The Effects of Firearm Availability and Racial Demographics on Fatal Police Encounters
Restricted (Penn State Only)
Author:
Scott, Oscar
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Richard B Felson, Thesis Supervisor Sona N. Golder, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Policing Firearms Crime Race
Abstract:
The number of fatal police encounters in the United States has been on the rise since 2016 (Rich et al. 2023). This demonstrates that fatal police encounters (FPEs) are a continuous and growing problem in the United States. This research examines whether firearm availability and racial distribution in a city are related to the rate of fatal police encounters. This is done through a quantitative city-level analysis of fifty metropolitan statistical areas. Violent crime rates are used as a control variable and FPEs from 2015-2019 are analyzed. A multiple regression analysis was performed and found that firearm availability as indicated by the number of firearm suicides (per 100,000) was positively correlated with the rate of FPEs. This suggests that the availability of firearms by civilians affects the level of threat law enforcement feels. On the other hand, the percent of the population that identified as African American appeared negatively correlated with FPEs. This finding does not support the idea that there is racial discrimination at a FPE level of force in civilian-police interactions. These findings have potential implications for informing legislation and policing practices.
