Policy Point – Counterpoint: Mandating Law Enforcement to Receive Annual Certification in Cultural Diversity through Critical Thinking

Abstract

Multiculturalism is rapidly growing in American communities. A law enforcement officer’s oath increasingly calls for the successful and effectual interaction with citizens from diverse backgrounds. Diversity is currently taught substantively in the academies. However, the academies’ diversity training can be enhanced with the application of critical thinking skills. Mandatory annual certification training in critical thinking can assist law enforcement officers to find multiple solutions to the problems they encounter on a routine basis and can lend to de-escalation as well as community and officer safety.