| Part of the aftermath of the police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte is the advice pundits have offered to reduce the use of excessive deadly force by police. Quite rightly most pundits have called for better management and community policing procedures, implicit bias reduction and de-escalation training, and rigorous enforcement and prosecution of illegal behavior. |
| Few of these pundits, however, have acknowledged the difficulty, if not impossibility, of remediating strain due to the poor match between an officer and policing. The possibility of someone entering law enforcement even though it is a bad fit for a person, has increased over the past decade because of the corresponding decrease in employment opportunities with good benefits, especially for high school graduates. While the idea of a mismatch between a person and his or her job is commonplace in many professions or skilled occupations, it seems less recognized in law enforcement. Of course, law enforcement officers must be law abiding and exhibit take-charge personalities, but there is considerably less focus on how policing can negatively affect officers who are ill-fit to be in law enforcement. Job strain can lead to unhappiness, hostility, and poor job performance for officers who do not fit. Policing requires highly skilled and motivated officers. Officers who do not fit a law enforcement career can be a danger to themselves and others. They need to be separated from law enforcement, despite what may be a paucity of good jobs in other areas.Few of these pundits, however, have acknowledged the difficulty, if not impossibility, of remediating strain due to the poor match between an officer and policing. The possibility of someone entering law enforcement even though it is a bad fit for a person, has increased over the past decade because of the corresponding decrease in employment opportunities with good benefits, especially for high school graduates. While the idea of a mismatch between a person and his or her job is commonplace in many professions or skilled occupations, it seems less recognized in law enforcement. Of course, law enforcement officers must be law abiding and exhibit take-charge personalities, but there is considerably less focus on how policing can negatively affect officers who are ill-fit to be in law enforcement. Job strain can lead to unhappiness, hostility, and poor job performance for officers who do not fit. Policing requires highly skilled and motivated officers. Officers who do not fit a law enforcement career can be a danger to themselves and others. They need to be separated from law enforcement, despite what may be a paucity of good jobs in other areas. |