Towards reflexivity in police practice and research

Körner, Swen; Staller, Mario S.

doi:10.1111/lcrp.12207

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…As such, we must regularly reflect on our share of, and contribution to, the status quo of police training and education. This is evidenced by discussions we have between ourselves (Bennell et al, 2021;Koerner and Staller, 2022). Yet, as researchers, we have the tools available that allow for rigorous and alternative observations (and the observation of our observations) that might provide a reflexive lens through which we can better understand issues around police education and training.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

Editorial: Police education and training revisited: Drawbacks and advances

Staller

Körner²,

Bennell³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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on the Research Topic Police education and training revisited: Drawbacks and advancesThe education and training of police officers plays a prominent role in equipping officers with the knowledge structure, competencies, attitudes, and values that are needed to professionally conduct their duties in alignment with the ideals of a democratic society. Police officers learn in formal learning settings such as classrooms and scenario-based training rooms, but learning extends to a variety of non-formal and informal learning settings that exist outside the explicit curriculum of police education and training institutions (see "(Non-)Learning to police"). The "police system, " with all its structures and frameworks, as well as its individuals (e.g., police trainers, management, and supporting staff), shares the power-and the responsibility-for ensuring that what is learned is what is needed. However, current debates about police professionalization and reform, sparked in part by the death of George Floyd (Boxer et al., 2021), indicate that there is much to learn by focusing scientific scrutiny on police education and training. Observing and re-evaluating learning settings and goals through a scientific lens addresses one leverage point of the complex system that has repeatedly led to unfavorable outcomes in police-citizen encounters.Although, organizationally, the "science system" is not necessarily part of the "police system, " the two social systems have become aligned over the last two decades, as evidenced by the rise of the term "evidence-based policing" (Boulton et al., 2020). Also, current debates concerning police-citizen encounters can be interpreted as progress in the sense that there is amplified communication about policing (Nassehi, 2021) and a growing acceptance that a scientific approach might benefit our understanding of police-citizen encounters. Understanding the factors that influence these interactions includes examining the education and training officers receive.

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mentioning

confidence: 72%

Editorial: Police education and training revisited: Drawbacks and advances

Staller

Körner²,

Bennell³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…Viewed from this reflexive stance, police debrief procedures may point towards a problem: The manifestation of underlying assumptions of police work given they are not challenged systematically in the debrief process (e.g., (Lorenz et al, 2021). While reflexivity is generally deemed as an important characteristic of public service servants (Cameron, 2021; Knassmüller and Meyer, 2013) and police officers specifically (Koerner and Staller, 2022; Staller and Koerner, 2021a), experiences from the German context show that the uncovering of action guiding assumptions is regularly neglected (Koerner and Staller, 2021b; Lorenz et al, 2021; Staller et al, 2021a; Staller and Koerner, 2021b). As such, it is likely that dysfunctional police interactional behavior will manifest itself when the framework such behavior is judged by is not regularly challenged.…”

Section: Being Reflexive About Reflection In Policingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A case example of teaching reflective policing to police students

Staller¹,

Körner

2022

Teaching Public Administration

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Reflection is an important component of professional practice in the field of policing. While reflection goes beyond a mere evaluation of officer behavior in police-citizen interaction based on legitimacy and functionality, deeper levels of reflections, where underlying assumptions are challenged do not automatically take place within the system of policing. In the current paper, we describe and reflect on a case example of teaching reflective practice to police students at a German University of Applied Sciences. We start by describing a structure of reflection on three levels, each of which is linked to different core questions. While on a low-threshold level reflection focuses on the question of correct action, reflection on a higher level revolves around uncovering one’s action-guiding assumptions that (in)consciously influence one’s actions, as well as the possibility of adopting other perspectives. Building on Brookfield’s work of critical reflective practice we designed a seminar series in a psychology course introducing the concept of reflective practice and four different lenses that aim at uncovering action-guiding assumptions of our learners. Our reflection shows that receptivity of the different lenses was different for perspectives from within the system of police to the perspective from outside the police.

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