Regression, Progression and Renewal: The Continuous Redevelopment of Expertise in Police Use of Force Coaching

• Published in: European journal for security research Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 105 - 120
• Main Authors: Staller, Mario S., Körner, Swen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Engineering; Law; Law and Criminolgy; Original Article; Political Science; Public International Law; Coaching; Police use of force training; Expertise; Professionality
• ISSN: 2365-0931; 2365-1695
• DOI: 10.1007/s41125-020-00069-7

Professionalism in law enforcement requires the identification and development of expertise of police use of force (PUOF) coaches. Effective PUOF training includes the transfer from the training into the real-world environment of policing. This difference between working in the field and working as a PUOF coach has not been thoroughly investigated. However, research in other professional domains has shown that practical competence in the subject matter itself does not make a coach effective or successful. With this article, we conceptualize expert practice in PUOF instruction on the basis of a conflict management training setting in the security domain. First, by discussing a model of “territories of expertise”, we point out the dynamic and contextual character of expertise within the PUOF domain. Second, by conceptualizing expertise as a process and effect of communication, we provide a framework that describes and examines the interdependency between performance-based and reputation-based expertise. These considerations present two practical challenges, which we recommend professional law enforcement institutions to engage. We close by providing practical orientations and pointers for addressing these issues.