Police Training and Perception of Threat

• In Event: Latina/o/x Criminology Panel #2

Abstract

Police training provides new recruits the necessary skills to enforce the law and collaborate with the public to reduce crime. However, police training can also create unintentional barriers to achieve those goals. The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of both formal and informal police academy training on the cadets’ perception of threat. Formal academy training are the courses and the content stablished in the curricular design. Informal training is the additional or replaced content administered by the instructors during official training and beyond, during recess periods. The researchers evaluated the impact of the official and unofficial academy training on threat assessment by cadets. Pre and post-training cadets’ overall perception of threats were evaluated, as well as their supervisors’ impressions of the cadets fear of threats as compared to other officers. Measures inquired about how much emphasis was given during training to threats, community hostility and police vulnerability. Measures also probed about the “cultural” transmission of fear during academy training. The findings support the need to explore threat perceptions as a method to improve police efficiency and develop positive police community relations.

Authors

• Xavier Perez, DePaul University

• Jhon Sanabria, Universidad Ana G Mendez