Nonviolent policing #2: Police social workers

Some jurisdictions are experimenting with a mixed team of sworn officers and police social workers (PSW): 

Qualitative case notes also revealed that PSWs can divert individuals from the criminal justice system by using crisis intervention and de- escalation techniques on-scene with clients. This research has important implications for improving community safety and well-being, and this case study reveals that PSWs with micro and macro skills are a promising model for improving public safety and justice in the right context. (Ban & Riordan, 2023, p. 537).

Social worker deëscalation training is far more baked into the curriculum throughout, the social workers are not oriented toward being armed, and the high degree of support and human services knowledge makes the person in crisis often far more amenable to deëscalation, less subject to irrational actions based on terrorized emotional states, and thus far more likely to accept help and guidance more calmly. 

References

Ban, C. C., & Riordan, J. E. (2023). Re-Envisioning Public Safety Through an Embedded Police Social Worker (PSW) Model: A Promising Approach for Multidisciplinary Resource Delivery and Diversion. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 39(4), 537–554. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.1177/10439862231189423