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IACP Training and Professional Services

Leading Fair & Impartial Policing Organizations

• Science- Based: Decades of research by social psychologists…the neurology/science of human bias

• Gaining National and International Attention

• U.S. States adopting legislation; Academies infusing the perspective into police training curricula

• International trainings: Canada (Toronto Police Service; Vancouver Transit-2015); Department of State—Brazilian Law Enforcement Officials

• IACP’s Leadership Training Programs

The Fair and Impartial Policing Perspective is….

The Fair and Impartial Policing Perspective Allows Police Organizations..• To understand how biased behavior manifests in policing

• From the perspective of the modern science of human bias and

• To develop organizational policies and practices to promote safe, effective and just policing

• To establish and sustain mutual trust between police and communities they serve which leads to police legitimacy.

Policing in Democratic Civil Society

• Is founded on the concept of police legitimacy

• Police derive their authority from the governed (citizens)

• Police are most effective when they have the support and cooperation of the citizens they serve.

Bias-based decisions and actions…in ANY profession has detrimental

consequences

Why are We Concerned about Biased-Based Decisions and Actions?

Current Studies • Doctors, nurses (e.g., Van Ryn & Saha, 2011)

–Biases on the basis of race, class, weight

• Lawyers, prosecutors and judges

–Gender (e.g., Levinson & Young, 2010)

–Race/ethnicity (e.g., Smith & Levinson, 2012)

• School teachers (e.g., Van den Bergh et al, 2010)

• Law Enforcement (e.g., Correll et al., 2007; Peruche

& Plant, 2005)

Why Should We Care About Bias in Policing?

• Law enforcement officers are and SHOULD be held to the highest standards

• Threaten/Destroy Police-Community Trust and Police Legitimacy

• Litigation—U.S. and Canada

• Consequences of biased-based decisions and actions in policing can be deadly• For both community members and police

Our Understanding of Human Bias Has Changed

“Personal and public policy discussions regarding prejudice and discrimination are too often based on an outdatednotion of the nature of prejudice” (Hardin/Banaji, 2010)

That “outdated notion” – focus on EXPLICIT biases.

• Explicit bias: Based on personal animus, hostility towards groups.

Understanding Implicit Bias

• Links people we don’t know to the stereotypes associated with their groups

• Occurs automatically, below our conscious awareness

• The key to the FIP perspective is to understand how this works and develop the skills to manage it.

Bases on Which Humans are Stereotyped• Socio-Economic Status

• Class

• Gender

• Age

• Religious Affiliation

• Language Capability

• Disability

• Sexual Orientation

• Ethnicity/Race

To Understand How This Happens…..

We turn to the science of human bias

The Science 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

Understanding Implicit Bias--Answers

• Whom do we pre judge?• We prejudge people we don’t know--“ambiguous

stimuli”

• What determines the characteristics we attribute to them?• Group stereotypes/biases

• Do we know when we are doing this?• Not always.

Susan Fiske Princeton University Study

• Subjects—MRIs

• Photographs of average people and young children

• Brain activity monitoring

• Photographs of street/homeless people

• No brain activity except for amygdala- fear, disgust, flight

Race-Crime/Danger Association Studies

The Bump/Shove Study

• Study: Experiencing an ambiguous “bump” on the part of a stranger How did people interpret the bump by African Americans

versus the bump by whites?

• Ambiguous bumps were perceived as more threatening when performed by an African American. Replicated to show this phenomenon true for both white

and non-white subjects.

Subway Study

• Subjects were shown a picture of a crime occurring on a subway.• Both Caucasians and people of color were in the scene.

• When asked to reflect back with their memories to identify “who was holding the deadly razor in a subway scene”….

• Subjects were more likely to (erroneously) identify a person of color.

Visual Perception Study

• Subjects were “primed” with Black male faces, White male faces, or no faces.

• Completed object recognition task.

Levels of Degradation

Frame 1Frame 25Frame 41

Crime Object

• Objects That Were Not Related To Crime

Visual Perception Study: Hypotheses

• If there is a Black-crime implicit association

• Participants primed with Black male faces should be faster to identify crime-relevant objects than those primed with White male faces.

• [The crime objects would be more “accessible.”]

• There should be no effect of prime for crime-irrelevant objects.

Object Identification

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

Flashing White

Faces

No Faces

(Control)

Flashing Black

Faces

Fra

me n

um

ber

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.

Shooter Bias Studies

• Research question: Does the race of the person impacted on the perception of threat?

• Measurements:

• Speed of decision-making

• Errors

Shooter Bias Studies• Subjects sitting at a computer• Pictures of people flashing up on their screens

VERY QUICKLY• Either white or Black people• Some carried a weapon; other carried a safe

object or not• Subjects were to hit “threat/shoot” key if

weapon, “no threat/don’t shoot” key if no weapon.

Results: Race Made a Difference

• Reaction Times:

• Subjects are slower to see “Gun” with a white target.

• … slower to recognize “No Gun” when it is a black target.

• Errors -- These are the most likely errors:

• Incorrectly shoot the Black with NO GUN

• Incorrectly NOT shoot the White WITH gun

The Turban Effect Study

In 2008, Australian researchers documented a “Turban Effect”

The Turban Effect Results

• Subjects were much more likely to shoot Muslim-looking characters

•Even if they were carrying a harmless item/not a weapon.

• Subjects were more likely to shoot men than women

•Even when the men were carrying a harmless item.

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 people who commit street crimes

While Biases are Based, at Least in Part, on Fact…..

• Policing based on biases is:

• Unsafe: Recall the Visual Perception and Shooter Bias Studies

• Ineffective: Recall Susan Fiske’s Study

• Unjust: Recall the Concept of Police Legitimacy in a Democratic Society

Addressing Our Implicit Biases

Two remedies for our implicit bias….what the science says

• #1. Reducing our implicit biases

• #2. Recognizing our biases and thwart their impact on behavior.

Reducing implicit bias

• Contact theory

• Unlinking stereotypes

Contact Theory: Reducing Implicit Bias

Positive contact between members of

groups improves inter-group attitudes and reduces both explicit and implicit

biases.

Unlinking Stereotypes

• Difficult to undo our implicit biases….took lifetime

• BUT police firearms training seems to help us unlink the stereotypes we associate with groups (e.g., minorities and danger)

• How might this work?

• Repeatedly exposed to random pairing of threat and race (and other demographics).

• Every INDIVIDUAL must be cognizant of how biases can impact him/her and be proactive in implementing unbiased “controlled” responses

• Every LEADER must supervise to promote fair and impartial policing.

• Every AGENCY, because they hire humans, must be proactive in implementing policies which promote fair and impartial policing.

Implications of the Science for Change Efforts

The Science Allows Us to Re-Think Biased Policing

• Move away from the narrow view that biased policing is ONLY exhibited by ill-intentioned/explicitly biased officers

• Move toward an expanded view, the implications of which are:

• Even the best officers, because they are human, might practice biased policing

• Even the best agencies, because they hire humans, will have biased policing.

Comprehensive Approach to Leading a Fair and Impartial Policing Organization

Seven Components of a Comprehensive FIP Approach• Assessment of institutional practices and priorities

• Policies prohibiting biased policing

• Recruitment and Hiring

• Training at ALL levels

• Leadership/supervision and accountability

• Outreach to diverse communities

• Data Collection/ Measurement

Thank You

www.fairandimpartialpolicing.com

alaszlo@fairandimpartialpolicing.com