Purpose

De-escalation training for police has received widespread attention as a method for reducing unnecessary and excessive use of force. There is virtually no research on de-escalation, and as a result, there is little understanding about what it is, what it includes and whether it is effective. The current study compares attitudes about the importance and use of de-escalation among officers who were randomly assigned to participate (or not) in de-escalation training.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study draws from a larger randomized controlled trial of de-escalation training in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department (TPD). Approximately 100 officers completed a survey in June–July 2019 and again in June–July 2020. TPD delivered the de-escalation training to half the patrol force in February–March 2020. The authors compare treatment and control officers' attitudes about the importance of specific de-escalation tactics, how often they use those tactics and their sentiments de-escalation training. The authors employ an econometric random-effects model to examine between-group differences post-training while controlling for relevant officer attributes including age, race, sex, prior training and squad-level pretraining attitudes about de-escalation.

Findings

Treatment and control officers reported positive perceptions of de-escalation tactics, frequent use of those tactics and favorable attitudes toward de-escalation before and after the training. After receiving the training, treatment officers placed greater importance on compromise, and reported more frequent use of several important tactics including compromise, knowing when to walk away and maintaining officer safety.

Originality/value

Only a few prior studies have has examined whether de-escalation training changes officer attitudes. The results from the current study represent an initial piece of evidence suggesting de-escalation training may lead to greater use of those tactics by officers during encounters with citizens.

中文翻译：

---

动针：培训可以改变军官的看法和降职使用吗？

目的

对警察的降级培训作为减少不必要和过度使用武力的一种方法受到了广泛关注。几乎没有关于降级的研究，因此，人们对其是什么、包括什么以及它是否有效知之甚少。目前的研究比较了随机分配参加（或不参加）降级培训的官员对降级的重要性和使用的态度。

设计/方法/方法

当前的研究借鉴了亚利桑那州坦佩市警察局 (TPD) 的降级培训的更大随机对照试验。大约 100 名警官在 2019 年 6 月至 7 月和 2020 年 6 月至 7 月再次完成了调查。TPD 在 2020 年 2 月至 3 月向一半巡逻队提供了降级培训。作者比较了治疗和控制官员对具体的降级策略，他们使用这些策略的频率以及他们的情绪降级培训。作者采用计量经济学随机效应模型来检验训练后的群体间差异，同时控制相关官员的属性，包括年龄，种族，性别，先前的训练以及对降级的小班水平的预训练态度。

发现

治疗和控制官员报告了对降级策略的积极看法，这些策略的频繁使用以及在培训前后对降级的积极态度。接受培训后，治疗人员更加重视妥协，并报告更频繁地使用包括妥协、知道何时走开和维护人员安全在内的几种重要策略。

原创性/价值

只有少数先前的研究调查了降级培训是否会改变官员的态度。当前研究的结果代表了初步证据，表明降级培训可能会导致官员在与公民接触时更多地使用这些策略。