The talk on whether or not police are warriors or guardians has dominated policing reform conversations for over a decade. However this binary no longer fits the complexity of modern law enforcement or the values of as we speak’s recruits. In Seattle, the Seattle Police Department’s Before the Badge training program gives a glimpse into what the way forward for policing can — and may — appear to be.
We have to transfer past the warrior vs. guardian dichotomy and embrace a holistic view of police as community-embedded first responders — grounded in service, accountability and relational engagement. That’s the course Seattle is heading, and the info reveals it’s working.
Recruits are required to participate within the Earlier than the Badge program earlier than they begin their necessary 720-hour Fundamental Legislation Enforcement Academy coaching. They meet and discuss with Seattle’s various communities, division colleagues and metropolis leaders. Additionally they examine policing’s racist historical past and the science of relationship-based policing.
As investigators of knowledge collected by Seattle’s BTB evaluation, now in its third yr, we’ve spoken to a whole lot of recent recruits and analyzed their pre- and post-training attitudes. What we’ve discovered challenges long-standing assumptions about who turns into a cop and why.
Earlier than the Badge includes a strikingly various group: 54% of recruits determine as individuals of shade, many communicate a number of languages and most have lower than six months of legislation enforcement expertise. Recruits repeatedly emphasize that they wish to be seen as human beings, not enforcers, and are motivated by service, reform, and connection. One stated, “I noticed the protests in Seattle on the information, and I spotted this metropolis wants a brand new form of police officer.” One other added, “What occurred in 2020 confirmed the cracks in policing. I wish to be a part of the answer, not the issue.”
Even earlier than formal coaching begins, these recruits rating decrease on attitudes tied to destructive police subculture and better on guardianship and group orientation. One famous, “I grew up talking two languages, and that’s one thing I can convey to individuals right here who really feel unheard.”
Earlier than the Badge begins with group. Recruits have interaction with residents, enterprise house owners, youth in detention and folks affected by the justice system. They hear, replicate and start to grasp the social context by which policing occurs. One recruit stated, “The coaching begins with the group. That instructed me this division is critical about doing issues in another way.” One other added, “If the group trusts me, all the things else follows.”
This system additionally emphasizes emotional consciousness and officer wellness — areas usually ignored in conventional academies. Recruits be taught to watch their stress, use strategies like deep respiratory and replicate on how their feelings impression others. “I hadn’t realized how a lot my very own stress stage reveals up in how individuals reply to me,” one recruit stated. One other shared, “This was the primary time in coaching we slowed down sufficient to consider how the group sees us.”
Seattle doesn’t use the time period “guardian policing”— they don’t must. What they’re doing is relational policing in motion. One recruit referred to as the coaching “phenomenal.” One other stated, “It’s stunning to suppose this isn’t regular in different departments.”
It’s time for all of us — police, policymakers, students and the general public — to maneuver past outdated metaphors. Policing doesn’t want a brand new label. It wants a mannequin that makes house for human complexity, empathy and accountability. The objective isn’t to make officers select between warrior or guardian — it’s to equip them to indicate up as individuals first.
As one recruit put it, “The uniform could make individuals neglect there’s an individual behind it, however we’re studying to decelerate and see the individual in entrance of us, too.” One other stated, “I got here right here to assist, however I additionally want the talents to remain grounded and never lose myself within the job.”
If we would like public security that works, we should put money into techniques that deal with each officers and group members as individuals worthy of belief, care and connection. Seattle’s new recruits are motivated by service. Earlier than the Badge reveals how the warrior-vs.-guardian body will be changed with a extra grounded imaginative and prescient: Policing that’s human, relational and rooted in public service. One recruit summed it up greatest: “I joined to assist, to not battle.”
To enroll in digital SPD BTB Community-Police Dialogues to satisfy and discuss with recruits who’re going by way of BTB coaching, go to: st.news/badge
Disclosure: The Seattle College Crime & Justice Analysis Heart receives funding from the town of Seattle to conduct the unbiased analysis of the SPD Earlier than the Badge coaching program. This analysis is Institutional Evaluate Board-approved and operates independently.
