Learning to de-escalate

Evaluating the behavioural impact of Verbal Judo training on police constables

Bibliographic Data

ID21178005
AuthorsChris Giacomantonio (0000-0003-3634-9119, Halifax Regional Police, Halifax, Canada, corresponding author), Stephanie Goodwin (Halifax Regional Police, Halifax, Canada), Garland Carmichael (Halifax Regional Police, Halifax, Canada)
Year2020
Volume21
Issue4
Pages401-417
Publication date2020-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolice Practice and Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1561-4263 • E-ISSN: 1477-271X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15614263.2019.1589472
OpenAlexW2921193757
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited20

This article presents findings from an assessment of the immediate behavioural impact of the ‘Verbal Judo’ de-escalation training program, delivered to officers in a Canadian police service in 2017, and represents the first evaluation of Verbal Judo. The evaluation utilized systematic observations of officers in videotaped simulations, comparing a baseline group of officers to officers trained in Verbal Judo. The study found that five of 15 coded behaviours were impacted at a statistically significant level in the hypothesized direction, and these tended to be simpler behaviours encouraged by the training (such as identifying oneself or providing a reason for contact), while more complex behaviours (such as empathizing with the subject) were not impacted. The evaluation also found that likelihood of utilizing de-escalation skills decreased as an officer’s years of experience increased. The paper closes by outlining the implications of these findings for de-escalation training, and elaborates the main limitations of the study

Officer · Political science · Applied Psychology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Social Psychology

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