American Economic Review Vol. 116 No. 5 2026
The Effect of Field Training Officers on Police Use of Force
Abstract
The influence of on-the-job training and supervisors, especially in high-stakes settings like policing, is poorly understood. Examining a central behavior in the debate surrounding police reform, we investigate the impact of a field training officer (FTO) on a recruit’s use of force. Leveraging a setting with conditional as-good-as-random assignment, we demonstrate a causal link between FTO and recruit use of force. A 1 standard deviation increase in FTO force propensity leads to a 14 to 18 percent rise in recruit force, persisting for at least two years. This underscores field training’s impact and reveals a promising avenue for reform.
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.20240785
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1837-1875
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref