Citation

Schuck AM. J. Crim. Justice 2004; 32(6): 557-564.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2004.08.010

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine racial and ethnic disparity in police use of physical force. Data from the Phoenix, Arizona Use-of-Force Project was used to assess disparity between White, Black, and Hispanic citizens. Racial and ethnic disparity in police use of physical force was found only for male citizens not in custody. The findings suggest that assessments of racial and ethnic disparity need to be situationally orientated in the theoretical meaning that race and ethnicity play in modern American society. Simple overall tests of disparity may not be adequate to understand and address the complex effects of race and ethnicity in the criminal justice system; thus, these disparities may lead to situations that further exacerbate already strained minority-majority relations in America.