Policing as a Martial Art
/Policing as a Martial Art
By: Joseph Petrocelli
Policing will never change if police do not change
The basic unit of policing is the police officer. Police administrators, critics and academics are forever attempting to devise more efficient ways to deploy police; they ignore the fact that if an improperly trained officer is responding, no new system deployment will work. As policing went from reactionary policing to proactive policing to Community Policing to Broken Windows theory through Intelligence Lead Policing into Evidence-Based Policing, there is more attention paid to the structure rather than the basic block on which the structure is built. If the street officer is improperly trained or enters a scene with the wrong mindset, it doesn’t much matter how he or she was deployed.
For generations of U.S. policing, police officers have been told they are warriors. Police were recruited from the ranks of the military. They attended a military-style academy. They were trained in the tactics and mindset of a warrior. They enter a para-military profession. They were repeatedly told they were warriors entering battle. Police are forever fighting a war; a war on crime, a war on drugs, a war on terrorism. They enter the profession and approach each call as a warrior being dispatched to vanquish an enemy.
This paradigm does not work in our society. From the earliest days of modern policing, when Sir Robert Peel stated “The police are the people and the people are the police,” it has been recognized that the police must form a trusting alliance with the community in order to efficiently deliver police services. The police must be the ethical, righteous arm of enforcement, especially in besieged communities.
Choosing a profession where you are putting yourself between good people and evil is an honorable choice. No citizen ever calls the police when things are good; police are only called to deteriorating situations that require clear thinking, patience, ethical application of policy and of the law and occasionally the use of force. Law enforcement must develop and perpetuate an identity of respect, humility, discipline, level-headed confidence and ability to judiciously use force when required. These characteristics are more reflective of a martial artist than a warrior. Police officers should be trained not as warriors but as martial artists.
The martial arts have much to lend to law enforcement. A martial artist is unfailingly humble, courteous and respectful to all. Martial artists are trained to develop a high level of self-control, knowing that losing control can be disastrous in a dangerous situation. Martial artists develop a strong sense of integrity resulting in an ability to recognize and act on right and wrong. Martial artists train to develop an indomitable spirit grounded in honesty and modesty. This equips the artist to recognize injustice, then confront and subdue it in a legitimate manner. These attributes of the martial arts would serve law enforcement officers well in every community.
Society demands policing be a profession prepared to use force. The title ‘Law Enforcement’ implies force must sometimes be used. Force itself is not evil; how force is used by some police can be evil. The mindset of the police officer using force must be changed.
Force must be an available option but the last option. Force is not the option of the bully or of the panicked. When used, force must be dispensed in a measured, reasonable and justifiable manner. This will ensure no citizen will live in fear of the criminal element or of the police.
The training and mindset of a martial artist are more closely aligned with the goals of a police officer. Martial artists are trained to be respectful of all people they meet—especially their opponent. Martial artists are trained to remain calm in the face of an adversary and to use only the force necessary to mitigate the threat. Martial artists are trained to display respect and compassion to a vanquished foe. Martial artists train throughout their lifetime to attain the level of discipline and skill required to defeat an attacker with a minimal amount of force.
A martial artist mindset would prepare police officers to handle any violent offender they encounter. In anticipation of a use of force encounter, police would receive ongoing training in efficient empty hand control, non-lethal techniques. Along with tactics, police would also learn the quiet respect and humility integral to the martial arts. Martial artists train to be fully in control of their emotions and have the maximum amount of respect for their art and their opponent. Police should be trained along these lines. The discipline, respect, humility and control associated with the martial arts would become the hallmark of policing. Police would no longer be warriors doing battle against members of the citizenry; they would be viewed as measured professionals using the life-protecting tools they have mastered to subdue a problem thereby protecting society. The police would be the best example of the values a community cherishes. This would bridge the current chasm between the police and good citizens.
Adopting a martial arts mindset would require an enormous shift in paradigm. Police would endeavor to change how they are viewed and how they view themselves. Implications would be felt in recruiting, pre-service academy training, departmental Standard Operating Procedures, in-service training, modeling behavior, community outreach and professional expectations.
Society cannot survive a war within itself. Communities demand a change in the way police services are delivered. Failure to change the mindset of police means deploying resources in the same way that has failed so many on so many previous occasions. A warrior mindset does not serve policing or those policed in the 21st century. Training police as respectful, courteous, ethical officers who calmly and effectively deliver justice and force in the community will benefit the profession and society.
