ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q2-2024

FBINAA.ORG | Q2 2024

Cynicism is an endemic problem in policing (Gau & Paoline, 2017). While some reasons officers become cynical might appear self-evident to those working in policing, academic researchers have investigated the topic for more than 50 years. Arthur Niederhoffer ’s now famous 1967 book, Behind the Shield , is widely held as one of the foundational texts on cynicism. Writing in the late 1960s, Niederhoffer related police cynicism as “an unintended consequence of the professionalization of policing” 1 . The professionalization at that time included improved selection and performance standards, and an increased emphasis on training and education 2 . During this timeframe, many states implemented training acad emies 3 . Accordingly, Niederhoffer believed that the turmoil and rapid pace of change led officers to experience conflicting values and uncertainty that increased their frustration, to the point that he used resentment and cynicism interchangeably 4 . Embedded in various concepts of cynicism are a sense of resentment and the disillusionment officers may feel over their inability to accomplish policing goals—at least as they see them—against the various internal and external forces that stand in their way. While police leaders tend to be less cynical when compared to front-line officers, cynicism is contagious and police leaders should develop a healthy organizational culture that prevents cynicism from creeping in 5 .

M any parallels can be drawn between policing at the time of Niederhoffer’s writing and today, which has been marked by increased public scrutiny over the extent to which systemic racism pervades the profession, calls to defund and abolish the police, and increased calls for reforms. Officers may feel they have been attacked by politicians pushing reforms and might perceive they face greater levels of dangerousness on the job (what some conceive of as the war on cops ). The political rhetoric seems to amplify a divisive Us versus Them mentality that can affect how officers see citizens in their communities. These in dicators led us to question how cynical police leaders at the FBI National Academy were about the future of policing. Researchers over the years have struggled with how to mea sure cynicism. Because we wanted to capture a broad perspec tive on how these leaders see the future of policing, we posed survey questions to FBI NA participants across the four sessions operated in 2023. The questions were not in the negative sense (cynicism) but rather how hopeful they were about the future of policing and the ability of police leaders to build and restore citizen trust over the next few years. Taking survey responses from all four 2023 NA sessions, our study helps shed some light on how police leaders avoid cynicism by finding a sense of hope fulness about the future of policing. Our results indicate that leaders’ hopefulness is significantly related to five distinct but interrelated concepts. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE At its foundation, police cynicism manifests as negative emotions and behaviors that are the byproduct of job-related strains and the inability to cope in productive and healthy ways. It is the perceived inability of the individual to achieve their ideal. Officers experiencing job-related cynicism might move

from a sense of idealism about their ability to effect change in the profession to a loss of hope and a rise in pessimism. What is one individual-level factor that might intercede in this downward spiral? Emotional Intelligence! Emotional intelligence has been broadly viewed across occupations as an imperative in leader ship Goleman, 1995 6 . There are good reasons for emotional intelligence to be incorporated at all levels of police training, from recruit phases through advanced leadership training, such as those offered at the FBI NA. One such reason may be that emotional intelligence equips officers and their leaders with abilities and skills that can assist and aid in dealing with the current frustrations in policing, including an increase in anger and frustration among officers. One in five officers indicate they are almost always angry or frustrated with their jobs, and officers who frequently feel angry and frustrated by their job are twice as likely as other officers to say police have reason to distrust most people, both internally within the profession, as well as exter nally toward the public 7 . It would stand to reason that decreasing anger and frustration amongst officers would decrease cynicism and increase hope. and wellness through increased resiliency 8 . Our study found that leaders with higher emotional intelligence reported significantly more hope for the future of policing. Emotional intelligence may insulate leaders from becoming cynical, or at the very least provide the skills and abilities needed to redirect and pivot away from cynicism and pessimism toward hope and optimism. Emotional intelligence includes better self-awareness, self-regu lation, social skills, empathy, and a deeper intrinsic motivation 9 . Emotional intelligence has been associated with a variety of positive outcomes in policing, including better health

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