Elgin, IL 2021

USE OF FORCE

Use of force incidents generally refer to when an officer used their body or an object in an encounter with a member of the public to compel compliance or in a way that could cause pain, injury, or death.

USES OF FORCE BY RACIAL GROUP

What does this show?

Each bar on the right shows the percentage of the total use of force incidents recorded in the assessment period that were against people in one racial group. The bars on the left in the same color (and the lighter colored background) show the percentage of the resident population that are people of the same racial group. Hovering over the bars on the right shows the number of incidents that makes up that percentage.

Departments have varying definitions of force and requirements for when officers must report their use of force, so those with more comprehensive reporting requirements may have more recorded incidents than departments with vague or incomplete requirements. For example, some departments do not require officers to report use of hands-on force unless it results in injury or complaint of injury; others do not require officers to report pointing a weapon if it was not discharged. Departments also use different forms to record data on use of force incidents, and forms that encourage more comprehensive or efficient data collection can provide more useful information for analysis than those that solicit fewer, or less specific, incident details.

Our guidance encourages officers to report every incident in which an officer uses or threatens to use their body, a tool, or a weapon against a person, or in any way that could cause pain, injury or death, regardless of the officer’s motivation or whether any injury or complaint results. For more information on the types of incidents officers were required to report during this assessment timeframe, see “What counts as force for these analyses?” at the bottom of this page.

How was this calculated?

We first took the average total recorded incidents per year and calculated the percentage against people of each racial group. Then we compared those percentages to the percentages of the resident population that are of each racial group. See the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups.

We count a use of force incident as a single incident in which any use of force against a person was recorded, regardless of the number of officers, types of force involved, or number of times force was applied. If more than one person had force used against them at the same time, each person who was subjected to force is counted as a separate incident. Our analyses exclude incidents where the only reported type of force is handcuffing, verbal commands, or de-escalation.

Most of our analyses use all use of force data provided by departments, including incomplete years of data. However, certain analyses require complete years of data, so time periods may vary across charts.

We use local demographic data (from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates) as the most straightforward and complete representation of the local population. The use of Census data also allows us to perform standardized analyses across law enforcement agencies. We recognize that this measure of demographics may not capture the entire population of individuals with whom police interact. However, the analyses on this page can help shed light on the role that local demographics may play in any observed disparities.

Data required for this analysis:

To arrive at this finding, we first looked at the total number of use of force incidents recorded each year with complete data.

The number of use of force incidents recorded each year with complete data varied from a high of 195 in 2016 to a low of 112 in 2019.

COMPARING USE OF FORCE INCIDENT RATES

After using a statistical technique called regression analysis to account for the influence of different crime rates, poverty levels, and percent of Black residents in neighborhoods:

What does this show?

This infographic displays findings from CPE’s regression analysis, a statistical technique that allows CPE to investigate differences in use of force rates by race, taking into account other socioeconomic factors that may affect policing strategies and deployment. Specifically, this regression tests how much more or less likely each racial group is than White people to have force used on them in a neighborhood with an average poverty rate, crime rate, and percentage of Black residents – three factors commonly associated with increased police contact. The results of this analysis show the size of racial disparities in use of force that remain even when the influence of poverty levels, crime rates, and the percentage of Black residents across neighborhoods are removed from the equation.

We take into account the share of Black residents, crime rates, and poverty levels in a neighborhood because these factors affect the likelihood that a person of any racial group in a neighborhood will have police contact. This relationship between police presence and the percent of Black residents in a neighborhood is, in part, a result of systemic racism and structural disadvantage (for example, a lack of community services can lead to more calls for police service). But police-driven factors, such as departmental policy or officer behavior, also contribute to increased police activity in neighborhoods with more Black residents, crime, and poverty.

How was this calculated?

To represent neighborhoods, we use Census tracts — small geographic areas of approximately 4,000 residents — as defined by the Census Bureau. We use publicly available Census data to measure the percentage of Black residents in each neighborhood

To measure serious crime rates, we count crimes in each neighborhood that are recorded by the department. Specifically, we count reports of Part 1 offenses. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics defines Part 1 offenses as: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape , robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and arson. Racial groups that made up less than 2% of all use of force incidents, or which had fewer than 40 total incidents, were excluded from this analysis (see the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups).

Data required for this analysis:

PERCENTAGE OF USE OF FORCE INCIDENT FREQUENCY EXPLAINED BY NEIGHBORHOOD FACTORS

Statistical analysis showed that neighborhood crime rates, poverty, and share of Black residents explained 44% of the frequency of use of force, while 56% was not explained by these factors.

What does this show?

This infographic displays findings from CPE’s regression analysisa statistical technique that investigates how certain factors contribute to how often all use of force incidents occur. Specifically, it shows the results of testing how much neighborhood poverty levels, crime rates, and share of Black residents—three common explanations for increased police contact—are contributing to the frequency of use of force overall. The results of this analysis show that the frequency of use of force is largely not explained by (or predicted by) these external factors. It is likely that factors within the control of the department, such as departmental policy and practice or officer behavior, play a significant part in determining when, where, and who is subjected to force.

Our model cannot precisely distinguish the extent to which incident frequency is due to reasons within or outside of a department’s control, but we are able to use statistical tools to account for three of the most commonly proposed, quantifiable factors related to frequency of police contact. Thus, our model controls for the predictive effect of crime rates, poverty levels, and racial demographics on use of force frequency, but there are many additional factors that may have an impact on whether a person is likely to come into contact with law enforcement and subsequently be subjected to force.

How was this calculated?

To represent neighborhoods, we use Census tracts, which are small geographic areas of approximately 4,000 residents each, defined by the Census Bureau. We use publicly available Census data to measure neighborhood poverty levels and the percentage of Black residents.

To measure serious crime rates, we count crimes in each neighborhood that are recorded by the department. Specifically, we count reports of Part 1 offenses. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics defines Part 1 offenses as: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape (legacy and revised), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny theft, and arson. Racial groups which made up less than 2% of all incidents, or which had fewer than 40 total incidents, were excluded from this analysis (see the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups).

For an explanation of why we measure the share of Black residents as a potential factor influencing use of force, see “More information” under the analysis above.

Data required for this analysis:

FORCE TYPES USED, BY RACIAL GROUPS

Racial disparities were also observed in force types that were less commonly recorded, such as:

What does this show?

Each colored bar shows the percentage of uses of each force type recorded against people of each racial group. Hovering over a colored bar shows the number of uses of each force type that makes up that percentage. Each gray bar on the right shows the total number of uses of the particular force type, for all racial groups combined. Any force type that was recorded in high numbers, or in which racial disparities were large, will influence overall racial disparities in use of force.

How was this calculated?

We took the total recorded uses of force and separated them into force type. Then we calculated the percentage of each type that was against people of each racial group.

We count each distinct type of force that was recorded against any person as one force type, regardless of the number of other force types recorded against a given person, the number of officers who applied it, or the number of times it was applied. We combine categories for easier interpretation. See the Data Notes tab for details on how these categories are created and how racial groups are defined.

Data required for this analysis:

To arrive at this finding, we first looked at the total number of times each type of force was used.

USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS BY WORK UNIT AND RACIAL GROUP

To arrive at this finding, we first looked at the total number of times each type of force was used.

What does this show?

“Work unit” describes the work groups in a department. It can refer to the assignment of the officer who applied force (e.g. Detective Unit, Narcotics, Traffic, etc.), or the geographic areas where incidents occurred (e.g. precincts, districts, zones, etc.).

Each colored bar shows the percentage of use of force incidents recorded by each work unit of people of each racial group. The Multiple Work Units category, if used, represents incidents involving officers from two or more work units. Hovering over a colored bar shows the number of incidents that make up that percentage. The grey bars on the right show the total number of incidents recorded by each work unit. Any work unit that records a large number of use of force incidents or records large racial disparities will influence overall racial disparities in use of force. If disparities are present among most or all work units, the different racial makeup of various neighborhoods is likely not the whole explanation for the observed disparity.

How was this calculated?

We took the total recorded incidents of force and first separated them by the work unit that recorded the incident. We then calculated what percentage of incidents was recorded for people of each racial group.

The “Other Work Units” category, if used, combines the work units recording less than 2% of incidents. See the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups.

Data required for this analysis:

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