home

Can the Culture of Law Enforcement Change?

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 08:50:00 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The Denver Sheriff's Department has been been justly slammed by an outside report of its performance, including multiple incidents involving the use of excessive force. Can it -- or any law enforcement agency -- change the culture that breeds such abuses?

The Denver Post reports the Sheriff's Department is trying. The largest recruitment class ever has begun training, and the recruits are being taught their role is one of a guardian, not a warrior. They are told that even when deadly force is legally authorized, it may not be the best option. It can also jeopardize their careers.

"We're in a monumental cultural change — not just us, but law enforcement nationwide. It's a culture of service. Our duty is to protect life. That's the message we want to convey...."

[More...]

We tell the officers that their actions may expose them to criminal liability," he said. "It's a big burden.

How do they work towards the culture shift in training? One technique:

Verbal judo," said Kafati, invoking the vernacular for strategic communication skills. "It's de-escalation at its best, redirection. We implement scenarios that may appear to be use-of-force-type scenarios. But if the recruit opts to use force, they fail."

The new message:

"Law enforcement has an old saying: At the end of the day, we go home safe. Here's what we say now: At the end of the day, everyone goes home safe."

The training may last up to 20 weeks. I have no idea whether this new culture change will take hold -- it's one that is expected to take a minimum of 3 to 5 years and could take between 10 and 20 years. But the effort is worth mentioning.

< Ramadi and the "Scars of War" | Mexico Arrests Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Can the Culture of Law Enforcement Change? | 39 comments (39 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Changes in the law... (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 11:20:59 AM EST
    are required before the culture can really change.  Namely, accelerate the complete and utter surrender of the drug war.  

    Limit the instances of cop and citizen butting heads over stupid sh&t and the culture will change...both the culture of police hostility towards citizen and citizen hostility towards the police.

    I think trying to change the culture (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Anne on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 12:12:31 PM EST
    means having to look at who wants to be part of law enforcement and why; I think it's pretty clear that there are more than a few who are attracted to this field because of the power it gives them, and too often, the license it gives them to do things that, as private citizens, they could be arrested for.

    You can change the training, you can change the goals, but if you aren't attracting people to the job who want to work in accordance with the training and goals, seems like there will be a lot of investment with little return.

    Hence the rub... (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 12:46:53 PM EST
    Same problem we have with elected officials Anne...most people who would be really good at it are the people who want no part of it.  And the people who want a part of it, well that's your first red flag right there.

    Parent
    Many law enforcement officers (none / 0) (#32)
    by oculus on Sat Jan 09, 2016 at 11:16:05 AM EST
    are high school graduates with honorable discharges from the U.S. armed forces. I don't envision college graduates applying for these positions.

    Parent
    And different states have different requirements (none / 0) (#38)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2016 at 01:43:41 PM EST
    In Colorado and Wyoming a psych evaluation is part of the final pick, and in both states any history of family violence sets you aside but I think only Colorado is mandatory. I know someone with a law enforcement degree though who could not pass a psych evaluation in Wyoming's opinion, and he applied and applied and applied, and he was never hired.

    My knowledge of their hiring practices is 15 to 20 yrs ago, and the criteria may have loosened since then. Colorado was very strict when we left. And here, just about anybody can get a job in law enforcement.

    Parent

    I think the culture (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 01:19:24 PM EST
    must change.  It is not really an option--policing as if an occupying force has no future. The "broken window" policing, for example, increases the interactions with citizens with potential for, if not the reality of, oppressive actions.

     The failed drug war is another opportunity for segments of the population to formulate negative impressions of policing. Police action needs to be reserved for important and serious assumptions of law breaking. The training of police needs to stress judgment and discernment skills.

     Many citizens gain their impressions of police from friendly or benign interactions, such as traffic control outside of church on Sunday mornings, and find it difficult to understand that police relationships could be anything other--unless a criminal.

    Community policing has proved effective both in police relations and crime deterrence. The needed change will be a challenge--long term and ongoing. The culture was not gained over night and will not be unlearned in a short time.

      Policing is not an easy or unimportant job. It is demanding and dangerous, yet requiring responsive and responsible actions. The citizens, too, need to realize the role and importance of police work--and be willing to provide commensurate remuneration.

    no, it can't change without... (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 09:39:10 AM EST
    ...the disbanding of ALL police departments and their complete reorganizing under strict psychological testing for recruits. Short of that, you can piss into the wind and wonder why your eyes are burning, cuz nothing will really change. America has let too many problems linger for far too long to think ANY solution that isn't excruciatingly difficult will work.

    Speaking for Me Only... (5.00 / 3) (#3)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 10:48:37 AM EST
    ...I would rather not go through any time period without the police, that is insane.

    Yeah they have some problems, but given a choice, I will take cops with problems over criminals with no police every day of the week.

    Parent

    Insane? (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 11:17:50 AM EST
    I call that a lifestyle.

    Parent
    Like Mogadishu... (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 02:03:14 PM EST
    ... or Burundi, I'll pass on a lawless nation, I mean lifestyle.

    Parent
    I am not interested in living (none / 0) (#39)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2016 at 01:45:24 PM EST
    In that jungle....ever

    Parent
    Actually, applicants, at least in CA, are (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by oculus on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 12:04:32 PM EST
    subjected to mental health review.

    Parent
    Yet the cop in Cleveland (none / 0) (#12)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 01:55:12 PM EST
    who killed Tamir Rice was evaluated as being emotionally/psychologically unsuited for police work only to find a home with the Cleveland police department..

    We used to have the "Uncle Dominic" syndrome at work here in Rochester; as in, my Uncle Dominic is a cop who knows a lot of people and can get me a job..

    Supposedly the culture here changed after the chief and his second-in-command were sent to prison back in the eighties..

    Parent

    That happens in a lot of departments. (none / 0) (#19)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 03:12:52 PM EST
    The Honolulu Police Department is no different, in that the in-house culture has long bred contempt by rank-and-file and leadership alike for nominally established protocols.

    HPD Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Deputy City Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, are both presently under federal investigation for abuse of power. Specifically, it's alleged that they used their respective offices in an attempt to resolve what was a rapidly escalating family dispute, which resulted in the arrest of Katherine's uncle on what appears to have been a false charge of mail theft.

    And thanks in no small part to the curiously incestuous nature of island law enforcement (read the linked article and you'll see what I'm talking about), the matter is presently being handled by the U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    yes it can change (none / 0) (#4)
    by CST on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 10:53:03 AM EST
    The Boston police department did not have the best reputation a few decades ago (to say the least), but they did a lot of work reaching out to the at risk communities and working with neighborhood leaders, even going as far as to coordinate cease fires between local gangs.  It's not perfect, but it's so much better than it used to be.

    Pretty good article on the subject.

    And your recent former police chief, (none / 0) (#15)
    by shoephone on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 02:21:11 PM EST
    Kathleen O'Toole, is now the police chief in Seattle. She's doing better than the previous one on reform, but I think her biggest foil is the jacka$$ who heads up the local police union.

    Parent
    I know from the troubles we've had (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by Anne on Fri Jan 08, 2016 at 02:40:41 PM EST
    %%nor