ForceScience newsletter #251:
Some surprises about attacks against police officers
It's no surprise that a high percentage of people who physically attack cops are intoxicated. But what about these co-findings from a newly published study on violence against LEOs:
• Proportionate to their numbers, females pose a greater risk for attacking you than do males;
• You're in greatest danger of be...ing set upon when other officers are present; and
• The type of call you're on has no significant bearing on whether you will be assaulted.
These conclusions have emerged from a research team's in-depth examination of the batteries experienced by patrol personnel of the Orlando (FL) PD, an agency with more than 700 officers who work the streets in vehicles, on foot, on horseback, and on bicycles. More thoroughly than many, that department collects detailed information for its own use on "every reported incident in which force is used," regardless of whether the confrontation resulted in an arrest or in injury to any party.
The researchers analyzed three consecutive years of that data trove to identify the salient circumstances surrounding force deployment, as well as demographic characteristics of the offenders and officers involved. Their full, 18-page study, "Battered Police: Risk Factors for Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers," reported in the journal Violence and Victims, can be purchased for a fee (Click here to go to the order page) and an abstract of their findings can be accessed there free of charge.
"Most prior research on violence against officers has examined cases of police assault ending in an officer's death," writes the study's lead author, Dr. Michele Covington, with the CJ department at the University of South Carolina-Upstate. Studies of batteries that produce lesser injuries "have been far less prevalent, although this type of injury is much more common and costs police agencies, and ultimately taxpayers, vast amounts of money and other resources, [as well as] emotional and physical costs to the officers themselves. [We wanted] to learn more about these relatively common incidents" and their training implications.
VIOLENCE BASICS. In the data, the study team found 391 reported cases in which, collectively, 457 officers were battered. A total of 216 officers were injured across 173 of these cases. More than half the attacks occurred on weekends, with 60% erupting between 2100 and 0300 hours.
Attackers tended to be heavier than normal, as measured by their body mass index. With an average age of 29, they were typically about five years younger than the average victim officer. Racially, roughly the same percentage of assailants (43%) were white as were black. Adding to the offender profile, the researchers calculated that "the odds of officer battery were about 40% higher when the offender was known to have recently consumed alcohol."
Officers with certain demographics tended to be "overrepresented among those battered," the researchers found. Male officers, for example, comprise 84% of the Orlando street force, yet they constituted more than 90 per cent of those battered. Likewise, about 60% of OPD's officers are white, yet they made up more than 70% of those attacked. (Hispanics, on the other hand, comprise 16% of OPD's officer population but only 6% of those assaulted.)
SURPRISES. "Although most of the results...were expected, a few findings were surprising," Covington writes. Among the unexpected discoveries:
• "[C]ases involving female offenders were much more likely to involve officer battery than those involving male offenders," the researchers report. This seems "contrary to the logic that males are generally more aggressive than females." Yet it appears that "gender does not significantly predict suspect resistance."
An earlier study has found that "females are generally more likely to be disrespectful of officers than are males." Exactly why women are "more likely to act outside of 'traditional female behavior' " by interacting violently with police requires further investigation, Covington says.
[Note of clarification: The researchers are not saying that officers are battered more often by females than by males, in terms of sheer numbers. As they acknowledge, the opposite is true. But the study calculates that of the total number of female suspects you encounter, a much higher percentage will attack you, compared to the percentage of all the males you deal with. In other words, the odds of women becoming physically aggressive are significantly greater.]
• "Incidents involving single officers were actually significantly less likely to involve officer battery," Covington notes. Specifically, the odds of battery were more than 90% higher when multiple officers were involved.
"It seems that there would be safety in numbers," Covington observes. But perhaps multiple officers are present because the situation is inherently "more volatile and potentially dangerous" than more ordinary calls. Or perhaps the presence of more cops, rather than proving intimidating, makes an offender feel "the need to act offensively to gain control..., to save face, or to escape.
Once a uniformed officer comes onto a scene," Covington speculates, "it is the appearance of the uniform acting as a master status...that increases the likelihood that she/he will be the target of an offender's anger. Having multiple officers present, therefore, only exacerbates the situation...."
Interestingly, the research team found that incidents with multiple offenders "were not statistically more likely to involve officer battery than those with single offenders."
• The group also found "no evidence [that] the type of call that officers were responding to was a significant factor in predicting the battery of officers." Covington concedes that this is contrary to the lore that domestic violence and traffic stops are particularly dangerous to police, but she claims that other studies also have found "little or weak relationships between [overall] officer violence and call type."
TACTICAL/TRAINING IMPLICATIONS. In concluding their report, the researchers highlight some of the tactical and training implications of their findings--good observations that can easily be shared as roll call reminders.
1. In light of the fact that multiple-officer responses seem more conducive to attacks," officers should not think and act complacently simply because they outnumber the suspects." Nor should they "rely on sheer numbers or strength to control a situation because they assume offenders will be intimidated. Clearly this is not the case...."
2. "[O]fficer training should teach the need to be on guard against physical danger from women, as well as men.... [Officers] should not assume that women are 'gentler' or less likely than men to assault or batter them."
3. "The impulsiveness and uninhibited behavior of intoxicated suspects [call] for "increased vigilance by officers. Even someone who is highly intoxicated and lacks the coordination to walk a straight line may still have the strength and willingness to pull a trigger or take a swing at an officer."
4. "[W]ell-trained officers know that physical confrontation should be avoided whenever possible by using verbal skills or any other means available."
Although the Force Science Institute was not involved in this study, Executive Director Dr. Bill Lewinski adds another training point to Covington's list, relative to attacks that occur when multiple officers are present.
"We need to do a better job of teaching officers how to work as a team in conflict situations," he says. "When a threatening encounter presents itself to a group of officers, there's an unfortunate tendency for each officer to react according to his or her own training or impulse rather than as an organized group with each member having a designated role in controlling and defusing the situation. The result, too often, is a poorly coordinated response and a greater potential for injury.
"Team tactics for line officers should be part of every academy and in-service training program."
Some surprises about attacks against police officers
It's no surprise that a high percentage of people who physically attack cops are intoxicated. But what about these co-findings from a newly published study on violence against LEOs:
• Proportionate to their numbers, females pose a greater risk for attacking you than do males;
• You're in greatest danger of be...ing set upon when other officers are present; and
• The type of call you're on has no significant bearing on whether you will be assaulted.
These conclusions have emerged from a research team's in-depth examination of the batteries experienced by patrol personnel of the Orlando (FL) PD, an agency with more than 700 officers who work the streets in vehicles, on foot, on horseback, and on bicycles. More thoroughly than many, that department collects detailed information for its own use on "every reported incident in which force is used," regardless of whether the confrontation resulted in an arrest or in injury to any party.
The researchers analyzed three consecutive years of that data trove to identify the salient circumstances surrounding force deployment, as well as demographic characteristics of the offenders and officers involved. Their full, 18-page study, "Battered Police: Risk Factors for Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers," reported in the journal Violence and Victims, can be purchased for a fee (Click here to go to the order page) and an abstract of their findings can be accessed there free of charge.
"Most prior research on violence against officers has examined cases of police assault ending in an officer's death," writes the study's lead author, Dr. Michele Covington, with the CJ department at the University of South Carolina-Upstate. Studies of batteries that produce lesser injuries "have been far less prevalent, although this type of injury is much more common and costs police agencies, and ultimately taxpayers, vast amounts of money and other resources, [as well as] emotional and physical costs to the officers themselves. [We wanted] to learn more about these relatively common incidents" and their training implications.
VIOLENCE BASICS. In the data, the study team found 391 reported cases in which, collectively, 457 officers were battered. A total of 216 officers were injured across 173 of these cases. More than half the attacks occurred on weekends, with 60% erupting between 2100 and 0300 hours.
Attackers tended to be heavier than normal, as measured by their body mass index. With an average age of 29, they were typically about five years younger than the average victim officer. Racially, roughly the same percentage of assailants (43%) were white as were black. Adding to the offender profile, the researchers calculated that "the odds of officer battery were about 40% higher when the offender was known to have recently consumed alcohol."
Officers with certain demographics tended to be "overrepresented among those battered," the researchers found. Male officers, for example, comprise 84% of the Orlando street force, yet they constituted more than 90 per cent of those battered. Likewise, about 60% of OPD's officers are white, yet they made up more than 70% of those attacked. (Hispanics, on the other hand, comprise 16% of OPD's officer population but only 6% of those assaulted.)
SURPRISES. "Although most of the results...were expected, a few findings were surprising," Covington writes. Among the unexpected discoveries:
• "[C]ases involving female offenders were much more likely to involve officer battery than those involving male offenders," the researchers report. This seems "contrary to the logic that males are generally more aggressive than females." Yet it appears that "gender does not significantly predict suspect resistance."
An earlier study has found that "females are generally more likely to be disrespectful of officers than are males." Exactly why women are "more likely to act outside of 'traditional female behavior' " by interacting violently with police requires further investigation, Covington says.
[Note of clarification: The researchers are not saying that officers are battered more often by females than by males, in terms of sheer numbers. As they acknowledge, the opposite is true. But the study calculates that of the total number of female suspects you encounter, a much higher percentage will attack you, compared to the percentage of all the males you deal with. In other words, the odds of women becoming physically aggressive are significantly greater.]
• "Incidents involving single officers were actually significantly less likely to involve officer battery," Covington notes. Specifically, the odds of battery were more than 90% higher when multiple officers were involved.
"It seems that there would be safety in numbers," Covington observes. But perhaps multiple officers are present because the situation is inherently "more volatile and potentially dangerous" than more ordinary calls. Or perhaps the presence of more cops, rather than proving intimidating, makes an offender feel "the need to act offensively to gain control..., to save face, or to escape.
Once a uniformed officer comes onto a scene," Covington speculates, "it is the appearance of the uniform acting as a master status...that increases the likelihood that she/he will be the target of an offender's anger. Having multiple officers present, therefore, only exacerbates the situation...."
Interestingly, the research team found that incidents with multiple offenders "were not statistically more likely to involve officer battery than those with single offenders."
• The group also found "no evidence [that] the type of call that officers were responding to was a significant factor in predicting the battery of officers." Covington concedes that this is contrary to the lore that domestic violence and traffic stops are particularly dangerous to police, but she claims that other studies also have found "little or weak relationships between [overall] officer violence and call type."
TACTICAL/TRAINING IMPLICATIONS. In concluding their report, the researchers highlight some of the tactical and training implications of their findings--good observations that can easily be shared as roll call reminders.
1. In light of the fact that multiple-officer responses seem more conducive to attacks," officers should not think and act complacently simply because they outnumber the suspects." Nor should they "rely on sheer numbers or strength to control a situation because they assume offenders will be intimidated. Clearly this is not the case...."
2. "[O]fficer training should teach the need to be on guard against physical danger from women, as well as men.... [Officers] should not assume that women are 'gentler' or less likely than men to assault or batter them."
3. "The impulsiveness and uninhibited behavior of intoxicated suspects [call] for "increased vigilance by officers. Even someone who is highly intoxicated and lacks the coordination to walk a straight line may still have the strength and willingness to pull a trigger or take a swing at an officer."
4. "[W]ell-trained officers know that physical confrontation should be avoided whenever possible by using verbal skills or any other means available."
Although the Force Science Institute was not involved in this study, Executive Director Dr. Bill Lewinski adds another training point to Covington's list, relative to attacks that occur when multiple officers are present.
"We need to do a better job of teaching officers how to work as a team in conflict situations," he says. "When a threatening encounter presents itself to a group of officers, there's an unfortunate tendency for each officer to react according to his or her own training or impulse rather than as an organized group with each member having a designated role in controlling and defusing the situation. The result, too often, is a poorly coordinated response and a greater potential for injury.
"Team tactics for line officers should be part of every academy and in-service training program."
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