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An experimental test of the contagious fire thesis in policing

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  • DeCarlo, John
  • Dlugolenski, Eric
  • Myers, David

Abstract

This randomized experiment investigated the “contagious fire” thesis, which was first empirically investigated by White and Klinger (2012). They were the first to empirically investigate the notion, which had been widely discussed in and around Policing. The thesis posits that in deadly force scenarios, police officers are prone to use their firearms and discharge more rounds following the catalyst of peer officer gunfire.

Suggested Citation

  • DeCarlo, John & Dlugolenski, Eric & Myers, David, 2024. "An experimental test of the contagious fire thesis in policing," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s0047235224000643
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102215
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Diana C. Mutz & Robin Pemantle & Philip Pham, 2019. "The Perils of Balance Testing in Experimental Design: Messy Analyses of Clean Data," The American Statistician, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(1), pages 32-42, January.
    2. Rao, Arjun H. & Marais, Karen, 2018. "High risk occurrence chains in helicopter accidents," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 83-98.
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