Police violence is a topic that has gained increasing academic and media attention following the high-profile deaths of Sarah Everard in the UK and George Floyd in the US, both by serving police officers.

This project collected primary survey data and used use of force data from 11 police forces across England and Wales. The data was used to understand to what extent violent attitudes (i.e., support for use of force, violent ideations, attitudes toward rape and racial discrimination) are endorsed by police, and which individual and psychological factors such as officer demographics, dark personality traits, moral values and same-sex competition best predict officer’s violent attitudes and behaviour.

Another focus of this research was to examine how situational factors such as type of force, suspect race, sex, physical dominance, or attractiveness interact to influence officers’ perceptions of use of force and reporting behaviour. This will help increase our understanding on police violence, which can be used to assist UK police forces when exploring avenues for improvement in police practice and culture such as the process for identifying and managing officers at risk of engaging in violence.

Research by: Rebecca Plimmer – Psychology (PhD student) - Rebecca.Plimmer@warwick.ac.uk