How Police Reform Impacts Law Enforcement Training

Police reform has become a familiar topic of discussion in the United States, both within and outside of law enforcement. While the term has existed for quite some time, high-profile incidents in the past few years have reignited conversations, leading states and law enforcement organizations to enact change. More specifically, since 2020, the majority of states have passed some sort of reform legislation, with many addressing police training requirements, use of force standards, and transparency requirements.

Each state has taken its own approach to legislating law enforcement, with some passing a smaller number of bills addressing many concerns at once, while others have passed bills tackling each topic one at a time.

Beyond legislation, organizations like the National Policing Institute (NPI) also examined policing reform with initiatives like the Council on Policing Reform and Race, which released a list of 50 research-informed recommendations aimed at addressing the most pressing issues facing policing and public safety, including disparities in traffic stops between different populations and transparency with the public.

In this post, we’ll discuss the impacts of reform on law enforcement agencies and explore seven ways it impacts training practices specifically.

Key takeaways:

• Police reform can mean different things to different communities, but generally refers to changing systems, structures, and standards that currently exist in modern policing to achieve goals like increased transparency and accountability.
• Reform efforts commonly impact law enforcement training, policy, standards, partnerships with the community, and the technology utilized by agencies.
• Specific training topics often addressed include de-escalation, mental health, cultural competency, use-of-force, crisis intervention, and interacting with special populations.

What Is Police Reform?

While the exact definition of police reform can vary, it generally refers to changing current systems, structures, and standards that exist in modern policing. Because the term means different things to different communities, the exact goals will also depend on the community advocating for the change. However, common areas addressed in these efforts include transparency, accountability, and improving trust between law enforcement and the public.

To further these goals, advocates generally call for amending use-of-force policies, increasing data reporting requirements, and expanding training requirements for officers, both at the academy and in-service.

What Areas Does Law Enforcement Reform Impact? Law enforcement reform affects many different areas of agency operations, requiring agencies to change the way they operate in a variety of ways, from training and policies to the technology officers use every day.

Below are five important ways police reform efforts are impacting law enforcement agencies today:

7 Ways Police Officer Reform Impacts Training

As previously mentioned, one of the main areas of focus in law enforcement reform efforts is training. Often, agencies are required to change their training practices due to legislative mandates or as a result of new regulations from certifying authorities. However, many agencies are also proactively incorporating new topics and are reassessing the best ways to deliver that training.

Here are key training topics being impacted by reform:

1.     De-Escalation Techniques

High-profile incidents and increased tensions in the U.S. have demonstrated the importance of an officer’s ability to effectively de-escalate situations, ideally without the use of force. At least 12 states have passed laws since 2020 that have impacted the amount of de-escalation training police receive, both at the academy and in-service.

2.     Mental Health and Wellness

While many efforts to reform police departments have focused on just how an officer does their job, others have also focused on the support police need to maintain their health and wellness while doing it. With the right training, officers can better identify signs of mental illness in both themselves and in their colleagues.

3.     Cultural Competency

The high-profile incidents of the last several years have naturally led many reform advocates to call for more training related to interacting with underrepresented groups and cultural competency. These training courses are often focused on improving communication skills and overcoming cultural barriers that could lead to an unnecessary escalation of the situation.

4.     Use-Of-Force Training

Alongside officer reform efforts that target use of force standards, many states or certifying authorities have required agencies to change or increase officer training related to the use of force. In many instances, these changes are related to specific types of force that have been banned or that now have additional requirements related to their use.

5.     Crisis Intervention

Similar to the increased emphasis on mental health for law enforcement officers, additional focus has been placed on an officer’s ability to effectively respond to a mental health crisis. Communication skills, as well as an understanding of mental illness, what community resources and social services are available, and common signs that indicate someone is in crisis, are all incorporated into training in this area.

6.     Special Populations

Beyond improving interactions with people of underrepresented groups and people in crisis, there has been additional focus placed on police response to situations involving special populations, including individuals with conditions like Alzheimer’s and autism.

7.     Academy and In-Service

In addition to new training topics, the overall amount of training an officer receives, both at the police academy and on an on-going basis, has evolved as a result of reform. Changes have varied, but some states that previously had few in-service training requirements have expanded on those requirements. Others, that did not require that training be approved by a certifying authority, are now requiring some sort of pre-approval or authorization processes. Additionally, some states have even created new law enforcement licensing programs.

What Is the Current and Future Role of Police Reform?

For agencies, police reform efforts create both opportunities for growth as well as challenges to overcome. While goals and focus vary by location, reform efforts have generally been driven by the public’s desire to improve outcomes for both officers and community members.

In many cases, the long-term impacts of specific efforts have yet to be felt. While some changes, like new training requirements or use-of-force policies, are implemented quickly, it can take time for those changes to be reflected in officer behavior. Additionally, the desired outcomes, like improved public trust and better outcomes for officers and community members, take time to come to fruition. Most importantly, gathering relevant data and studying it to measure effectiveness takes time, money, and resources.

However, research has indicated that law enforcement reform efforts have had an impact on areas where it has been studied:

A study, “Neck-restraint bans, law enforcement officer unions, and police killings,” found that neck-restraint bans are likely an “effective way” to reduce deaths due to police escalation of force.

Research by Engel et al. (2022) found that, after receiving de-escalation training, those involved in the study demonstrated a “statistically significant” reduction in uses of force incidents, as well as citizen and officer injuries.

These results support the continued implementation of reform efforts. However, alongside these positive impacts, efforts can also create challenges for law enforcement agencies. Sometimes, like in the first half of the 2020s, change comes all at once, which puts strain on local agencies as they struggle to comply with new requirements. Unless a mandate is funded, which is rare, agencies must use their own budget and resources, which can cause tension between desired outcomes and operational realities.

Additionally, sweeping efforts at reforming police departments have led to unintended consequences. For example, Washington State lawmakers passed legislation that first restricted the use of force by officers and then, the following year, passed an additional bill to provide clarity and guidance, stating that the ”complexities and nuances” in the legislation from the previous year had, “posed implementation challenges for some police agencies.”

Looking ahead, police reforms will continue to evolve alongside law enforcement as a profession. Technology, interactions between police and their communities, and public expectations of law enforcement are all likely to play a part in what reform efforts of the future will look like.

Stay on Top of Police Training Requirements with Vector Solutions

As law enforcement agencies navigate an evolving landscape, staying on top of training requirements is a top priority. As these requirements change, often rapidly, it can be difficult to ensure the training that you provide for your officers is compliant and is completed on time by every single officer.

But don’t worry, Vector Solutions can help! We are proud to offer training management tools that help local agencies, academies, and certifying authorities ensure training compliance and that simplify delivering, tracking, and reporting on all aspects of training.

We also offer high-quality online courses on de-escalation, cultural competency, and other important topics with Vector’s law enforcement training catalog, which includes courses certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards (IADLEST) as part of the National Certification Program (NCP)^TM.

From academy and in-service to FTO and online training, Vector Solutions provides law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to streamline and simplify all aspects of training management.

Request a demo today and explore how Vector Solutions can help support your agency through any police reform effort!

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What Requirements Exist for Law Enforcement Reform?

 

Reform requirements for police departments vary wildly across the country, but generally focus on law enforcement training, data transparency, and use-of-force standards. Some also focus on standardizing policing best practices across the state or jurisdiction.

Police reforms are almost universally implemented at the state or local level, such as by a city government, state legislature, or state certifying authority.

 

How Do Police Reform Laws Vary by State?

 

Laws around reform differ significantly due to varying political and legal interests. Some come about because of a specific incident and, as a result, are more focused on the issues that arose from that situation. Others were created to enact a large amount of change quickly and focus on many issues simultaneously. States have also taken various approaches when it comes to funding efforts aimed at reforming police departments, monitoring agency compliance, and whether they have created mandated reporting structures.

 

How Does Reform Inform De-Escalation Tactics in Law Enforcement?

 

Reform advocates have strongly emphasized the importance of de-escalation tactics to reduce uses of force. As a result, many agencies have, whether by mandate or proactively, implemented de-escalation policies and training. Training programs usually focus on communication skills, situational awareness, and threat assessment, as well as incorporating scenario-based training exercises.

Vector Solutions’ suite of industry-leading software solutions includes training management systems, online training courses, FTO and live skill evaluations, academy automation, equipment and inventory management, shift scheduling, and an early intervention and conduct management system.