Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Lily Beeman. I am from Clearwater, FL and this is my second year at FSU. This semester I worked with Dr. McCreary and Adam Rose on our 8 Can't Wait UROP: Police Use of ForceProject.

8 Can't Wait: A Use-of-Force Policy Analysis of Florida Police Departments

Abstract

The use of force by law enforcement officers quickly became a
pressing issue of legislation and in public discussion, specifically
after the tragic deaths of civilians in police custody. As a result of
these fatal encounters and the conversations being held about this
issue, there has been increasing pressure to reform the police
department’s response to resistance. However, there has been
little systematic research to contribute to analyzing policy
discussions, making it essential for a systematic policy review to
address the safety concerns of the public. In response to these
concerns, Campaign Zero launched a proposal of eight policies
titles “8 Can’t Wait” to attempt and decrease police violence
incidents within the United States. This project aims to answer
the question “Does the presence of the “8 Can’t Wait” policies
reduce incidents of police use of force?”. To answer this, the
project conducts a systematic review of police use of force or
response to resistance policies within police departments across
the state of Florida, collected via email and public records
requests. It evaluates which jurisdictions have adopted the “8
Can’t Wait” policy proposals, along with an additional policy
mandating the provision of emergency medical services in the
case of an emergency. Concluding the systematic review, we will
analyze for possible statistical correlations between policies and
reported incidents of police use-of-force, along with any
demographic trends in the areas where policies have been
adopted.

Keywords: Police Policy Use of Force