Fatal police encounters – it’s not just shootings

ABSTRACT

One of the most critical issues in policing today is citizen deaths that occur as a result of police encounters. Most of the fatal police encounters research tends to focus on fatalities as a direct result of police actions such as fatal shootings. However, there are a wide variety of ways in which fatalities occur during police encounters that may not be due to direct police actions (for example accidents and suicide). This study examines both direct and indirect forms of fatal police encounters. To do this, a chi-squared analysis was conducted of 106 fatal police encounters that occurred across two Australian states. The findings reveal that over three-quarters of fatal police encounters within the data were a result of indirect police actions. These findings highlight the prominence of indirect fatal police encounters and, in turn, the greater opportunity to focus on prevention strategies for these often-neglected deaths in the research.

KEYWORDS:

• fatalities
• law enforcement
• police

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) National Deaths in Custody program monitors and reports annually about the extent and nature of deaths in custody including police custody and prisons as a response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) recommendations (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2020).

2 Justifiable homicide is a killing authorised by law. For example, New South Wales legislation outlines that it is lawful for a police officer exercising a function under this Act or any other Act or law in relation to an individual or a thing, and anyone helping a police officer, to use such force as is reasonably necessary to exercise their function (section 230 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 No 103).

3 There were also 16 cases (2.89%) that were categorised as other/not determined.

4 Good order offences are those that deal with keeping the good order of the community such as offensive language, obscene exposure etc. (Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002.

5 Chi-square analysis examines the difference between the observed and expected values to find statistically significant differences. Therefore, results are reported as occurring less than or more than the expected outcome.

6 Lawful homicide is a killing authorised by law. For example, New South Wales legislation outlines that it is lawful for a police officer exercising a function under this Act or any other Act or law in relation to an individual or a thing, and anyone helping a police officer, to use such force as is reasonably necessary to exercise their function (section 230 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 No 103).

7 Chi-square analysis examines the difference between the observed and expected values to find statistically significant differences. Therefore, results are reported as occurring less than or more than the expected outcome.

8 There are approximately 3.44% Indigenous Australians in the general population of NSW and 3.93% Indigenous Australians in the general population of WA.

9 For example, call-outs for self-infliction or suicidal behaviour.