Use of Force Best Practices: Location Type

As the old adage goes: location, Location, LOCATION. While this often holds true to a business's success, it also holds true when it comes to Use of Force reporting. As we've previously discussed, "Location Type" (Data Element I7) is a required field in the Incident Information Segment of Use of Force reporting. At the time of this post, there are 44 valid "Location Types."

Location Types

​01 = Air/Bus/Train Terminal

02 = Bank/Savings and Loan

03 = Bar/Nightclub

04 = Church/Synagogue/Temple/Mosque

05 = Commercial/Office Building

06 = Construction Site

07 = Convenience Store

08 = Department/Discount Store

09 = Drug Store/Doctor’s Office/Hospital

10 = Field/Woods

11 = Government/Public Building

12 = Grocery/Supermarket

13 = Highway/Road/Alley/Street/Sidewalk

14 = Hotel/Motel/Etc.

15 = Jail/Prison/Penitentiary/Corrections Facility

16 = Lake/Waterway/Beach

17 = Liquor Store

18 = Parking/Drop Lot/Garage

19 = Rental Storage Facility

20 = Residence/Home

21 = Restaurant

23 = Service/Gas Station

24 = Specialty Store

25 = Other

37 = Abandoned/Condemned Structure

38 = Amusement Park

39 = Arena/Stadium/Fairgrounds/Coliseum

40 = ATM Separate from Bank

41 = Auto Dealership New/Used

42 = Camp/Campground

44 = Daycare Facility

45 = Dock/Wharf/Freight/Modal Terminal

46 = Farm Facility

47 = Gambling Facility/Casino/Race Track

48 = Industrial Site

49 = Military Installation

50 = Park/Playground

51 = Rest Area

52 = School–College/University

53 = School–Elementary/Secondary

54 = Shelter–Mission/Homeless

55 = Shopping Mall

56 = Tribal Lands

57 = Community Center

Functional versus Physical

When it comes to classifying a "Location Type," it's important to remember that functional location and physical location can be different!

• A school gymnasium being used for religious services should be reported as 04=Church/Synagogue/Mosque/Temple and not 52=School-College/University or 53=School-Elementary/Secondary.

• A playground at a school being used on the weekend by local residents should be reported as 50=Park/Playground and not 53=School-Elementary/Seconday.

Be as Specific as possible

Let's take a look at another example. Figure 1 (below) illustrates a shopping mall (or strip mall). Should a Use of Force Incident at this location be listed as 55=Shopping Mall?

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At first glance, 55=Shopping Mall may seem appropriate. However, following the rule of "being as specific as possbile," many of these locations should be classified separately.

Figure 2 (below) illustrates a more accurate representation of "Location Type" based on the available values.

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In Figure 2, you may have noticed that no individual classification was given for "LOADING DOCK." Should this have been classified as 45=Dock/Wharf/Freight/Modal Terminal?

Because Dollar General has a lot of shipments, they have their own dock for offloading their merchandise. Since there is no exchange of freight between different (or the same) modes of transportation happening, 45=Dock/Wharf/Freight/Modal Terminal is incorrect. If a Use of Force incident happens on Dollar General's loading dock, the "Location Type" should be classified as 08=Discount/Department Store.

Hopefully, this post cleared up some common misconceptions about "Location Types," and will allow your department to classify and submit accurate Use of Force data.

Join us next time, when we discuss the Use of Force "Qualification Questions" in greater detail.