Fixing the Police - Part 4

Implications

So having laid out some basic issues, let me propose my theory. Police training should focus first and foremost on developing an officer’s situational use of force skills. This is the core function of policing, and every officer should be an expert at the situational use of force.

For this to be accomplished, two changes must occur. First, use of force training in the academy should be restructured to eliminate block practice, to more closely reflect the situational variability that we are training officers to deal with, and to focus on linking perception and action. More time should also be spent on use-of-force training in the academy.

Second, policing must become a training culture. Currently, training in policing is an event not an everyday practice. On the vast majority of days, officers get in their patrol cars and start patrolling. Training only happens on special occasions. If officers are going to become proficient in the situational use of force, they must practice those skills regularly. It is not enough to go to a class for a couple of days, check the box, and say that you have this skill covered. The way that police are trained now, is similar to someone attending a weekend self-defense seminar and then declaring themselves a professional mixed martial arts fighter. Use of force skills must be developed like sports skills. Training must reoccur over time, officers must receive consistent feedback on their performance, and the training must seek to develop the perception-action linkages that are critical to the successful use of force.

My mental model for this is the military special forces community. These are some of the most dangerous people that you will meet, and they also tend to be the calmest. These operators have a well calibrated confidence in their skills. They do not become quickly agitated or scared because they know that they can handle the situation using force if needed. This gives them more latitude to respond.

While I do not believe that the average police officer will ever rise to the level of a special forces operator, I do believe that they can do much better than the current standard. Better trained cops will be more confident cops. More confident cops will be called upon to use force less because fewer suspects will challenge them. More confident officers will also resort to force less often because they are not afraid. When more competent officers use force, the force will be more decisive, result in less escalation, and ultimately less injury to the suspect (e.g. when the competent officer puts hands on a suspect to control the suspect, the competent officer will gain control. The less competent officer may fail to gain control and escalate, perhaps to a taser, baton, or even gun).

I am not arguing that increased and improved use of force training will solve all the problems facing policing. What I am claiming is that these other problems are not solvable if the police are not competent in their core skill of situational use of force. A scared officer is a dangerous officer. The impact of high levels of fear on performance is clear. Officers will not be able to use any skills that require higher order thinking (such as de-escalation or crisis intervention) when they are afraid.

Finally, I want to be clear that I am not calling for “warrior” cops. The job of a police officer is very different from the job of a soldier. I want officers to use the minimum amount of force possible in order to serve and protect their communities. In most cases, the use of force (especially deadly force) should be a last resort. I would love to see far fewer police killings. Paradoxically, I believe the way to get police officers to use less force is to make them far more capable of using force.