Showing 1 – 3 of 3 results.
Curated
Impact of Oleoresin Capsicum Spray on Respiratory Function in Human Subjects in the Sitting and Prone Maximal Restraint Positions in San Diego County, 1998 (ICPSR 2961)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: San Diego, United States, California
Oleoresin capsicum (OC), or pepper spray, has gained wide acceptance as standard police equipment in law enforcement as a swift and effective method to subdue violent, dangerous suspects in the field. As a use-of-force method, however, OC spray has been alleged in the media to have been associated with a number of in-custody deaths. The goal of this study was to assess the safety of a commercially available OC spray in use by law enforcement agencies nationwide. The study was conducted as a randomized, cross-over, controlled trial on volunteer human subjects recruited from the local law enforcement training academy in San Diego County, California. Subjects participated in four different experimental trials in random order over two separate days in a pulmonary function testing laboratory: (a) placebo spray exposure followed by sitting position, (b) placebo spray exposure followed by restraint position, (c) OC spray exposure followed by sitting position, and (d) OC spray exposure followed by restraint position. Prior to participation, subjects completed a short questionnaire regarding their health status, history of lung disease and asthma, smoking history, medication use, and respiratory inhaler medication use. Prior to exposure, subjects also underwent a brief screening spirometry in the sitting position by means of a portable spirometry device to determine baseline pulmonary function. Subjects then placed their heads in a 5' x 3' x 3' exposure box that allowed their faces to be exposed to the spray. A one-second spray was delivered into the box from the end opposite the subject (approximately five feet away). Subjects remained in the box for five seconds after the spray was delivered. During this time, subjects underwent impedance monitoring to assess whether inhalation of the OC or placebo spray had occurred. After this exposure period, subjects were placed in either the sitting or prone maximal restraint position. Subjects remained in these positions for ten minutes. Repeat spirometric measurements were performed, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide levels, and pulse rate were recorded, and an arterial blood sample was drawn. A total of 34 subjects completed the study, comprising 128 separate analyzable study trials. Variables provided in all three parts of this collection include subject's age, gender, ethnicity, height, weight, body mass index, past medical history, tobacco use history, and history of medication use, as well as OC spray or placebo exposure and sitting or restraint position during the trial. Part 1 also includes tidal volume, respiratory rate, and heart rate at baseline and at 1, 5, 7, and 9 minutes, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure at baseline and at 3, 6, and 9 minutes. Additional variables in Part 2 include predicted forced vital capacity and predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and the same measures at baseline, 1.5 minutes, and 10 minutes. Derived variables include percent predicted and mean percent predicted values involving the above variables. Part 3 also provides end-tidal carbon dioxide and oxygenation levels, oxygen saturation, oxygen consumption at baseline and at 1, 5, 7, and 9 minutes, blood pH, partial pressure of oxygen, and partial pressure of carbon dioxide at 8 minutes.
Curated
National Survey of Police-Media Relations, 2000 (ICPSR 3597)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
This study was undertaken to examine the influence police officers have in creating an image of law enforcement through media relations and public information offices/officers (PIO). A survey was mailed nationwide to police departments serving areas with populations exceeding 100,000 residents. The survey items identified the following factors: (1) the presence and nature of a formal departmental media strategy, (2) the prevalence of full-time police PIO, (3) PIO background characteristics, including educational/vocational training in media, journalism, or public relations, (4) specific goals of police media relations offices and PIOs, (5) the various methods by which these goals are achieved, and (6) the perceived quality of police-media interaction, the police image, and the public information office both before and after the adoption of the current media strategy.
Curated
Partially restricted
Public Opinion on the Courts in the United States, 2000 (ICPSR 3864)
Released/updated on: 2006-12-15
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-03-22--2000-05-03
This study centered on two questions fundamental to understanding public opinion about the courts: (1) Do African Americans, Latinos, and Whites view the state courts differently? and (2) What impact did recent direct court experience have on people's opinions about state courts? Between March 22, 2000, and May 3, 2000, interviewers conducted 1,567 telephone interviews with randomly selected United States residents. Variables include respondents' gender, race, age, education, and other demographic information, respondents' perception of the fairness of local courts, including whether African Americans and Latinos were discriminated against, whether the respondent or a member of the respondent's household had been involved with the courts in the past 12 months, and if so, how fairly that case was conducted.