Pointing to academic studies that question de-escalation's effectiveness, critics allege that it falls short of being an "Evidence-based practice." It's true that studying the practice entails significant methodological challenges: the decentralized character of American policing; the varying quality of de-escalation programs; the reality that, in the words of one study, "Police use of deadly force itself is relatively rare," thus making it hard to measure policies that purport to reduce its incidence; and uncertainty over the meaning of the term "De-escalation," which often seems to rival "Community policing" for vagueness.
Generally, the expectation is that "De-escalation training will reduce the frequency and severity of police use of force." But no police department is evaluated exclusively on how rarely it resorts to force.
More broadly, we want to know how well police departments succeed in keeping crime down; we want to know about the health of police-community relations, and about officer safety.
CIT programs, first developed by the Memphis Police Department in the late 1980s, now number close to 3,000 nationwide.
Even the best-trained cop can't properly diagnose and treat mental illness, but CIT allows police to be the link between those in distress and the help that they need.
Sessions are conducted by seasoned police officers and John Jay College psychology professors, supplemented by the participation of actors portraying individuals suffering from mental illness.
All things being equal, a more robustly funded police department will be better positioned to implement CIT. Cutting the NYPD's headcount and budget risks endangering the effectiveness of de-escalation efforts in New York City.
Generally, the expectation is that "De-escalation training will reduce the frequency and severity of police use of force." But no police department is evaluated exclusively on how rarely it resorts to force.
More broadly, we want to know how well police departments succeed in keeping crime down; we want to know about the health of police-community relations, and about officer safety.
CIT programs, first developed by the Memphis Police Department in the late 1980s, now number close to 3,000 nationwide.
Even the best-trained cop can't properly diagnose and treat mental illness, but CIT allows police to be the link between those in distress and the help that they need.
Sessions are conducted by seasoned police officers and John Jay College psychology professors, supplemented by the participation of actors portraying individuals suffering from mental illness.
All things being equal, a more robustly funded police department will be better positioned to implement CIT. Cutting the NYPD's headcount and budget risks endangering the effectiveness of de-escalation efforts in New York City.
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