Correlates of subject(ive) resistance in police use-of-force situations

In most jurisdictions, resistance is the primary legal justification for police use of force. Identifying the correlates of resistance helps to anticipate non-compliance, increase officer safety, and maintain low rates of use of force. Following previous research on subject demeanor, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the presence of resistance is determined subjectively, based on an individual’s interpretation of a situation.

Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyze resistance reported in 878 interventions involving police use of force in a large Canadian city. A four-category measure similar to those commonly found in previous studies was used to build dependent variables and a series of 14 behaviors based on the actions of a subject was used as a predictor of reported resistance.

As expected, subject behavior was found to be a significant predictor of reported resistance. Officer and citizen characteristics (gender, race, age/experience) were weakly related to the outcome. Models were found to offer considerably better predictions when situational factors were included.

Perceptions of resistance were found to be influenced by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the subject’s actions.