In November 2017, APA hosted a congressional briefing on Improving Police-Community Relations: Psychological Perspectives, to explore how improving relations between law enforcement and communities of color can reduce violence between police and the public. House sponsors included Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), as well as Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who opened the briefing. “We look forward to your findings, but most of all, I want to thank you for having a research, evidence-based approach to a criminal justice issue,” said Scott.
House sponsors included Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), as well as Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who opened the briefing. “We look forward to your findings, but most of all, I want to thank you for having a research, evidence-based approach to a criminal justice issue,” said Scott.
Psychologist Earl Turner, PhD, discussed the psychological implications of policies that may disproportionately target people of color, such stop-and-frisk. “One of the possible results of aggressive policies such as stop-and-frisk is what scholars and psychologists refer to as racial trauma or race-based stress,” Turner explained, “Racial trauma may result from racial harassment, witnessing racial violence, or experiencing institutional racism. The trauma may result in experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, feelings of humiliation, poor concentration, and irritability.”
Psychologist Ellen Scrivner, PhD, described the historical context of police violence and stressed the importance of allowing communities affected by police misconduct to express their frustration and co-produce public safety with law enforcement. “We need to find ways that will create a national dialogue on race and policing that will include all who are involved in collaborative community–police partnerships--so that this dialogue will be much more than talk,” said Scrivner.
For more on psychologists' contributions to reducing implicit bias and racial disparities in policing, see the December APA Monitor on Psychology.