The effect of citizens' status and behavior on Venezuelan police officers' decisions to use force

Abstract

Whereas most research on police use of force has not found citizens’ social status to be a significant explanatory variable, we explore the alternative viewpoint that citizens’ social status may affect police decisions to use force against them, even after controlling for the effects of their behavior during the encounter. We argue that Venezuelan citizens’ respectability and influence is related to their ability to register a successful complaint against the police. Consequently, we hypothesize that officers are more likely to use force against lower status citizens, and are less likely to be influenced by their behavior during the encounter. The results of an attitudinal survey administered to 829 non‐commissioned officers in three Venezuelan cities show that officers are disposed to use more force against lower status citizens. We discuss the implications of these results for studies of police use of force, and for inquiry into the sociological significance of complaints against the police.