In August 2021, Oeindrila Dube, the Philip K. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the Harris School of Public Policy, started examining data on first-of-its-kind training that she designed and implemented with a behavioral scientist and a retired police chief. The training’s objective: improving Chicago Police officers’ effectiveness in high-stress situations.
It was a crucial, anxious time for Chicago Police and law enforcement agencies across the United States. Public outcry from incidents such as the police shooting death of Laquan MacDonald in Chicago in 2014 was exerting intense pressure on law enforcement to rectify civilian encounters that too often included excessive, sometimes fatal, use of force.
Dube and her team had crafted a unique approach to police instruction, Situational Decision-Making. Its distinctions were behavioral science strategies designed to prevent dangerous cognitive biases, an immersive video experience and real-time, peer analysis of officers’ actions during training.
In her early analysis of Chicago’s implementation, Dube found real reasons for hope.
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