受过教育的警察是否不太可能使用武力?

Are Educated Police Officers Less Likely to Use Force?

Patrice Malone has been a police officer for two years with the Arlington County police force in the American state of Virginia. She believes going to college made her better at her job. In college, Malone studied criminal justice.

She told VOA that college also taught her how to deal well with people. And it gave her courage and "patience, a lot of patience, to go out, talk to people."

The deaths of several Black men and women in the United States by police have put attention on problems with police training. Arlington County requires its officers to have college or other experience. That puts the Virginia law enforcement agency in the minority. Based on a 2017 study, more than 80 percent of U.S. law enforcement agencies require only completion of high school.

Jay Farr is Chief of Police for Arlington County. He told VOA he noticed a difference earlier in his career while working for a smaller police force that did not require higher education.

Not to be judgmental, he said, but he thinks the mentality¹ of a lot of police he worked with was very limited. Many were not "exposed to different points of view" and were not challenged in an educational environment. Farr said he thinks that really made a difference in "how they work within the community."

Farr is a college professor and a strong believer in higher education for police officers.

"College teaches you how to be a critical thinker. A big part of the college experience is for you to look at things and to think through them beyond the obvious," he said. With regard to technical skills, going to college does not necessarily make people better police officers, Farr notes. "I think it makes them a much better officer in having the ability to be more willing or open to dealing² with different cultures, different points of view, (a) different thought process."

Gaylene Armstrong is director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She says police these days are required to do more than they used to be within the criminal justice system.

"We call on our police officers to be part law enforcement, part social worker, part assisting individuals who are in mental health crisis," Armstrong said. "Our law enforcement officials in America are some of our first responders to all kinds of crises and need(s) situations."

In addition to the usual police training, a college education could help officers deal with their growing role in society.

The hope is that, with a broader education and more professional skills, police would be better at de-escalation through spoken communication, Armstrong said.

A 2010 study published in Police Quarterly found that college-educated police officers are 40 percent less likely to use physical force on the job.

It appears a college education did not change the outcome for George Floyd. The Minnesota man died in May after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Three of the four officers charged in relation to Floyd's death reportedly had completed college.

Speaking about the Black Lives Matter protests that came after Floyd's death, Farr believes concerns about police training are valid³. However, money and resources make it difficult to set national guidelines for the training and education of law enforcement officers.

Farr said it is very important for police officers to understand their own biases⁴ and deal with them. He added that it is dispiriting when people think all cops are abusive and use excessive force.

Patrice Malone has recently noticed a difference in some of the people she deals with on the job.

"It's changed a little bit," she says. "The community might be a little distant. But ... you just go out. You do the same thing that you did before. You just reassure⁵ the community that you're there for them, that you're there for their safety. And that's how you regain⁶ their trust."

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

college - n. a school in the U.S. that you go to after high school (often a university)

courage - n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous

expose - v. to cause someone to experience something or to be influenced or affected⁷ by something

challenge - v. to test the ability, skill, or strength of someone or something

role - n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation

de-escalation - n. the decrease in the level of conflict in a situation

kneel - v. to move your body so that one or both of your knees are on the floor

valid - adj. fair or reasonable

reassure - v. to make someone feel less afraid, upset, or doubtful

1 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

5 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。