I rarely recommend books but here is one everyone involved in training law enforcement and intelligence officers should read. Increasingly in recent years the training of police and intelligence officers has become blighted by the mindset that: no one can be upset during training, no one can feel under pressure and no one, ever, can fail a course. Rather than articulate the reasons why this attitude prevails and the problems with it I will let you work it out for yourself.
So, step one, start by reading Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s excellent book: “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure"
The second step is to compare what is happening in universities, to what is happening in the training for law enforcement and intelligence officers.
The final step is to remember that, while Haidt and Lukianoff highlight the serious consequences that results from this coddling for university students, those involved in training law enforcement and intelligence officers are responsible for preparing officers to work in highly volatile, stressful and often very dangerous environments.
Training providers have a moral obligation to prepare staff for the world they will encounter, not some fantasy land where everyone is good and kind, and no one hurts anyone’else’s feelings.
The Coddling of the American Mind
