The science of DNA revolutionized the understanding of crime and wrongful convictions. Now, to deal with the contagion of violence in cities and to build stronger relationships and trust between police and the people they serve, the training of police officers needs a revolution.
In communities where violence and crime are endemic, law enforcement sometimes adopts a warrior mentality—we in police departments are taught to “fight” crime and to lead the “war on drugs.” We have, at times, treated our communities as combat zones; therefore it should be no surprise that the relationship between law enforcement and citizens is fractured.
To build stronger relationships and trust between police and their communities, I support applying a health perspective to violence prevention and training officers in this approach.
A health perspective offers an understanding of the causes of violent behavior based on the latest scientific research in the fields of neuroscience, behavioral science and epidemiology. This science tells us that violent behavior is transmitted between individuals—this includes child abuse, community violence and intimate-partner violence—and is detailed in a 2013 Institute of Medicine report “The Contagion of Violence.”
[For more of this story, written by Ronal Serpas, go to http://www.wsj.com/articles/ro...ent-crime-1428271115]
Comments (0)