Harvard University researchers say that police and security officers have contributed to an almost 50 percent increase in the numbers of serious injuries requiring emergency room visits. An article detailing that finding, which analyzed emergency room visits from 2001 to 2014, was published this month in the Journal of Urban Health. The data the researchers looked at were ER visits “following ‘legal intervention’ – defined in this study as a wound inflicted by police officers or private security guards.”
In the 14-year period examined, the rate of these injuries per 100,000 people increased by 47.4%. The analysis is one of few that can provide a longitudinal study of police use of force over time, according to lead author Justin Feldman.
The article also concluded that black civilians, and particularly black men, are significantly more likely to be injured by police than their white counterparts, a trend carried over in numerous analyses of police killings and fatal shootings. Black people were injured and sought treatment at a rate 4.9 times higher than whites, according to the research.
In the 14-year period studied, the majority of injuries – 64% – were categorized as “struck by/against”, and stemmed from a physical interaction with officers. Non-fatal firearm injuries caused just 1% of the estimated 683,033 injuries.
In their work, researchers utilized a survey initially meant to track injuries from consumer products. According to Feldman, the information provided to and by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission was data specifically intended for research purposes, therefore it is more reliable. Be that as it may, the study has at least three shortcomings.
The article’s conclusions were limited because race data was missing for many patients, so the authors were unable to draw reliable conclusions on how likely non-black people of color were to suffer non-fatal injury compared to whites. In addition, Feldman explained, differences in how frequently racial groups seek medical treatment could affect the data.
Because the data doesn’t differentiate injuries from sworn police officers and private security guards, the group behind the increase is unknown. Feldman said he believes that police officers are responsible for the majority of these legal intervention injuries and for the increase, but can’t know for sure because so little is known about when security guards use force on the job.
Pubic health researchers have been calling for the classifying of police violence as a public health issue over the last couple of years.
Not a bad idea.