Editorial: Police education and training revisited: Drawbacks and advances

Abstract

on the Research Topic Police education and training revisited: Drawbacks and advancesThe education and training of police officers plays a prominent role in equipping officers with the knowledge structure, competencies, attitudes, and values that are needed to professionally conduct their duties in alignment with the ideals of a democratic society. Police officers learn in formal learning settings such as classrooms and scenario-based training rooms, but learning extends to a variety of non-formal and informal learning settings that exist outside the explicit curriculum of police education and training institutions (see "(Non-)Learning to police"). The "police system, " with all its structures and frameworks, as well as its individuals (e.g., police trainers, management, and supporting staff), shares the power-and the responsibility-for ensuring that what is learned is what is needed. However, current debates about police professionalization and reform, sparked in part by the death of George Floyd (Boxer et al., 2021), indicate that there is much to learn by focusing scientific scrutiny on police education and training. Observing and re-evaluating learning settings and goals through a scientific lens addresses one leverage point of the complex system that has repeatedly led to unfavorable outcomes in police-citizen encounters.Although, organizationally, the "science system" is not necessarily part of the "police system, " the two social systems have become aligned over the last two decades, as evidenced by the rise of the term "evidence-based policing" (Boulton et al., 2020). Also, current debates concerning police-citizen encounters can be interpreted as progress in the sense that there is amplified communication about policing (Nassehi, 2021) and a growing acceptance that a scientific approach might benefit our understanding of police-citizen encounters. Understanding the factors that influence these interactions includes examining the education and training officers receive.

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“…According to Staller et al (2022), one of the options for increasing the effectiveness of this cooperation is the training of police officers, which involves providing them with appropriate knowledge, competencies, attitudes, and values. According to Miller (2023), not only the functions of law enforcement agencies have changed, but also the very meaning of this concept.…”

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“…Numerous debates surround the professionalization and reform of the police, a discourse that has intensified since the death of George Floyd [6]. This heightened discussion underscores the need for a deeper understanding of the scientific methods employed in police education and training [7].…”

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“…There are numerous debates on the professionalization and reform of the police, which have increased since the death of George Floyd [5], reflecting that there is much to be learned with regard to the scientific method used for police education and training [6].…”