Re-Engineering Training on Police Use of Force
Publication Date: 2015
Abstract: This is the 28th report in PERF's Critical Issues in Policing series. PERF recently conducted three national conferences to discuss the use of force in American policing. The first conference, Defining Moments," addressed the key issues that came out of the protests and rioting in Ferguson and a report on that meeting was released in February 2015. This report summarizes PERF's second post-Ferguson conference, held in May, in which police leaders discussed how they are changing policies, training, and police culture with respect to use of force. This report, like others in the Critical Issues series, consists largely of the discussions by participants at the May 7, 2015 conference. Nearly 300 police chiefs and other law enforcement executives, federal government officials, academics, and representatives from policing agencies in the UK came together in Washington to share their views on what should be included in new approaches to training on use of force. PERF also fielded a survey of police agencies on their use-of-force training, reviewed research, and sent PERF staff to Scotland to observe their training firsthand.