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THE ENDURING AND CONTAGIOUS OPTIMISM OF CHANGE MAKERS,EDITORIAL Taylor Journal of COMMUNITY SAFETY & WELL-BEING The enduring and contagious optimism of change makers Norman E. Taylor* I am fairly certain our readers will appreciate the difficulty more responsive services to those who need them most; of my task here, to introduce a journal issue, likely any and others, to advance the essential re-engineering and journal issue, during the first quarter of 2021. So many of us modernization of our justice apparatus. directed our ever-straining faith towards a good-riddance Notably, many of these papers also continue to reinforce EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION EDITOR’S ending to 2020, even as we still struggled daily to comprehend both the urgency of and commitment to multi-disciplinary and adapt to the multi-layered global, national, and local collaboration as essential to bringing these changes about. conditions. Maybe a few mixed metaphors might help? Just a week after the release of this Issue 6 (1) of our Journal Such was a year in which public health, social equity, and of Community Safety and Well-Being, our journal will again disrupted political currents coalesced into a tsunami, a wave play an active role in the Sixth International Conference on that swamped our systems and our psyches, alike. Law Enforcement and Public Health (LEPH2021). The same Alas, the new year has yet to reveal any silver bullet combined spirit of resilience and optimism already hovers over solutions. In fact, thus far, it appears to have barely paused this upcoming conference. Originally scheduled as another to reload. mass gathering of like-minded academics, practitioners, and For many of us, the months ahead appear to promise policy-makers from around the world, situated this time in only that daily injections of anxiety still remain more likely Philadelphia, PA, the hosts and organizers have admirably than those coveted two-dose injections coming in sufficient executed their pivot to a fully virtual event. number to reduce our vulnerability to infection. Two papers in this current issue are already keyed to Enough of those? And yet, we persevere. these LEPH proceedings, and the theme of our upcoming June First responders, front-line health and social workers, issue will be directly linked to the conference proceedings, and essential workers across a range of industries continue with several papers already committed from presenters and to brave public spaces to keep the world turning for the rest panellists who will be participating. We look forward to of us. Many of us merely commute between rooms, open a robust online engagement throughout the week-long event, computer screen, and continue to engage through virtual albeit absent the enjoyable dinners and social gatherings that means with colleagues and collaborators, suppliers and the City of Philadelphia would have otherwise delivered as customers, teachers and learners. Out in the public spaces a bonus. we share, the term “eyes-only” has taken on new meaning. In the meantime, we are pleased to offer an excellent But, as our eyes may be fixed by necessity on getting through suite of reading material, much of it peer-reviewed, some as tough days, we are fortunate that many continue to lift their commentary, and, through our commitment to open access, gaze to a better future. we invite you to enjoy it all from the safety and comfort of As I reviewed the diverse slate of authors and their your home. Stay well. articles curated for this issue by our Editorial Team, I was struck by the common denominator evident in their CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES optimism. Every one of them is showcasing new ways and The author has continuing business interests that include providing new possibilities that can help the system bend to better advisory services to communities, police services and related human serve society. Some are directly seeking to restore trust service agencies. where it has eroded or create it where it never was; some, to help build greater strengths and protections for individuals, AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS families, or communities; some, to conceive and deliver * Editor-in-Chief Correspondence to: Norman E. Taylor, Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, 120 Sonnenschein Way – Main, Saskatoon, SK S7M 0W2, Canada. E-mail: [email protected] To cite: Taylor, N. E. (2021). The enduring and contagious optimism of change makers. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 6(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.188 © Author(s) 2021. Open Access. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]. Published by SG Publishing Inc. Official publication of the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, Vol 6(1), March 2021 | journalcswb.ca | @JournalCSWB 1 POLICE DE-ESCALATION TRAINING,REVIEW Deveau Journal of COMMUNITY SAFETY & WELL-BEING Police De-Escalation Training & Education: Nationally, Provincially, and Municipally TRUST Lisa M. Deveau* This article is related directly to the 6th International Law Enforcement & Public Health (LEPH) Virtual Conference in March 2021. ABSTRACT In this critical review and social innovation narrative, the current literature on de-escalation and policing is reviewed. The following explores how services train recruits and experienced officers on de-escalation, conflict resolution, and crisis intervention skills. A limited environmental scan was completed to inquire about the number of hours dedicated to de-escalation training compared with tactical and combative training within Ontario law enforcement agencies. The environmental scan also considered how services respond to imminent mental heath crises, as some services rely on mental health professionals to respond to 911 emergencies with police officers, through the Mobile Crisis Team. Within the literature, questions are proposed about the government’s role in overseeing policing, and why there fails to be any federally or provincially mandated training and approach to mental health and de-escalation within Canadian law enforcement. The author ultimately advocates for systemic change by highlighting the priorities, values, and contradictions within Canadian police services which have been influenced by colonization and patriarchal narratives. INTRODUCTION stemming from historical influences of colonization and patriarchal narratives that continue to influence the profession Police officers enter situations that are unfamiliar and and are perpetuated by governmental and regulatory bodies. unknown. Their skills and expertise are required to either The following critical review explores de-escalation diffuse a situation, detain a suspect, or restore civility. In training in police education within Canada, focusing on the each situation, an officer must critically assess and respond in following questions: How is de-escalation taught to officers, order to ultimately preserve their own safety and the safety and what strategies are used in teaching de-escalation? of the public. Given the responsibilities of police officers, it Are there national, provincial, and municipal standards is reasonable to assume that their training is comprehensive for teaching de-escalation to police officers? Are services and governed by research that supports evidence-based mandated to incorporate strategies that teach peaceful practices—research that highlights skills commonly needed resolution during annual training? What other skills and and used by officers, which is then used to inform officer training, such as use of force, are officers taught? What annual training. Further, it is assumed that the training structural and systemic issues influence the prioritization of incorporates invaluable skills that extend beyond tactical police training? Finally, the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor and combative measures to incorporate de-escalation, conflict General’s role in training and educating Ontario officers is resolution, and mediation. explored and discussed. Throughout Canadian law enforcement history, there appears a critical tension that remains influential today. Mental Health Response/Approaches Officers are expected to build trust and partnerships in Mental health responses make up a large portion of an their communities, by applying de-escalation and conflict officer’s responsibilities. In some cities, mental health resolution skills, while also being trained to have the strategic, accounts for over 60% of the calls for service (Watson et al., combative, and tactical skills to protect public safety. This 2008). De-escalation has been an effective and safe response dichotomy remains prevalent within the officers’ culture, that restores order and preserves the safety of both citizen duties, and legislation. Leaders in policing seem to prioritize and officer. In Canada, 98% of the calls for service required tactical responses over peaceful resolution, undoubtedly de-escalation, while only 2% of calls required forceful and Correspondence to: Lisa Deveau, Department of Social Work, Carleton University 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K16 5B6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected] To cite: Deveau, L. (2021). Police De-Escalation Training & Education: Nationally, Provincially and Municipally. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 6(1), 2–5. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.183 © Author(s) 2021. Open Access. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. For commercial re-use, please contact