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Teaching Policing During a Time of Change: Classroom Discussions on Race, Gender, and Reform

 Carol Archbold

Carol Huynh

Thomas Mrozla

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This webinar includes a discussion on teaching policing courses during a time when societal expectations and perceptions of policing are changing in the United States. The authors talk about their experiences in the classroom where they have effectively engaged students in conversations regarding race, gender, and police reform. They provide tips on how to create a classroom environment that encourages students to use critical thinking skills and to apply concepts and ideas from class to real world situations.  

Carol Archbold identifies ways to incorporate race and gender into the history of American policing so that students can make connections between historical and contemporary issues.  She also provides suggestions to engage students in discussions on police accountability, and how to manage conversations in class between students who criticize the police and students who dislike criticism of the police.     

Carol Huynh talks about being mindful of your audience when discussing issues of race, perceptions of the police, and police-citizen interactions.  She also highlights the importance of talking about gender and racial diversity within police agencies, and the ways that inclusion could influence police culture within police organizations.    

Tom Mrozla explains how he incorporates research into conversations about police effectiveness in his classroom, and why it is important to discuss how some police operations can disproportionately impact communities of color.  He also identifies ways to include current events (such as defunding the police and eliminating low level traffic stops) into discussions and classroom activities associated with police effectiveness.        

Carol Archbold, Carol Huynh, and Tom Mrozla are authors of Policing: The Essentials.