The emphasis of de-escalation and inter-personal communication training across the states

• In Event: Police Training and Appearance Policies

Abstract

In recent years, media exposure of escalated police-public encounters has attracted attention from the public and researchers, as well as police administrators. To prevent such encounters from resulting in unnecessary harm, many police agencies and policy makers are revisiting training on how officers communicate and interact with citizens—officers’ skills in social interactions, de-escalation, and eventually gaining compliance. While some evaluative research and empirical reviews exist, little is known regarding what police academies and training authorities currently have in their basic law enforcement training (BLET) curriculum to prepare recruits with these skills. To update this aspect, our study canvasses authorities on police training standards in various states to identify current curricula on communication and behavioral management. Specifically, we will discuss the components of training, number of hours of training on each topic, frequency of training, and training assessment tools. A typology will be presented with a policy discussion.

Authors

• Amaya Betancourt, Penn State Harrisburg

• Sanchari Das, Penn State Harrisburg

• Rylee Martinez, Penn State Harrisburg

• Siyu Liu, Penn State Harrisburg