If violent law enforcement activities end with the death of civilians the results can be negative, not only to the affected communities, but also with the state. For this reason, crime geographers and other social scientists need to follow attentively these events:.
Although police killings of civilians are relatively rare given the number of dangerous encounters to which police officers are daily exposed, the public attention such events generate and the potential they have for causing mass civil disturbances necessitate that research continue to examine this issue (Cruz).
Police brutality is considered a widespread problem in the U.S. and there is no accurate national data on the number of people injured of killed by police officers (Cruz). News organizations across the nations and some Federal agencies have demonstrated a growing interest in researching these types of incidents and some law enforcement departments have promised an more active role in examining and preventing police misconduct. According to Fyfe, billions of taxpayers" dollars are spent each year on civil actions against police officers. From 1989 to 1992 taxpayers paid out at least $134 million dollars in settlements to citizens alleging police brutality, not including other types of police malpractice (Lersch and Feagin). Some metropolitan governments are "paying staggering millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements to individuals each year," and "these extremely high payments suggest that police brutality is of a serious nature (Cruz). Poorly handled incidents can result in citizen and police death, distrust of police and at the extreme, riots that contribute more material and emotional damage. Independent investigations have uncovered arranged abuses and there is evidence that suggests regional differences. Some of these non-geographical inquiries have concluded that this is a serious nationwide problem and that some types of police abuse activities are indeed spreading in many areas.