A Lethal Force Monitor: Next Steps

1 January 2022 - 1 January 2023

About the research

The purpose of this grant is to lay foundations for an international lethal force monitor. Recording and publicising information on uses of force by law enforcement officials (LEOs), particularly lethal force (any use of force resulting in or associated with a human death), is an important step in ensuring state accountability. However, information about such uses of force is limited in consequential respects. By bringing together existing lines of research, including work undertaken in the previous OSF-funded project ‘Toward a Lethal Force Monitor’, this project will lay intellectual and organisational foundations for establishing an international lethal force monitor. The monitor will enable meaningful comparisons between jurisdictions so as to enhance state accountability. The main tools used will be information gathering, analysis and targeted engagement with key decision makers and stakeholders, with advocacy and awareness-raising aims. The project is led by Professor Brian Rappert (Sociology), together with Dr Abi Dymond (Criminology) and Professor Stephen Skinner (Law). It is a collaborative project with partners based at the University of Ghent, Belgium, the Police Academy of the Netherlands, the University of Pretoria, South Africa and the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.