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.
