De-escalation in Everyday Police Operations

Abstract

Police action involves conflicts or even the use of force each day. Police officers may encounter conflict situations with citizens during routine patrols. In such situations, the aim of professional police action is to de-escalate and only use force if this can no longer be avoided. Communication is the primary operational resource in de-escalation. De-escalation means any behavior (verbal and non-verbal communication, tactical measures, etc.) that avoids allowing conflicts to degenerate into the use of greater force (waging the conflict with force). In addition, it halts or reverses the development of escalating situations and includes all measures capable of achieving this. Many de-escalation techniques and strategies can be applied to everyday police operations. Nonetheless, little empirical data exists on de-escalation options and training courses for learning and practicing de-escalation techniques. The outcome of an evaluation of de-escalation techniques for police practice is presented in this article, which shows that besides awareness of appropriate measures, additional factors also seem important for ensuring effective de-escalation.