Nonviolent policing #4: Being brave

If a well-meaning officer is seeking an actual productive dialog with a subject, being clear on aspirations can assist in achieving the willingness to actually talk. And when a police department seeks a new relationship with a community deeply concerned with bias and police violence, it does itself no favors by denying instances of racism nor by shielding practicing racists in their department. In one German study a number of shocking, revealing facts were uncovered, during the 2020 global uprising over police killing or profiling black people: 

In 2020, for example, it became public that German police officers were sharing pictures, memes, and comments with racist, anti-Semitic, and demeaning content in WhatsApp Groups. Leadership, politicians, and the public were especially shocked about the fact that none of the many police officers who were members of the chat groups (up to 500) intervened. (John, 2024, p. 2).

It is common for police to boast that they are the only ones who "run toward the gunfire," as though they are thus uniquely brave. But how brave are those officers who fail to note untoward conduct by their fellow officers? When an officer's actions harm and hurt innocents and thus the community at large, it would seem to follow that any brave colleague would confront it in some manner.

References

John, E. (2024). Training German police officers to tackle racial discrimination: Professional virtues between compliance with legal norms and dialogue with affected groups. Policing: A Journal of Policy & Practice, 18, 1–8. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.1093/police/paae048