De-Escalation Training Receptivity and First-Line Police Supervision: Findings from the Louisville Metro Police Study

• Author: Gabrielle T. Isaza,Ryan T. Motz,Nicholas Corsaro,Hannah D. McManus,Robin S. Engel
• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/10986111211049834
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Police Quarterly

2022, Vol. 25(2) 201–227

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/10986111211049834

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De-Escalation Training

Receptivity and First-Line

Police Supervision: Findings

from the Louisville Metro

Police Study

Robin S. Engel, PhD

1

, Gabrielle T. Isaza, PhD

1

,

Ryan T. Motz, MS

1

, Hannah D. McManus, MS

1

, and

Nicholas Corsaro, PhD

1

Abstract

Despite calls for police reform that include changes to use of force training and f‌ield

supervision, evidence regarding their impact is sorely lacking. This study examines

survey data collected from f‌irst-line supervisors in the Louisville (KY) Metro Police

Department after department-wide de-escalation training. Presented as part of a larger

randomized controlled trial study, descriptive results from this survey demonstrate

that, despite high levels of reported conf‌idence in supervisory ability, supervisors

infrequently engage in the activities that support and reinforce subordinates’use of de-

escalation skills. Results from multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) linear re-

gression models further show that only supervisors’receptivity to de-escalation

training is a signif‌icant predictor of engaging in activities that support the training

tenets for subordinates. Combined with previous f‌indings, the emerging research and

policy implications suggest that training receptivity is critical, and further, that f‌ield

supervision continues to be an under-utilized mechanism to reduce police use of force.

1

School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Robin S. Engel, IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy, University of Cincinnati, 600 Teachers-Dyer

Complex, 2610 McMicken Circle, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0632, USA.

Email: robin.engel@uc.edu

Keywords

police, f‌irst-line supervision, use of force, police training, de-escalation

Introduction

Despite continued improvements in policing effectiveness and reductions in crime over

the past 20 years, policing off‌icials face increased scrutiny and debate about their role in

providing public safety and enforcing the law. Indeed, the level of trust and conf‌idence

in the police has recently reached a modern-day low, where only 48% of Americans

indicated they felt conf‌idence in the police—the f‌irst time this percentage has fallen

below the majority level (Brenan, 2020). The core issues surrounding this distrust

concern disparate outcomes in policing, particularly around police use of force and its

perceived legitimacy amongst citizens. Calls for reducing police use of force through

changes in legislation, policies, and training have become a rallying cry and

championed by community advocates and policymakers (Crampton, 2021).

A considerable body of research has been amassed over the last 60 years examining

police use of force. Highlighting force as a def‌ining role of law enforcement off‌icers

(see, e.g., Bittner, 1974;Fyfe, 1988), this research explores variations in def‌initions,

measurement, prevalence, and predictors of when and how police use force. police

force is used. Research consistently demonstrates that both the law and police ad-

ministrative policies can strongly impact the frequency and severity of use of force

(e.g., see Black, 1976;Fyfe, 1982;Prewitt, 2021;Shjarback & Maguire, 2021;Terrill &

Mastrofski, 2002). However, what has received less empirical attention is the impact of

training and f‌ield supervision on police use of force. Although routinely suggested as police

reform measures, the evidence regarding the impact of changes to both training and su-

pervision on the frequency, severity, and racial disparities in use of force is exceptionally thin

(Engel, 2000;Lum et al., 2016). This gap in research is especially notable given the recent

widespread calls for changes in police use of force policies, training, and organizational

practices to incorporate (and in some cases mandate) the use of de-escalation (e.g., Council

on Criminal Justice, 2021a;President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015).

To f‌ill this void, we examine the attitudes and behaviors of f‌irst-line supervisors

within the Louisville (KY) Metro Police Department (LMPD) after the implementation

of de-escalation training. Specif‌ically, using survey data collected in the months

following the 2019 department-wide training of LMPD Off‌icers using the Integrating

Communications, Assessment, and Tactics, or ICAT (pronounced “I-cat”) training, this

study explores supervisors’self-reported conf‌idence in supervising the use of de-

escalation skillsby their subordinate off‌icers and the frequency in which they participate

in supervisory activities to support subordinates’use of de-escalation tactics in the f‌ield.

Variation in supervisors’conf‌idence and participation is examined through multivariate

ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models considering supervisors’employment

and demographic characteristics, professional orientation (i.e., enforcement-oriented,

community-oriented), and receptivity to de-escalation training.

202 Police Quarterly 25(2)