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 17 (1): 101-113.
13.
Fyfe, J. (1982). Blind justice: Police shootings in Memphis. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 73 (2), 707-722.
14.
Fyfe, J. (1986). The Supreme Court's new rule for police use of deadly force. Criminal Law Bulletin, 22: 62-68.
15.
Gates, D.F. (1986). Use offorce guidelines. (Training Bulletin; Vol. XVIII, Issue 5.) City of Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Police Department.
16.
Geller, W.A. (1985). Officer restraint in the use of force: New frontiers in police shooting research. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 13(2), 153-177.
17.
Grennan, S.A. (1987). Findings on the role of officer gender in violent encounters with citizens. Journal of Police Science and Administration , 15 (1), 78-85.
18.
Hayden, G.A. (1981). Police discretion in the use of deadly force: An empirical study of information usage in deadly force decision making. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 9 (1), 102-107.
19.
Horvath, F. (1987). The police use of deadly force: A descriptive description of selected characteristics of interstate incidents. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 15 (3), 226-238.
20.
Hull, G.H. and Frisbie, J. (1987). The stun gun debate: More help than hazard. The Police Chief, LVI (2), 46-51.
21.
Jacob, H. and Lineberry, R. (1984). The frustration ofpolicy. Boston, MA: Little Brown.
22.
Kania, R.E. and Mackey, W.C. (1977). Police violence as a function of community characteristics . Criminology, 15 (1), 27-48.
23.
Lindhout, J. (1985). Criminal law: The demise of the fleeing felon rule (Tennessee v. Garner, 105 S.Ct. 1694 9 [1985]) 25Washburn Law Journal (Fall): 164-173.
24.
Melekian, B. (1979, July 29). A split second decision. The Los Angeles Times, Part 5, p. 2.
25.
McCree, A. (1986). Diversionary devices. The Police Chief, LII (4), 38-40.
26.
Meyer, C.K., Magedanz, T.C., Dahlin, D.C., and Chapman, S.G. (1981). A comparative assessment of assault incidents: Robbery related, ambush, and general police assaults. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 9 (1), 1-18.
27.
Milton, C., Halleck, J., and Albrecht, G. (1977). Police use of deadly force. Washington, D.C.: Police Foundation.
28.
Nettler, G. (1974). Explaining crime. New York : McGraw-Hill.
29.
Peters, J.G. (1982). Defensive tactics with a flashlight. Albuquerque, NM: Great Western Publishing Co.
30.
Peters, J.G. (1963, April 8). Police dogs scatter negro marchers. The Berkeley (California) Daily Gazette, p. 1.
31.
Raab. S. (1985, April 25). Two more officers charged in the inquiry into torture at the Queens precinct. The New York Times, Section A, pp. 1,13.
32.
Scharf, P. and Binder, A. (1983). The badge and the bullet: Police use of deadly force. New York: Praeger.
33.
Sergeant, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (1989, November 15). Interview with a field supervisor who requested anonymity. The interview was conducted at Claremont (California) Graduate School.
34.
Staff (1988, August 1). Models for management: Non-lethal electronic restraint weapons. The Police Chief, LV (4), 79-80.
35.
Stewart, J.K. (Introduction) (1986). Report on the Attorney General's conference on less than lethal weapons. (National Institute of Justice: Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice, a Series). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice .
36.
Sweetman, S. (1986). Report on the Attorney General's conference on less than lethal weapons. (National Institute of Justie: Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice, a Series. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice.
