A Cognitive View of Policing: Evaluation Results of a New Police Training Shown to Improve Outcomes in the Field

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM PST

Location: Room: 4

Speaker(s)

Kenneth Corey

Chief of Department (Ret.)
University of Chicago Crime Lab
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Sandy Jo MacArthur

Assistant Chief, Office of Administrative Services, LAPD (Ret.)
University of Chicago Crime Lab
Chicago, Illinois, United States
DG

Daniel Godsel

Deputy Chief, Training and Support Group (Ret.)
Chicago Police Department, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois, United States
OD

Oeindrila Dube

Philip K. Pearson Professor, Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago Crime Lab
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Anuj Shah

Associate Professor of Behavioral Science, Booth School of Business
University of Chicago Crime Lab
Chicago, Illinois, United States

High-profile incidents have refocused the conversation on how police interact with the public. One overlooked perspective in this area: cognitive demands inherent in policing can undermine officer decision-making, preventing alternative ways to see a situation. Current trainings often fail to address these cognitive demands. The University of Chicago created a new training program, Situational Decision Making (Sit-D), that teaches officers to consider interpretations of situations more deliberately. The training was evaluated using an RCT with 2,070 officers from the Chicago Police Department and found that Sit-D trained officers were less likely to use force and make discretionary arrests, while their activity overall remained unchanged. Trained officers were also less likely to be injured on duty.