265 Article Perception of Risk and the Decision to Use Force Itiel E. Dror * Abstract The quality of policing depends on making sound decisions. Many cognitive factors are involved in decision making and these must be understood and harnessed so as to enhance the quality of decisions taken by police officers. In this paper, I discuss two different decision-making systems (deliberative and experiential), and how decision factors (such as complexity), internal factors (such as expectations), and external factors (such as time pressure) all come together in deciding whether or not to use force. Providing proper training and correctly utilising technology can enhance an officer’s ability to make sound decisions. Good policing is ultimately determined by the quality of decisions made during police activity. As officers interact and try to con- trol the public, criminals, and environment, the constables in the field and commanders at headquarters undertake a variety of actions. At its highest intensity they need to decide on whether or not to use force. The decision to use force is the pinnacle of a complex cognitive process. It is critical that policing decisions in general, and the use of force in particular, are as optimal as they can be. The public’s safety and quality of policing are dependent on these. In this article, I unpack the complex and different facets involved in police decision making; specifically focussing on risk percep- tion and the decision to use force. Cognitive understanding of police decision making can lead to better procedures, training and use of technology, all of which can enhance decision quality. Many police procedures and guidelines determine if and how officers need to respond to a given situation. However, the crucial element in determining an action is not regu- lation, but how one perceives, interprets, and evaluates the situation. It is relatively easy to ascertain and instruct that under situation X, action Y should be taken. This, however, hinges on properly assessing the situation *Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton E-mail: id@ecs.soton.ac.uk; http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/id/ Advance Access Publication: 24 September 2007 Policing, pp. 265 – 272 doi:10.1093/police/pam041  The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org * University College London, E-mail: i.dror@ucl.ac.uk Website: www.cci-hq.com