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  5. The Effect of Field Training Officers on Police Use of Force

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

The Effect of Field Training Officers on Police Use of Force

  • Chandon Adger
  • Matthew B. Ross
  • CarlyWill Sloan
American Economic Review (Forthcoming)

Abstract

The influence of on-the-job training and supervisors, especially in high-stakes settings like policing, is poorly understood. Examining a central behavior in the debate surrounding police reform, we investigate the impact of a field training officer (FTO) on a recruit’s use of force. Leveraging a setting with conditional as-good-as-random assignment, we demonstrate a causal link between FTO and recruit use of force. A one standard deviation increase in FTO force propensity leads to a 14 to 18 percent rise in recruit force, persisting for at least two years. This underscores field training’s impact and reveals a promising avenue for reform.

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