Lecture 11: collective violence between civilians and the state (2): police violence

Question 1

Monopoly of legitimate violence of the state

Answer 1

The state is the only group that can legitimacy use violence.

Question 2

Victim characteristics of police violence

Answer 2

• 95% is men
• 50% came across confused
• 75% were under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• 36% were people with a non-western migration background
• 40% of the lethal victims was a part of a minority group

Question 3

When does police violence become illegitimate

Answer 3

• Disproportionate use of force: like police brutality (the use of excessive force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation.
• Disproportionally and unjustifiable targeting specific populations: like ethnic profiling (using policy, security, immigration or generalisation on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion at the basis for a suspicion.

Question 4

Legal framework of police guidance in NL

Answer 4

The key principles of this framework are:
- Subsidiarity: police violence can only be used when there are no other ways/means.
- Proportionality: the violence has to be proportional to the danger posed.

Question 5

Police violence and race

Answer 5

There is an overrepresentation of people of color in police violence. Black people also have a higher fatality rate and a higher chance of getting shot at while not carrying a weapon.

Question 6

Institutional and societal explanations for the overrepresentation of minorities in police brutality

Answer 6

• Institutional bias: how do changes in police tactics impact police brutality and illegitimate use of force?
  Example: zero tolerance policing (Green, 1999).
• Societal bias: how do changes in the political and media climate impact police brutality and illegitimate use of force.
  Example: ethnic profiling in the Netherlands (van der Leun & van der Woude, 2011)

Question 7

Factors contributing to ethnic profiling (van der Leun & van der Woude, 2011)

Answer 7

• Changes in media discourse
• Changes in political power
• Changes in police policy

Question 8

How political and media discourse on crime may inform law enforcement

Answer 8

Police strategies strongly depend on political choices and public debate. This can be seen in the NL where there is a shift towards a preventative criminal justice system: focus on identifying ‘dangerous others’. They call this ‘crimmigration’ and a ‘culture of control’. This increases pressure on law enforces to profile on the basis of race or nationality, which may lead them to change their focus.