The Warrior Mentality in the Police Force
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The warrior mindset has a significant impact on the police culture in the present times. Police are trained to face hard situations, which include enforcing the law. However, the warrior mindset has made it impossible for the police to understand that their major role is to act as guardians of people’s constitutional rights. Presently, the police perceive themselves as warriors fighting crimes, resulting from the prioritization of physical control and more favorable attitudes towards force misconduct. Many people fear the police due to the excessive use of force, which has worked against the police as it has not worked to safeguard the people’s constitutional rights. For the last few years, there have been many reported cases of police brutality, resulting in injury and sometimes death of the people they were supposed to protect. All this can be attributed to the police warrior mentality that has trained them to be warriors, not protectors.
Even though police need to be warriors in fighting crimes, they also need to develop the guardian mindset, through which the police can perceive themselves as working with the public to reduce crime in the neighborhood. The warrior mentality in the police force disregards the greater need to prioritize communication with the public to gain compliance. As a result, the police end up mishandling members of the public, decreasing public trust, which is against the community policing policies, requiring the police to serve and protect. The lack of a guardian mentality has led to increased distrust of law enforcement by members of the public. Based on this, the police should shift their mindset from a warrior mentality which includes viewing themselves as warriors fighting crimes, to a guardian mentality that values officers working with the public to reduce crime. The police should work to protect and serve the members of the public.
References
How The Warrior Mindset Shapes Law Enforcement | Dean Crisp | TEDxTryon. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt5F6QuY8lo&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
