The strains of service: defensive othering and coping with sociopolitical stressors among law enforcement

The American public has, over the last decade, experienced a social reckoning with policing and the relationship between law enforcement and their communities has changed dramatically as a result. The current study presents results from ethnographic field observations of a de-escalation training program and 15 semi-structured interviews with law enforcement who recently received the training. These analyses present the first application of the theory of defensive othering to policing, finding that officers engage in cognitive coping strategies to separate themselves from high-profile instances of misconduct and nationwide calls for reform. Officers utilize several separation techniques to remove themselves from the image of bad policing and in doing so, support training programs and new practices without acknowledging a broader, systemic problem. The practical and managerial implications for policing organizations and training efforts are also explored in the context of a rapidly changing profession and national calls for reform.