Police De-escalation Training: Challenges and Opportunities

Featuring

Sarah Anderson, Associate Director, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, R Street Institute

Jill Snider, Policy Director, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, R Street Institute

Richard Hahn, Senior Policy Analyst, Criminal Justice, Niskanen Center

Overview

According to the Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project at the University of Illinois Chicago, more than 1 million civilians experience police threats or use of force annually, resulting in 75,000 non-fatal injuries requiring hospital treatment and an estimated 600-1,000 deaths. Research also finds that Black and brown Americans are twice as likely to experience the threat of or use of force during police-initiated contact. An often-cited intervention that has the potential to create safer encounters between police and communities is de-escalation training.

In this webinar, panelists will discuss a new report by the R Street Institute that examines the current landscape of de-escalation training in law enforcement, its uses and effectiveness, and the availability and impact of federal grants. Further, they will discuss the overall importance of de-escalation training and the current implementation status of the Law Enforcement De-Escalation and Training Act, which Congress enacted in 2022 to address funding and training gaps on this issue.

You can review the report to be discussed during this webinar here.

***This discussion is part of the Joyce Foundation’s monthly virtual Lunch & Learn webinar series. All the webinars in this series are free and open to the public.***