Komplexe Gewaltprävention

Stochastische Gewalt: unangemessene polizeiliche Gewaltanwendung und problematische Interaktionen als Folge systeminterner Kommunikation

Das Konzept stochastischer Gewalt erklärt die Entstehung von Gewalt in einem sozialen System als einen wahrscheinlichen, aber im konkreten Einzelfall nichtvorhersagbaren Prozess. Im vorliegenden Beitrag beschreiben wir das Konzept in seinem prozesshaften Verlauf und legen dabei den Analysenutzen für eine Reduktion von Gewalt in der Gesellschaft dar. Mit Blick auf das soziale Teilsystem der Polizei argumentieren wir, dass es in der Verantwortung moderner, bürgerorientierter und vom Primat der Menschenwürde geleiteter Polizei und Polizeiwissenschaft liegt, sich dieser Dynamiken bewusst zu sein, diese aufzuklären und damit ihren eigenen Beitrag zur stochastischen Reduktion von Gewalt zu leisten. Ausgehend von Daten zu problematischem polizeilichen Interaktionsverhalten stellen wir dar, wie polizeiliche Gefahrennarrative und dominanzinduzierende Kommunikation die Wahrscheinlichkeit von Gewalt im Kollektiv ermöglicht. Von dort aus ergeben sich auch die zentralen Ansatzpunkte für (eine freilich ebenfalls stochastisch wirksame) Prävention und Intervention: die Etablierung alternativer Narrative sowie einer dominanzsensiblen Kommunikation.

Police Officers' Interrogation Expertise and Major Objectives in Police Service and Training: A Comprehensive Overview of the Literature

Interrogation is a core task of practical police work. The outcomes of interrogation often provide crucial evidence for solving criminal cases. The success of interrogation depends on interactions between police officers and citizens. Based on a comprehensive literature overview, we propose a three-factor typology for interrogations by police officers. First, the competencies of police officers refer to the application of personal, professional, social, and methodological capabilities. The underlying concept of interrogation refers to the application of both explicit and implicit experience-based interrogation models. Communication refers to the goal-directed application of communication tactics and techniques. According to this typology, we discuss the major objectives of police interrogation in police service and training from police officers' perspectives. The present study provides guidance for practical police services and training by offering an evidence-based interrogation standard.

Addressing the inappropriate use of force by police in the United States and beyond: A behavioral and social science perspective

Recent high-profile incidents involving the deadly application of force in the United States sparked worldwide protests and renewed scrutiny of police practices as well as scrutiny of relations between police officers and minoritized communities. In this report, we consider the inappropriate use of force by police from the perspective of behavioral and social science inquiry related to aggression, violence, and intergroup relations. We examine the inappropriate use of force by police in the context of research on modern policing as well as critical race theory and offer five recommendations suggested by contemporary theory and research. Our recommendations are aimed at policymakers, law enforcement administrators, and scholars and are as follows: (1) Implement public policies that can reduce inappropriate use of force directly and through the reduction of broader burdens on the routine activities of police officers. (2) For officers frequently engaged in use-of-force incidents, ensure that best practice, evidence-based treatments are available and required. (3) Improve and increase the quality and delivery of noncoercive conflict resolution training for all officers, along with police administrative policies and supervision that support alternatives to the use of force, both while scaling back the militarization of police departments. (4) Continue the development and evaluation of multicomponent interventions for police departments, but ensure they incorporate evidence-based, field-tested components. (5) Expand research in the behavioral and social sciences aimed at understanding and managing use-of-force by police and reducing its disproportionate impact on minoritized communities, and expand funding for these lines of inquiry.

Regression, Progression and Renewal: The Continuous Redevelopment of Expertise in Police Use of Force Coaching

Professionalism in law enforcement requires the identification and development of expertise of police use of force (PUOF) coaches. Effective PUOF training includes the transfer from the training into the real-world environment of policing. This difference between working in the field and working as a PUOF coach has not been thoroughly investigated. However, research in other professional domains has shown that practical competence in the subject matter itself does not make a coach effective or successful. With this article, we conceptualize expert practice in PUOF instruction on the basis of a conflict management training setting in the security domain. First, by discussing a model of “territories of expertise”, we point out the dynamic and contextual character of expertise within the PUOF domain. Second, by conceptualizing expertise as a process and effect of communication, we provide a framework that describes and examines the interdependency between performance-based and reputation-based expertise. These considerations present two practical challenges, which we recommend professional law enforcement institutions to engage. We close by providing practical orientations and pointers for addressing these issues.