I don’t know a lot of people who could meet the extreme expectations and demands of police work today and stay sane.
I’m surprised that anyone would be willing to apply for this job now.
Reading this, you might be thinking, “Well, it’s their job. They know what they’re getting into, so it’s their problem.” But considering the life and death scenarios they face regularly and the enormous demands on them, here’s how they are equipped to handle it:
In the United States, the requirement to apply to become a police officer is a high school education. They must pass health and physical agility exams, followed by the completion of police academy training which takes approximately six months.
And in the U.S. according to the 2011 Small Arms Survey there are an average of 88 guns per 100 people. So, when a police officer enters a disturbing scene it’s the equivalent of starting a game of Russian roulette. Everyone they meet could and likely does have, the ammunition to kill them at any time. The tension and stress level for police officers in every confrontation must be enormous.
In Canada, completion of high school is mandatory. Also, the completion of a college police technology program may be required, and then a three-to-six-month police training program.
So, in some cases, with approximately two years of training, they’re 100 percent responsible for making razor-sharp, flawless decisions, every time: Decisions that can save or kill others and themselves.
And when something goes wrong, the scrutiny from the mainstream news sources and as a result, the public who trusts them, is instantly punitive.
As Dr. Troy Rodgers, in his Tedtalk called “Policy, psychology and crisis”, says, “We as a community tend to view officers in one of two ways: We either see them as super heroes with super powers or we see them on the other extreme as the villain who is misusing their power and their authority.”
Heroes or villains: That’s all that we allow them to be. Maybe part of the problem is that no one has allowed them to be human. No one has given them the tools and training they need to stay that way in a job full of nightmares.
That is not their responsibility alone. I don’t think any of us could be flawless police officers under those conditions.
In the case of George Floyd, a terrible mistake was made, a life was lost, jobs were lost, punishment was delivered.
Jumping to the conclusion that there was one reason for this scenario isn’t fair to anyone. Because we won’t get to the root of any problems until we look at all sides.
