Police training impacts on bias and stereotypes

Abstract

This study is about the impacts of police training on bias and discrimination in law enforcement. This is important because unconscious biases can lead to excessive force and brutality against marginalized groups, often resulting in serious injury and death for those involved. This also negatively impacts the mental health of members of these groups even when they have not been direct victims of police violence; they have to operate under the constant fear that they may become victims of police violence due to a variety of uncontrollable factors. This research was conducted through a review of preexisting literature on this topic and related ones, such as excited delirium and racial literacy reeducation. Overall, I found that police training both introduces and reinforces multiple kinds of bias. Furthermore, it is not standardized at the federal or even the state level, which means that mileage varies wildly between departments. Even when programs to reduce bias are implemented, they are not implemented consistently, and officers are likely to be unreceptive to the type of programs used due to previous training. Additionally, many reeducation attempts place the onus on the victims of police violence for not trusting police enough. One might think that rebuilding trust between police and marginalized communities would be a good thing, but in reality, reforms are needed at a much more fundamental level to meaningfully create those kinds of positive relationships. To put it simply, neighborhood socials have almost no chance of building confidence in these communities when the police are still being taught to beat and kill people from those neighborhoods. This research will be relevant to my intended career since I plan to go into law and policymaking, which means I will have to interact with law enforcement.

About

At Miami University, there is a program for high achieving students studying fields within Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Scholars in the HASS program are required to participate in a first-year research experience in which they synthesize information in a literature review and present it to a conference at the end of the year. The research done by this group will be completed between fall 2025 and spring 2026.