May 7, 2017

Most states ignore deescalation training for police

APM Reports - Every year, around 1,000 people are shot and killed by police, according to the databases. Of those victims, more than half were wielding guns, leaving officers few choices in how to respond.

But in the rest of the cases, where people were holding knives, toy weapons, or no weapons at all, police might have taken additional steps, like using communication skills or waiting for backup, to try to defuse the situations.

In Georgia, one of the states that until recently did not have mandatory in-service de-escalation training for police, most police departments and sheriffs' offices have little, if any, de-escalation training. Most — 385 of the 582 — departments analyzed had fewer than one hour per officer over the past five years. The ones with training are scattered from the urban Atlanta area to rural parts of the state. Starting this year, however, all officers will be required to take one hour of de-escalation training annually.

Most states don't mandate de-escalation training

It's called "de-escalation" training, and it teaches officers to slow down, create space, and use communication techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations. It gives officers strategies to more calmly deal with people who are experiencing mental and emotional crises.

There are 34 states that do not require de-escalation training for all officers, according to an analysis by APM Reports.

Though most states have boards that license peace officers and oversee state training requirements — boards with the power to require the training — the vast majority have failed to mandate it.

That has left the decision of whether to train up to local chiefs and sheriffs. And many haven't done it, citing, among other reasons, cost, lack of staff, and a belief that the training is unnecessary or constitutes a rebuke of traditional policing.

1 comment:

Greg Gerritt said...

I suggest every city become a sanctuary city. then when the Feds and the states cut police funding they lay off cops.