What the Police Could Learn from Psychologists

If we are to end systemic, institutionalized racism in America and the racist attitudes that too many police officers hold toward the citizens they have sworn to protect and to serve, perhaps it would be wise to better understand how much of good policing really is just simple human psychology. If we want police officers to set a better example in their behavior and attitudes, I think no better place to start is with a police officer is trained — the police academy. And while I’m sure academies teach a lot of people skills, I think they’re missing an opportunity. Maybe police academies could learn more from the training of psychologists. Police Academies Today Police academies today resemble paramilitary institutions where as much time is spent on learning how to take orders without question as it is on learning the basics of law enforcement in the classroom. As Rosa Brooks writes in The Atlantic, maybe it’s time we stopped training police like they’re joining the military: It’s not hard to see the link between paramilitary police training and the abuses motivating the past several weeks’ protests. When police recruits are belittled by their instructors and ordered to refrain from responses other than “Yes, Sir!,” they may learn stoicism—but they may also learn that mocking and bellowing orders at those with less power are acceptable actions. When recruits are ordered to do push-ups to the point of exhaustion because their boots weren...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: General Policy and Advocacy Psychology Racism Black Lives Matter George Floyd Police brutality Prejudice Source Type: blogs