Oleoresin capsicum (OC) or "pepper spray" has been widely adopted by law enforcement agencies in the United States for use during resistive and forceful encounters with suspects. There have, however, been few rigor ous evaluations of OC and no empirical research on its utility for deter ring violence against police. The present study expands previous research by employing a quasi-expenmental design—the interrupted time series— to test whether the introduction ofOC into the Baltimore County, Mary land, Police Department deterred assaults on police officers. The results suggest that OC had a statistically significant deterrent effect on violence against police, reducing assaults on officers an average of about 3.2 per month.
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