Empathy from a police work perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify an appropriate conceptual model of empathy from the perspective of police work. This paper draws on the existing literature from two areas of research: (a) the literature describing the characteristics of the ideal police officer from a general perspective, as well as in a specifically Swedish context and (b) the literature analysing empathy as a theoretical construct. It is found that theoretical interdisciplinary approaches in the fields of social psychology and social cognitive neuroscience are relevant. The suggested conceptual model of empathy appropriate for the policing profession incorporates the typically antagonistic nature of police -citizen contacts, personal traits as expressed in interpersonal relations, and the social and cultural context. Because of the diversity and multicultural nature of modern societies, the values guiding police -citizen encounters are given special attention and related to the empathy research tradition. The proposed conceptual model of empathy aims at guiding future research in police-citizen interaction and, ultimately, supporting police practices regarding recruitment, career advancement and fieldwork.

Developing a model of empathy for public administration

“…(2011, p. 84) These public servants operate in unique environments where they are required to balance technical skills with emotional competence, while regularly interacting with the public. As they do this, public servants are expected to perform their tasks in ways that also contribute to, rather than detract from, citizen's trust in government (Inzunza, 2015). Empathy provides avenues for moderating and improving interactions by helping "people to relate to others in a way that promotes cooperation and unity rather than conflict and isolation" (Konrath et al, 2011).…”

“…This step represents our hardwired empathic drive, or the "unconscious affective process that allows us to recognize another's emotional state" . This is often unconscious and involuntary (Coplan, 2011;Inzunza, 2015). This drive is what makes it possible for us to "catch" the emotions of others, and is therefore sometimes called "emotional contagion" (Coplan, 2011).…”

“…Essentially, they must act as if they are the other person, but without ever losing the "as if condition" ( Barrett-Lennard, 1981). In other words, the public servant must experientially venture into the experience and emotion of another person "without confusing the self with the other" (Inzunza, 2015). This step balances our hardwired drive to empathy with a more deliberate empathic practice; it involves not merely "catching" others' emotions, but also processing them toward the goal of understanding.…”

“…Often by focusing on the decisions or mistakes that lead to the person feeling their emotion, it becomes easy to think, "I would have done that differently and then would have felt something different." Yet, the practice of empathy requires that we be able develop understanding without making judgements on both the positive and negative experiences of another (Inzunza, 2015).…”

“…We are naturally drawn to people who are most like us, and we pay the most attention to the people and things that we value most; it is therefore harder to empathize with those who are different from us (Coplan, 2011;Halpern, 2003;Krznaric, 2015;Spiro, 1992). This is certainly true within the domains of politics and religion, but also applies to more mundane matters, including how to behave in the world, how to get along with others, or why people are the way they are (Inzunza, 2015). In many ways, simplifications like stereotypes and categorizing aid public servants in their work, but these coping mechanisms also separate public servants from the lived experiences and emotions of the people they aim to serve, in ways that prevent them from identifying individual emotional cues and practicing empathy.…”