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Insight Policing: A Creative Approach to Building Bridges Between Police and the Communities They Serve

Dispute Resolution Journal (2016)

This article from the Dispute Resolution Journal discusses the origins and real-life success stories of Insight Policing, from its development through a USDOJ pilot project in 2016 to its effective applications in cities like Memphis and Lowell.

The Insight Policing principles shared in this article still hold true today. When officers get curious in the face of conflict behavior, they can reduce tension, open lines of communication, uncover valuable information for problem-solving, and enhance their chances of building trust and gaining voluntary compliance during enforcement.

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Insight Policing: A Creative Approach to Building Bridges Between Police and the Communities They Serve

Aug 1
1 min

Insight Policing: A Creative Approach to Building Bridges Between Police and the Communities They Serve

This article from the Dispute Resolution Journal discusses the origins and real-life success stories of Insight Policing, from its...

Body-cam review in Chesterfield, VA: How Insight Skills could have helped

Jul 9
2 min

Body-cam review in Chesterfield, VA: How Insight Skills could have helped

In July of 2023, a Chesterfield, VA resident called 911 to report a man was trying to break into garages as well as the caller’s house,...

The challenge of procedural justice when situations get tense (American Police Beat)

Jun 30
2 min

The challenge of procedural justice when situations get tense (American Police Beat)

Procedural justice, broadly speaking, refers to the extent to which people believe that authorities are fair in the execution of their...

Insight Policing and the Role of the Civilian in Police Accountability

Jun 24
1 min

Insight Policing and the Role of the Civilian in Police Accountability

"We're working for the day when a policeman, an official, a representative of law and order is not perceived as the enemy - as the source...

How do we convince someone when the stakes are high?

Feb 27
3 min

How do we convince someone when the stakes are high?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately: What do we do when we want someone to agree with us or do what we say? Typically, we try to...

A policing tool we don’t talk about enough

Jan 10
2 min

A policing tool we don’t talk about enough

I had an interesting conversation with a retired Lieutenant Colonel last week. We talked about how important it is that officers use...

Active bystandership in everyday conflict (American Police Beat)

Nov 8, 2023
2 min

Active bystandership in everyday conflict (American Police Beat)

In law enforcement, active bystandership is an invaluable practice. Stepping in when a colleague is gripped by conflict is not only good...

What threat does to the brain (American Police Beat)

Sep 28, 2023
1 min

What threat does to the brain (American Police Beat)

Law enforcement are no strangers to threat and danger. It’s essential to the job. Officers sign up to confront violence and crime and...

Following information, not assumptions: The power of verifying in policing

Sep 25, 2023
3 min

Following information, not assumptions: The power of verifying in policing

Insight Policing is all about how to communicate effectively when we’re faced with conflict. A key skill in this is verifying – or taking...

5 Reasons Officers Use Curiosity to Turn Conflict into Cooperation

Jul 26, 2023
4 min

5 Reasons Officers Use Curiosity to Turn Conflict into Cooperation

There are many rewarding moments in law enforcement– helping victims, keeping people safe, protecting the community. But officers face...

Critical decision-making with insight and OODA loops (American Police Beat)

May 23, 2023
1 min

Critical decision-making with insight and OODA loops (American Police Beat)

Law enforcement officers make countless life-or-death decisions throughout their careers. To help illustrate the pattern of thinking that...

Unfinished beer at Nebraska concert ends in lawsuit against officers

May 5, 2023
2 min

Unfinished beer at Nebraska concert ends in lawsuit against officers

Everyday encounters like these shouldn’t be what breaks trust with the public May 9, 2023 “‘I’ve got a great respect, or had a great...

What officers love, hope and worry about (American Police Beat)

Jan 17, 2023
1 min

What officers love, hope and worry about (American Police Beat)

In our conflict-resolution skills training, Insight Policing: Conflict Resolution for Law Enforcement, we start off with an activity...

Conflict Resolution in a Canadian Cell Block

Nov 8, 2022
2 min

Conflict Resolution in a Canadian Cell Block

In this week’s newsletter, trainer Sabina Smith shares a story of how Insight Policing skills showed up in an unexpected way --...

Three strategies for supporting youth in the justice system (American Police Beat)

Oct 22, 2022
1 min

Three strategies for supporting youth in the justice system (American Police Beat)

According to the Department of Justice, nearly 425,000 youth — kids under the age of 18 — are arrested each year. Approximately 48,000...

When questions aren’t curious and how being pulled over showed me the difference

Oct 12, 2022
2 min

When questions aren’t curious and how being pulled over showed me the difference

During our road trip from DC to New England this summer, my family was pulled over by a police officer in Connecticut. We knew the likely...

When peer intervention blows up (American Police Beat)

Sep 20, 2022
1 min

When peer intervention blows up (American Police Beat)

The push for police reform in the wake of George Floyd has activated mandates across the country for both de-escalation and active...

Authority without arrest -- The challenge & opportunity of campus policing (American Police Beat)

Jul 21, 2022
1 min

Authority without arrest -- The challenge & opportunity of campus policing (American Police Beat)

According to the latest Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) count from 2011–2012, 68% of four-year colleges and universities with 2,500...

Think of de-escalation as conflict resolution (American Police Beat)

May 11, 2022
1 min

Think of de-escalation as conflict resolution (American Police Beat)

De-escalation can be a foggy term. On the one hand, it refers to gaining control over an enforcement situation that is threatening to...

When rumors start riots (American Police Beat)

Jan 22, 2022
1 min

When rumors start riots (American Police Beat)

During the summer protests of 2020, a crowd of angry demonstrators surrounded a police car in Memphis, Tennessee, threatening and...

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