Press reports of blacks
being killed by white police officers have focused attention on how police treat
citizens. Many people to believe that police are not only racist but act as an
occupying force in many communities. The murder of George Floyd has been a
tipping point causing citizens to protest in the streets demanding action, even
to “defunding” the police.
The accusation is that the
racism is institutional and that their needs to be fundamental change to police
departments.
Over the past several
years there has been a debate within the police profession on the proper
“mindset” that police officers and sheriff’s deputies should have while they
are on duty. The debate comes down to, should cops be warriors or should they
be guardians.
Over the years many local
police department have developed a warrior mentality toward their jobs. This
has been encouraged by the war on drugs, 9/11, as well as the terrorist threat in
the U.S.
The motivation for the
warrior mindset is officer safety. Given the dangers and violence that police
can face during a shift, they need to be ready to successfully prevail in a
violent encounter. The first rule of law enforcement officers and deputies is
to go home at the end of every shift.
By having a warrior
mindset, a police officer demonstrates “… the mental tenacity and attitude that
officers, like soldiers, are taught to adopt in the face of a life-threatening
struggle." In short, the mental toughness to survive a bad situation no
matter the odds or the difficulty.
This basic version of the
warrior mindset sets the standard for police officer conduct in the most
physically dangerous situations. But critics say the mindset has been expanded to
all aspects of their jobs. Officers and deputies are taught that they work in
an intensely hostile world. That they should treat every individual that they
contact as an armed threat and every encounter as potentially requiring deadly
force. One proponent of this view of life and who teaches the warrior mindset
has even been called “professor carnage.”
Warriors force
compliance, escalate situations, command people, and develop an us vs them
attitude. Warriors expect people to accede to their commands. Not complying
confirms that they are an enemy to be vanquished.
Critics point out that
the warrior mindset is important in only about 10% of the time. Most of a
police officer’s time is made up of routine tasks and benign contacts. Many
think that a better mindset for most of the time is that of a guardian.
Guardians are characterized
as,
·
People who de-escalate situations
·
Communicating with people rather than issuing
commands
·
Gaining the respect of the public
·
Protectors of the community
·
Protecting the constitutional rights of people
·
Partnering with the community
·
Taking a broader, longer view to protecting the
public
·
Emphasizing service over crime fighting
·
Encouraging cooperation over forcing compliance
·
Emphasizing legitimacy over authority
·
Demonstrating patience and restraint over
control
The character of the
guardian mindset is in line with Community Policing precepts that emphasize
working with communities to reduce crime and to improve quality of life.
Community Policing
advocates point to the establishment of the Metropolitan Police of London in
1829 by legislation sponsored by the then Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel for founding
principles. The Metropolitan Police was one of the first full-time,
professional, centrally organized police forces in the United Kingdom.
In organizing this new
police force, Peel advocated nine principles of policing:
·
The force should prevent crime instead of merely
suppressing crime by force.
·
To recognize that the ability of the police to
fulfill their functions depends on public approval of their existence, actions,
and behavior, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
·
To remember that to obtain and maintain the
respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing
co-operation of the public.
·
To recognize that the more the public cooperates
the less police need to apply physical force.
·
Police should seek and preserve public favor,
not by pandering to public opinion, but by demonstrating impartial service to the
law. They should do this “… in complete independence of policy, and without
regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by
ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the
public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of
courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual
sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.”
·
To use physical force only when the exercise of
persuasion, does not work to obtain public co-operation to secure observance of
law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force
which is necessary for achieving a police objective.
·
To remember that the police are the people and
the people are the police. We are all responsible for following and enforcing
the law, we just hire a few people to do that all the time.
·
To leave the judging of guilt or innocence and
the levying of punishment to the rightful arm of government- the judiciary.
·
To measure effectiveness by the ability to reduce
crime not by the effectiveness of police operations such as the number of
arrests made by the force.
Comment: As an operational matter,
police and deputies probably need both mindsets. But they need the judgement to
be able to switch between mindsets. Personal safety trainers talk about having
“situational awareness.” That means being alert for natural signs of danger throughout
the day. But having the judgement to realize the difference between when the
situation is benign and when danger is lurking. This is tough mentally. But
those who can do it, deserve our respect.
For police and deputies to be
successful guardians, and warriors when necessary, requires good training. In
2012, former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr began as the Executive Director of
the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (police academy). She
changed the curriculum to give more emphasis on police as guardians. This is a
good start. But police agencies need to follow through with continuing training
and rewards to reinforce the mindset as guardians in relations with the public
and the ability to shift to warriors to protect the public when necessary.
The Seattle Times:
PoliceOne.com:
In Public Safety:
KUOW:
MSNBC:
Wikipedia:
