Bold actions can transform the culture of policing: Active Bystandership Training For Law Enforcement

BY PAUL JUNOR

This new approach involves Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) training and results from best practices, which proactively ensures that officer misconduct is minimized. It is a tool that focuses on creating a transformational cultural shift supporting peer intervention. It was conceived by Georgetown Law Centre for Innovations in Community Safety in conjunction with Sheppard Mullin. There are ten specific standards that must be adhered to for any organization that is interested in going through a detailed application process.

One of the first police organizations to have its officers go through the training was the Delta Police Department in British Columbia in 2021. The Justice Institute of B.C recognized the success of this initiative. From the positive feedback that was received, it was decided to make ABLE training compulsory for all new recruits that attended the JIBC. ABLE training empowers officers to strategically and successfully intervene, regardless of their rank, to prevent officer misconduct. By preventing harm and avoiding mistakes, which are the intended outcomes of the active bystandership training, the program supports the mental and physical well-being of our officers.

Many officers have to make challenging decisions, and take risky actions in order to resolve many situations. This makes police work even more complex when these officers make the wrong choices, which can have potentially lethal and fatal consequences. There is the existence of a gap that must be closed due to the nature of expectations.

A gap exists when it comes to intervening in the harmful actions of other officers, especially those who are senior in experience or rank, often resulting in officers becoming passive bystanders. To address this gap, the program will deliver meaningful training on how to perform the duty of “active bystandership” effectively, safely, and consistently.

The program was based on the work of Dr. Ervin Staub, and it is described in the article, “Preventing Violence and Promoting Active Bystandership and Peace: My Life in Research and Applications: Peace and Conflict,” which was published in The Journal of Peace Psychology (24 (1), 95-111) in 2018. It can be accessed at the following website: https://doi.org/http\;//dx.doi.org/10.1037pac0000301.

One of the most important observations of Dr. Staub is that “Intervening in another person’s conduct is actually much harder than it looks; there can be various inhibitors to active bystandership, such as: diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance, potential costs and devaluation of those who need help.”

The 10 standards that are vital to the successful implementation of ABLE training are:

• Community support: letters of support from community affected brings awareness
• Meaningful training: there must be at least 8 hours of initial and 2 hours of refresher
• Dedicated coordination: there is need for a designated program coordinator as host
• Program awareness: benefits and principles of peer intervention must be stressed
• Accountability: there must be an anti-retaliation policy to ensure officers abide
• Officer wellness: meaningful reporting policy program must be done
• Reporting: must be done using standard practice with no changes to process
• Measuring officer perceptions: pre- and post -implementation must be done
• Follow-through: managerial and leadership team must provide full support
• Pay it forward: ABLE-certified instructors must make training available to others

The research is incontrovertible that a revolutionary program like ABLE can play a critical role in addressing officer misconduct.