Police De-escalation Strategies: An Assessment of the Research & Innovative Approaches

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

Traditional police training teaches officers to use various forms of force to subdue and gain control of individuals to make arrests when resistance is encountered on police-citizen interactions. However, police use of force in encounters with citizens have also resulted in questions of whether it is possible to minimize the use of force by implementing de-escalation training that may modify the behavior and tactics of police officers. Advocates of de-escalation training suggest that it may offer a more proactive by providing officers with tactics designed to defuse situations before force becomes necessary and teaching them ways to evaluate and respond to difficult, volatile, and potentially combative situations in real time. Unfortunately, empirical assessments of the extent to which law enforcement agencies have adopted de-escalation policies, the content of those policies, or how changes in use of force and de-escalation policies impact their day-to-day operations are limited. The proposed panelists will discuss de-escalation research findings and innovative approaches.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 43. Police Strategies, Interventions, and Evaluations

Individual Presentations

• An Evaluation of De-Escalation Training to Understand the Links between Training and Outcomes - Kyle McLean, Clemson University

• Building the Evidence Base on De-escalation Training for Law Enforcement: A Multi-Agency Randomized Control Trial - Robin Engel, The Ohio State University

Chair

• Brett Chapman, USDOJ / National Institute of Justice

Discussant

• Geoffrey Alpert, University of South Carolina