Browsing by Author "Ahlgrim, Billea Jo Marie"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Impact of race on police officer's use of force decision-making
    (Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2023-06) Ahlgrim, Billea Jo Marie; Arbuthnott, Katherine; Kratzig, Gregory; Oriet, Chris; Pennycook, Gordon; James, Lois
    The current study investigated the potential impact of a subject of complaint’s (SOC’s) race on officer decision-making, in addition to the potential impact of several other factors (i.e., dispatch priming, policing experience, fatigue, and chronic stress). This is a serious gap in research of officer decision-making within a Canadian context, with little existing investigation. The study sample was comprised of 298 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) employees; 149 recruits from Depot Division, and 149 active duty officers from Divisions across Canada. An intimate partner violence (IPV) vignette was presented in an online format in five stages (i.e., dispatch, arrival, three escalating scenes with the SOC: sitting, standing, and with a knife). At each point of the vignette participants responded to a risk assessment questionnaire that asked them to rate their perceptions of the scenario and what intervention option they would choose at that assessment point. The factorial study design was a 2 (Experience: recruits vs member) x 2 (Race of SOC: White or Indigenous) x 2 (Dispatch Priming: + prior knowledge of SOC race) x 5 (Vignette Risk Assessment Points) with all but the last factor tested betweenparticipants. The race of the SOC was observed to impact risk assessment rating only at the most ambiguous assessment point. Specifically, when SOC behaviour was ambiguous, risk assessment ratings increased more for Indigenous SOCs than for White SOCs. This result could indicate that there was an increased reliance on racial biases and stereotypes when rating perceived level of risk during an ambiguous situation. However, despite this increased perception of risk, race did not influence intervention option choice, even in the most ambiguous situation. This suggests that either biases did not impact behaviour choices, or individuals were able to manage initial biases before choosing an intervention option. Dispatch priming of SOC race was also found to impact situational awareness ratings when the vignette was most ambiguous, indicating that the information that is provided by dispatch has the potential to impact officer decision-making, especially if the scene is ambiguous. The current study indicates the possible but limited impact of race on officers’ perceptions of risk but not on their behaviour regarding intervention options. Experience was found to impact risk assessment ratings such that active duty officers were likely to have more stable and realistic risk assessments throughout the vignette. Officers were also likely to indicate they would use less force in their intervention option choices. This highlights the importance of real work experience in developing an individual’s decision-making skills.