Underreporting of justifiable homicides committed by police officers in the United States, 1976-1998.
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the consistency of estimates of the number of justifiable homicides committed by US police officers and identified sources of underreporting.


METHODS
The number of justifiable homicides committed by police officers between 1976 and 1998 was estimated from supplementary homicide report (SHR) and National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) mortality data.


RESULTS
Nationally, the SHR estimate was 29% larger than the NVSS estimate. However, in most states this pattern was reversed, with more deaths reported in the NVSS.


CONCLUSIONS
Both systems underreport, but for different reasons. The NVSS misclassifies cases as homicides, rather than justifiable homicides committed by police officers, because certifiers fail to mention police involvement. The SHR misses cases because some jurisdictions fail to file reports or omit justifiable homicides committed by police officers.
Loftin
Colin
C
Violence Research Group, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York, 12222, USA. cloftin@albany.edu
Wiersema
Brian
B
McDowall
David
D
Dobrin
Adam
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003644:Death Certificates / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006708:Homicide / Q000145:classification* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement / Q000379:methods*; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011634:Public Health; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D012938:Social Perception; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014798:Vital Statistics