Parts of Georgia plan on giving de-escalation training to their deputies.

[southernhybrid]

I don't know if this will help as much as is needed, but it's at least a good attempt to change the attitudes and behaviors of some police.

https://www.ajc.com/news/caution-empathy-and-compassion-fulton-henry-deputies-to-get-de-escalation-training/DSYNGQSDZVGOXNTTC4W7BOLDPE/

In the wake of increased tensions between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, two metro Atlanta sheriff’s offices will receive de-escalation training for 1,000 deputies.

Funding for the training is the result of a partnership between soft drink giant Pepsi and the Close the Gap Foundation, which offers police training and youth mentorship programs in cities across the country. Scandrett said Friday that the de-escalation training is already underway and will likely take several months.

“You’d have to be living under a rock if you didn’t see the pulse of the nation has high blood pressure now,” he said, referring to strained relationships between police and residents across the U.S. “It’s important that we train our officers consistently to make sure they approach scenes with caution, empathy and compassion.”

Having that training, Scandrett said, will help “calm the waters,” particularly when it comes to interacting with those who may not trust law enforcement.

I like the idea of training the police to use caution, empathy and compassion. That is something that has been lacking in recent years in many cities all over the US.

In addition to the de-escalation training, Scandrett’s office said Henry County deputies will undergo regular psychological evaluations and reviews of their interactions with the public in order to provide them the “tools necessary to adapt to high-stress situations.”

Dr. Joseph Hill, the psychologist for the Henry Sheriff’s Office and several other metro Atlanta departments, said most officers only undergo psychological evaluations when they first join an agency. “In some cases, they may not ever be seen again,” he said.

I think that is also an excellent idea. Those who work in law enforcement should have regular psychological evals, as I would imagine the job often leads to burn out and cynicism, leading to police feeling as if the citizens are the enemy. It shouldn't be that way. Hopefully, this added training will be good for the well being of the officers as well as for those who they are supposed to be serving.

In addition to de-escalation tactics, Gwinnett deputies are taught to recognize autism and Tourette syndrome, as well as how to appropriately respond to mental health crises, Castiblanco said. De-escalation tactics are also incorporated into the department’s use-of-force training.

“De-escalation training is critical in law enforcement because it helps our deputies understand the signs of someone experiencing a mental and emotional crisis,” she said. “We teach the deputies the importance of empathy, effective communication skills (and) the significance of listening while operating in a stressful environment without compromising officer safety.”

He said he hopes the combination of training and regular psychological evaluations will improve his department and its relationship with residents.

I hope so too. It may not be all that is needed, but at least it's a start. Hopefully, more training will be required of all those who work in law enforcement. Does anyone here know of something similar happening in their community or state?

 

[Harry Bosch]

I don't know if this will help as much as is needed, but it's at least a good attempt to change the attitudes and behaviors of some police.

https://www.ajc.com/news/caution-empathy-and-compassion-fulton-henry-deputies-to-get-de-escalation-training/DSYNGQSDZVGOXNTTC4W7BOLDPE/

“You’d have to be living under a rock if you didn’t see the pulse of the nation has high blood pressure now,” he said, referring to strained relationships between police and residents across the U.S. “It’s important that we train our officers consistently to make sure they approach scenes with caution, empathy and compassion.”

Having that training, Scandrett said, will help “calm the waters,” particularly when it comes to interacting with those who may not trust law enforcement.

I like the idea of training the police to use caution, empathy and compassion. That is something that has been lacking in recent years in many cities all over the US.

In addition to the de-escalation training, Scandrett’s office said Henry County deputies will undergo regular psychological evaluations and reviews of their interactions with the public in order to provide them the “tools necessary to adapt to high-stress situations.”

Dr. Joseph Hill, the psychologist for the Henry Sheriff’s Office and several other metro Atlanta departments, said most officers only undergo psychological evaluations when they first join an agency. “In some cases, they may not ever be seen again,” he said.

I think that is also an excellent idea. Those who work in law enforcement should have regular psychological evals, as I would imagine the job often leads to burn out and cynicism, leading to police feeling as if the citizens are the enemy. It shouldn't be that way. Hopefully, this added training will be good for the well being of the officers as well as for those who they are supposed to be serving.

In addition to de-escalation tactics, Gwinnett deputies are taught to recognize autism and Tourette syndrome, as well as how to appropriately respond to mental health crises, Castiblanco said. De-escalation tactics are also incorporated into the department’s use-of-force training.

“De-escalation training is critical in law enforcement because it helps our deputies understand the signs of someone experiencing a mental and emotional crisis,” she said. “We teach the deputies the importance of empathy, effective communication skills (and) the significance of listening while operating in a stressful environment without compromising officer safety.”

He said he hopes the combination of training and regular psychological evaluations will improve his department and its relationship with residents.

I hope so too. It may not be all that is needed, but at least it's a start. Hopefully, more training will be required of all those who work in law enforcement. Does anyone here know of something similar happening in their community or state?

Holy cow! Someone really wants to lower civilian deaths by police and improve police relations! Refreshing. That's a very good start. I'd add that it's incredibly difficult to see the signs and help someone experiencing mental health crises.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This isn’t part of their typical training?

 

[ideologyhunter]

So I'm guessing the cops who pulled Caron Nazario over, in VA, because they didn't (at first) see that he had a temporary tag taped in his window, had taken the Escalation 101 class instead? "What's going on is you're fixing to ride the lightning!!" (They also took the acting class Snappy Noir Dialogue and the one called Southern Bubbas and Sheriffs.)

 

[bleubird]

Regular psych evals may also help with the high rate of suicide.

 

[southernhybrid]

DC and Maryland are also attempting to improve policing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/washington-police-reform/2021/04/18/91849822-9ed5-11eb-9d05-ae06f4529ece_story.html

Two Windsor, Va., police officers harassed Black U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario at a traffic stop in a video that sparked national outrage. Critics say the policemen are lucky the incident happened in December instead of this spring.
In March, major new laws took effect in the Old Dominion that changed how police can do their jobs and how their conduct is judged.

The Windsor police chief fired Gutierrez this month after the video became public. But both officers’ potential exposure would be much higher for a similar incident today.
Maryland enacts landmark police overhaul, first state to repeal police bill of rights.
The difference highlights how much Virginia and other states have moved to strengthen oversight of police misconduct since the national reckoning following the videotaped death of George Floyd under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee 11 months ago.
In our region, both Virginia and Maryland have recently passed the most extensive police changes in years. The Maryland legislature approved especially far-reaching changes in its regular session that ended a week ago.

Longtime advocates of police reform have been astonished at how quickly laws have passed. They cite publicity over Floyd’s death and other videotaped examples of police misbehavior, especially against African Americans.
Among the changes passed in a special legislative session last year, Virginia banned no-knock warrants and gave more power to civilian review boards. Lawmakers barred police from searching a person just because they smelled marijuana.
“The George Floyd video really opened a lot of people’s eyes to what’s been going on in America,” said Virginia state Sen. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax). “For the last 100 years, some Americans have felt the African American community was articulating a bunch of Sasquatch sightings, and after George Floyd happened, people said, ‘Oh, my God, they found Sasquatch.’”

The administration hopes to have a pilot program up and running within two months to send trauma counselors or nurses to incidents in which someone is having a mental health crisis. It is also working on using civilians to handle minor traffic collisions.
These sorts of changes are the next frontier in police reform.
“If those [reform commission] recommendations are implemented, they would be closest to the shifts in public safety that we need,” said Cheema of the Legal Defense Fund. “That is the direction that local governments should be going in.”

It may take a long time to improve policing, but it's good to see that some parts of the country have already changed some laws and are looking for ways to make policing more appropriate, with fewer attacks on the people who are meant to be served by the police.

I like that several cities are seriously considering doing away with very minor traffic stops. This is one area that has been abused and primarily used as an excuse to increase revenues, even for minor things like hanging an air freshener around your mirror.