Fair and Impartial Policing: The Supervisor’s Role

Intro All people, even well-intentioned people have biases. We’ll discuss various biases. We’ll explore what social science research has taught us (implicit bias). Need to recognize our unconscious biases, so we can implement UNbiased behavior

Fair and Impartial Police Officers are more likely to Be effective at solving crimes and handling disorder problems Stay safe and go home at the end of the shift. Enhance/promote trust on the part of the people they serve.

Effective First Line Supervisors Are: Role Models Mentors Representatives of the Department Authorities on Policy and Practice Professional Coaches Disciplinarians

[NS] Understanding the science of bias is critical to you as you fulfill your role as a supervisor ….. This training will help you to “supervise to promote fair and impartial policing” in yourself and in your subordinates

Goals of the Training Recognize our own human biases Understand how implicit biases can affect perceptions and behavior Understand how biased policing impacts community members and the department Reflect on the role effective supervisors have in promoting fair and impartial policing

During this training Relax: Leave your preconceived notions about “bias” training at the door.  Our approach is different from traditional training.

During this training Reflect: Think about what it means to be an effective supervisor.  …what you expect of yourself and your officers.

During this training Recognize your expertise.  You bring experience and expertise to the discussions.

During this training Stretch your imagination and apply your skills.  This training requires active participation in all of the discussions and exercises.

Understanding Human Bias

Susan Boyle – Britain’s Got Talent

Fundamental Concepts of Human Bias Bias is a normal human attribute—even well- intentioned people have biases Biases are often unconscious or “implicit” Implicit biases are sometimes incompatible with our chosen beliefs and values Implicit biases can influence our actions Understanding how implicit bias can affect our behavior is the first step to “overriding” implicit bias

To Understand Implicit Bias, We Need to Understand…. Whom we are most likely to pre-judge What determines the characteristics we assign to them Whether we know when we are prejudging people

To understand implicit bias: Whom do we pre judge?  We prejudge “ambiguous stimuli” What determines the characteristics we attribute to them?  Group stereotypes/biases Do we know when we are doing this?  Not always.

What are bases on which people may be stereotyped (and treated differentially)? Income English language abilities Gender Age Religious affiliation Profession Sexual orientation, identity etc.

Key Point of Role Play Policing based on stereotypes is unsafe.

Key Points of the “Blink” Response Recognize the “blink” response Replace it with objective (bias free) judgments

“Money Train” Woody Harrelson is an undercover officer. Note: The use of the copyrighted material falls under fair use laws with no intended copyright violation.

Stereotyping and Human Bias When we don’t know an individual, we assign a group characteristic to them Often we do not know when we are impacted by biases (they can be unconscious or “implicit” biases) Recognizing our biases allows us to override them—to engage in unbiased behavior.

Mad World Video – Gary Jules

Key Point: Policing based on stereotypes is unsafe, ineffective, and unjust.

Race-Crime Association Studies

The “Bump” Study Study: Experiencing an ambiguous “bump” from a stranger  How did people interpret the bump by African Americans versus the bump by Whites? Result: The “bump” was perceived as more threatening when performed by an African American.  Replicated to show this was true for both White and non-White “victims”/subjects.

The Visual Perception Study Subjects were “primed” with Black male faces, White male faces, or no faces Completed object recognition task Eberhardt, Goff, Purdie, & Davies (2004). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Levels of Degradation Frame 1 Frame 25Frame 41

Crime Object

Other Object: Crime Irrelevant

Hypotheses If the Black-crime association impacts our visual perception, then:  Participants primed with Black male faces should be faster to identify crime-relevant objects than those primed with White male faces.  There should be no effect of prime for crime- irrelevant objects.

Object Identification Flashing White Faces No Faces (Control) Flashing Black Faces Frame number Crime-Relevant Crime-Irrelevant ________________________________

Visual Perception Study: Conclusions Exposure to Black male faces facilitated the identification of crime-relevant objects. Exposure to White male faces inhibited the identification of crime-relevant objects.

Be a research participant! We will see slides of backgrounds and then a person will appear—very quickly— with something in his hands. Shout “Threat” if you see a threat [Silent if no threat]

Correll Results: Race Made a Difference Speed: Participants shot a White armed man slower than a Black armed man Errors: Participants were more likely to shoot an unarmed Black man than an unarmed White man

The Turban Effect Study Research volunteers played a computer game that showed apartment balconies on which different people appeared, some wearing Muslim-style turbans and others bare-headed. They were told to shoot at the people carrying guns and spare those who were unarmed.

The Turban Effect Results Subjects were much more likely to shoot Muslim-looking people, even if they were carrying an “innocent item” instead of a weapon. They also found a gender effect: Subjects were more likely to shoot men than women (even when harmless) Unkelbach, Forgas and Denson (2008). J. of Experimental Social Psychology.

Due to implicit bias, officers may: Increase scrutiny of people of color Interpret ambiguous behavior on the part of people of color as more aggressive Respond to people of color more aggressively Under-respond to Whites, Asians, etc. And so forth.

Biases are Based, at Least in Part, on Fact

Economic Status, Race and Crime A= Lower income people are disproportionately represented among people who commit street crimes B= People of color are disproportionately represented in lower income levels A+B=C People of color are disproportionately represented among the people who commit street crimes.

Crash Scene: The Streets of Los Angeles Usage of the copyrighted material falls under fair use laws with no intended copyright violation.

First-Line Supervisors Help Their Officers To: Effectively perform their duties and solve crimes Identify the right suspect and make good cases Keep safe and go home at the end of the day Policing based on biases/stereotypes impedes achievement of these objectives!

Implicit Bias Manifests in Non- Prejudiced People

Addressing Our Implicit Biases

Contact Theory: Reducing Implicit Bias Positive contact between members of groups improves inter-group attitudes and reduces both explicit and implicit biases.

Personal Contacts and Implicit Biases in Officers Peruche and Plant (2005) Measured implicit bias on the part of officers  Shoot/don’t shoot simulator to measure implicit bias. Surveys too  Police too manifest the blink response  But the blink response is weaker in officers who report positive attitudes and positive interpersonal contacts with racial/ethnic minorities

Unlinking Stereotypes: Correll Study Number 2 Speed: Both police and civilians exhibited racial bias Errors: Bias was less likely to manifest itself in police errors.  Bottom Line: Police made correct decisions. Interpretation: High quality, role play use-of- force training helps police “unlink” race & crime for split-second use-of-force decisions.

Implementing “Controlled (unbiased) Behavior” We can implement “controlled behaviors” that override our (natural) implicit biases.

Fundamental Concepts of Human Bias Bias is a normal human attribute—even well- intentioned people have biases Biases are often unconscious or “implicit” Implicit biases are sometimes incompatible with our chosen beliefs and values Implicit biases can influence our actions Understanding how implicit bias can affect our behavior is the first step to “override” implicit bias

MODULE 2 The Impact of Biased Policing on Community Members and the Department

Biased Actions Impact: Community members Your law enforcement agency

FAIR AND IMPARTIAL POLICING ENGENDERS COMMUNITY RESPECT AND COOPERATION

Research Demonstrates Police cannot be effective without support/cooperation of the community Community members who perceive the police as being fair see them as a legitimate authority

Supervisor’s Role in Engendering Police Legitimacy

Police Legitimacy Impacts the Public’s Willingness To: Obey societal laws Cooperate with the police Assist with crime prevention efforts Assist with valuable information during criminal investigations Support criminal prosecutions

Fair and Impartial Policing Results In…. Community trust and cooperation Legitimacy of police among community members Safe policing Effective policing “Good” policing

MODULE 3 Supervising for Fair, Impartial, and Effective Policing

[NS] Previous module Supervisors’ role  You are many things…… One of your most challenging tasks…  One aspect: You must supervise to promote fair and impartial policing And with your decisions/actions…

In This Session How to identify bias in your direct reports How to intervene when you suspect bias How to assess your own potential for biased decisions How to speak to individuals, community forums and media about bias and biased policing

The power of the police supervisor to set standards/expectations

How you respond to concerns of bias is very important. “Crash”

[NS] Crash Points Think about what the LT should have done Think about the message Think about the culture

Identifying Biased Policing in Your Direct Reports

[NS] Identifying biased behavior Bias can manifest in well-intentioned, ill- intentioned YOUR job: To identify when biased policing is occurring What are you looking for?  Picture officer…… sees crime in young Latino males. [What might he do more of…..]  Picture officer …. well-to-do are law abiding, honest, worthy of respect. [What might he do…]

[NS] What sources of information would be helpful in detecting biased behavior? EIS, limits of These sources: Might lead to concerns or confirm/refute concerns.

[NS] It is difficult to identify bias! Not visible behavior like force, it’s what the officer is thinking This is why we can’t rely on dept’s complaint system But this does not mean “throw up your hands”….  Must understand and deal with less than clear information/evidence.

Intervening to Thwart Biased Behavior

Discussed:  How bias might manifest  What information sources are useful Now the Q: What do you do if you think a subordinate is engaged in biased behavior?

EX: Gary sees crime in all young, Latino males.  You believe he makes traffic stops to ask questions, look in the car, etc.  Much more aggressive with these individuals  No specific crime reports in area to support this aggressive intervention  He is otherwise a good cop …wants to serve community  Has commendations, etc……

What do you do, as a supervisor, about Gary?

Addressing Bias with Direct Reports Recognize ambiguous nature of the “evidence” of biased behavior Approach:  Share your observations  Ask why this might be occurring  Use non-accusatory tone  Structure concerns in terms of officer safety and effectiveness  Discuss how/why behavior might be biased and unacceptable Possible reactions

[NS] Roll call as a teaching moment Preventative measure Opportunity to discuss department’s commitment Easier…relaxed group setting Opportunity for hypotheticals or questions to reinforce key points for this training  (all this easier if you have had recruit training in your agency on FIP)

Supervisors are Human Too! Be aware that your decisions may be influenced by your own biases.  External and internal Be aware that some directions that you give could:  Produce perceptions of biases, racial tension.  Be interpreted through the biases of your officers [Lorie example]

Departmental Policies

[NS] Department policies There is not ONE definition of biased policing Policies define biased policing  Tells officers………can/can’t  Many focus just on race/ethnicity, some broader You need to know/understand policy to supervise to promote FIP

In groups: When is it appropriate for police to take race/ethnicity into consideration when making law enforcement decisions (e.g., decisions to stop, arrest, request consent to search)?

The Suspect-Specific Policy Model Officers may not consider the race or ethnicity of a person in the course of any law enforcement action unless the officer is seeking to detain, apprehend, or otherwise be on the lookout for a specific suspect sought in connection with a specific crime who has been identified or described in part by race or ethnicity.

The PERF Policy Officers shall not consider or otherwise be influenced by race/ethnicity in carrying out law enforcement activities except when credible, locally relevant information links a person or people of a specific race/ethnicity to an unlawful incident, unlawful incidents, criminal patterns, or schemes.

[NS] Again: Policy Importance In supervising to promote fair and impartial policing Agency policy defines what it is. This is relevant to next exercises…..

[NS] Scenarios: Supervising for fair, impartial and effective policing

Talking with the Community and the Media about Bias

Talking with community, individuals For example: Citizen concerns of bias, community meetings, media  Palo Alto Have you had to deal with an individual or group with concerns about bias?  What did you do? Were you good? Bad?

[NS] Individual community member ….. Alleging biased behavior Can be tense Let’s start with this: How do you want your subordinates to respond to accusations of biased behavior made against them? …

A Suggested Response to an Accusation of Biased Behavior “I am sorry that you feel that way. I stopped you [or whatever the officer did to intervene with the community member] because you _____ [officer explains the violation or other reason for the intervention].”

[NS] Why this language? Officer’s denial will not be effective  Won’t change motorist’s mind And besides: The motorist might be right!! (What have learned?) Our suggested language:  Acknowledge  Back to business.

[NS] Now you are called to the scene What do you do/say? What do you not do/say?

What To Do [Objectives: Reduce tension but not undermine your officer] Listen to the concerns of community members Inform community members of their right to file a complaint and the process for doing so.

What NOT To Do Adjudicate on the spot You do not KNOW whether bias occurred. Could debrief with officer.

[NS] Speaking to community groups about bias BEFORE the crisis Do your agencies hold community meetings? Use these to talk about bias  More constructive “before the storm”

Fair and Impartial Policing Messages Fairness and impartiality are the values of the agency Agency does not tolerate biased policing We understand, however, that humans have biases and so… The agency has instituted policies and procedures to promote fair and impartial policing, including…

[NS] Speaking to an angry community after an incident (where bias is alleged) Objectives:  Reduce anger, tension  Relay factual information (about incident)…

The Crisis Communication Message The agency does not tolerate biased policing  The agency is committed to fair and impartial policing The agency will conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation The agency will openly communicate the findings and results of the investigation

[NS] Sure-fire way to increase tension and anger Declare: “No biased policing occurs in this agency.”

The Media Message [Establish the positive relationship BEFORE the crisis] Use the crisis communication Describe what the agency is doing to promote fair and impartial policing

[More on media] They may run the “bias” story… BUT, they may also write about your agency’s science-based approach to FIP

Summary of Key Points: Module 1 All people, even well-intentioned people have biases  They can be “implicit” (unconscious)  Susan Boyle: We prejudge, We fill them in, Often we don’t know

[Sum, Module 1 Cont.] Even though stereotypes might be based in part on fact (remember Sandra Bullock)….. Policing based on biases can be unsafe, ineffective and unjust  Shoot don’t shoot (not shooting white…..)  $ Train  Treating homeless  Man/woman with gun and DV role plays

Summary of Key Points: Module 2 Biased policing has negative consequences for community members and the department  Biased policing erodes community trust  Community trust is essential for cooperation and support of officers and the department  Community trust is essential for police legitimacy

Module 3: Supervisors’ Responsibilities Be role models, mentors, representatives of the department, authorities on departmental policy, and disciplinarians Identify possible manifestations of bias Prevent biased behavior and intervene when indicated Discuss biased policing with subordinates and community…..

Supervisors are Human Too! Your decisions may be impacted by human biases  Your biases may impact your treatment of direct reports  Your biases may impact your policing decisions

We hope this training… Better understanding science of human bias Renewed your appreciation of negative impact You learned skills ….will serve you  In your role as effective supervisor … Will help you supervise to promote FIP Thank you!!

Assignments of Module(s) 3 segments to teams Practice Teach of Modules 1 and 2 with debrief

THANK YOU!