Police Conflict Management: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Police officers frequently interact with the public, and many of these interactions involve some form of conflict. As professionals, and representatives of the state, police officers are expected to handle these conflicts in a professional and just manner to maintain positive relationships with the public. Therefore, solid conflict management skills are necessary for any officer in a democratic society. The present scoping review examines the current state of research on police involved conflicts and conflict management in a police context. Results indicate that a majority of the studies have been conducted in the USA and that many of these studies focus on use of force rather than effective conflict management strategies and methods. The study further indicates a number of methodological difficulties in researching this important area of policing, including difficulties in obtaining data as well as a lack of unified definitions of concepts and methods.