Implications and Recommendations

Pandemic policing: Highlighting the need for trauma-informed services during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis

“…Working with partner agencies in the community and being able to provide alternatives to arrest is an opportunity for police to be crucial in the role of addressing trauma. Alternatives to arrest and connecting people to the proper resources can make for a safer community (Engel et al, 2019) because it goes to address the root cause of crime rather than just the specific crime itself (Braga & Weisburd, 2006).…”

“…Understanding trauma also leads to understanding vulnerability, and when police are provided with trauma-informed training, they become more confident and better equipped to deal with vulnerable populations (Ford et al, 2019). If police officers are properly trained to understand the impacts of trauma, they will have a greater ability to positively interact with individuals and work to redirect or off-ramp them with alternatives to arrest while reducing crime (Barberi & Taxman, 2019;Engel et al, 2019). Providing police with the requisite understanding of trauma leads to an increase in compassion on the part of police officers for the people with whom they are interacting, regardless of whether it is an offender or a victim (Ford et al, 2019).…”

“…Police in Canada are still trying to recover from a fractured relationship with Indigenous Peoples as a result of policing policy and practice during colonization and the Canadian government assimilation policies, including Residential Schools and the "Sixties Scoop" (LeBeuf, 2011;Nettlelbeck & Smandych, 2010). Trauma-informed policing is a way to rebuild and build trust and legitimacy within communities (Love-Craighead, 2015; Ko et al, 2008) and work towards less incarceration, while making the community safer (Engel et al, 2019). By taking a trauma-informed approach and training police officers in respective departments across the country, police leaders can provide a better and more informed service to citizens (Ford et al, 2019).…”

“…Crime is often a symptom of greater social and individual issues, and trauma-informed practice is a way to address problems at the root cause of criminal behaviour (Bateson et al, 2019, Ko et al, 2008. The necessary shift for police is a need to be more strategic on when to arrest and when to work towards an alternative to arrest (Engel et al, 2019).…”

“…In order for this to be successful, it is vital that police leaders are clear about the importance of trauma-informed policing and the necessity to intervene differently with a focus on community safety and wellbeing rather than a focus on arrest and detention. When arrests are used sparingly and there is a focus on offramping offenders whenever possible, there has proven to be a reduction in reoffending and in overall crime statistics (Engel et al, 2019;Braga, 2017).…”