경찰관의 총기사용 의사결정에 미치는 영향요인에 관한 연구

Abstract

Recent reports on police officers, who did not fire guns to apprehend offenders in the situation when gun-usage was perceived as highly necessary, are provoking social controversy. Against this backdrop, this study is designed to show how the police officers perceive the use of guns. This study uses a positive approach to analyze the results of a survey, which was conducted of the field police officers who currently work for eighteen police stations under the supervision of sixteen regional police agencies across the country. The framework of current analysis is as follows: while the individual features of the police are set as precedent variables, the seven types of perception ― shooting capabilities, the burden of invasion of lives, legal perception, internal affairs investigation, liability of arresting offenders, media reports, lawsuits raised by victims ― are selected as independent variables. Also, the will to use a gun suggested by the Supreme Court decision regarding the gun-usage was chosen as a dependant variable. The current research analysis tested four hypothesis, the results of which are as following : (1) it proves that the better shooting capability tends to lead to a stronger will to use a gun, (2) the officers who carries higher burden in regards to invading offenders tend to use firearm less, (3) while the willingness to use a gun depends on the level of responsibility to apprehend offenders, (4) the burden of lawsuits from the victims tends to lead to an adverse impact on the willingness to use a gun. The perception of police officers found in this study is hoped to contribute as a useful source for decision-making process, the revision of gun-control policies and laws, and for creating a gun-usage manual.