Policing V: Tribalism and Dissent

After attending a vigil in Quincy center, I was waiting for a ride home. Not too far away, a group of 3 or 4 police officers stood at a street corner. So I approached and tried to start a conversation - a complicated thing in the time of covid-19, with social distancing and face masks. I was able to get a few words in with one officer who was off to the side. But after a brief acknowledgment, he turned away from me walked over to fully join his fellow officers and talk with them. He wanted to be part of his tribe.

I don't have a source for this, but I've been told that most instances of police misconduct occur when there are groups of police, and almost none occur when police are alone. It is believed that police are more careful when alone, and avoid situations that are at risk of escalation.

And of course, there is the band of brothers effect. We are tribal creatures. When one of our tribe is threatened, we act to protect them. This spirit is taken to its fullest heights among soldiers in war, but is seen in police as well -- and can be a good thing. But it can also make it hard for police officers to intervene to stop bad behavior as well. Even worse, the sense of strength in a group can give power to rogue bands within the police, and can be compounded by authority in the form of rank or experience.

In studies of airline cockpit discussions after commercial airliner accidents, it was found that the authority of the pilot outweighed the possibility of dissent in several cases reviewed. As a result, conscious efforts were made to flatten the structure of an airline cockpit so people other than the pilot felt empowered or obliged to speak up if they saw something concerning.

Similar studies of operating rooms revealed a similar power imbalance, where mistakes made by a surgeon were not questioned effectively by others. Again, a sustained effort was made to change that culture and make questioning and dissent function more reliably.

I think policing might need to undertake a similar process. We need to make it so 4 minds brought to bear in a situation means more creativity for better problem solving and reduced risk of misconduct. Until we are confident that a group of 4 policeman has better judgement than a single policeman, I argue there is work to be done in this aspect of police culture.