“Communicative” policing as an instrument against polarization

The police have witnessed a growing sense of unrest in society in recent years, as well as an increasingly widespread and deeper social discontent, all of which may lead to polarization. This was the central theme of the Opening of the Educational Year at the Netherlands Police Academy on 2 September. How should the police relate to these developments? A strong connection between police and society is extremely important. This was the point made by Sara Stronks and Ronald van der Wal of the Netherlands Police Academy on this day’s theme.

Connectedness is one of the core values of the Netherlands police. But making connections is not always easy. ‘Polarization is one of the lowest rungs on the escalation ladder’, says Sara. ‘Unsolvable conflicts and extreme violence are at the top of this ladder. The task of the police is to recognise, de-escalate, and limit polarization and the tensions ensuing from it.

In addition, the government and the police are themselves frequently the subject of polarizing debate. This complicates matters. Moreover, police employees are also part of society. Consequently, some of them also increasingly appear to have polarizing views.’

Views influence behaviour

Scientific research has shown that the perceived quality of the relationship between parties has a major influence on the behaviour of people, says Sara. ‘It is reflected in your behaviour if you are convinced the other cannot be trusted. Or if you think the other has ideas that are irreconcilable with your own values. 

But we also know that relationships of a positive nature are more resistant against polarization, tension, and escalation. Those relationships may also involve tension or confrontation, but these will be overcome more easily. This is because people tend to more readily trust people to whom they feel connected. These are the people we like to work with. The people with whom we think more in terms of similarities than of contrasts. And with them, we are more inclined to solve conflicts quickly.

It is therefore very important for the police to have good relationships with society, so that we can recognise polarization and tension both in the outside world and inside the police organization at an early stage.’

Role and function of social relationships

The above was also the outcome of the study ‘Frictional Differences. Looking for constructive co-existence in superdiverse neighbourhoods’. Sara and Ronald, together with a team of (junior) researchers, examined how relationships and connections between the police, citizens and other parties help recognise, prevent and limit social tension.

The research was conducted in four neighbourhoods of large cities, where many different people live together in a small area. Sara: ‘You can imagine that this sometimes creates tension. How do the police relate to society in these neighbourhoods? Do they manage to cooperate? And if there is cooperation, who is actually involved in that and how? How do they solve tensions? And how do the police get residents involved?

We looked at the role and function of social relationships between police and citizens in community policing. If there are no connections between the police and citizens, you clearly notice that citizens form their own image of the police. If this is the case, citizens tend to see only the negative aspects of police actions.

Developing relational expertise

It is therefore important for police officers to develop their relational expertise, and to learn how to use it in their work. ‘It is very important to create safety and trust in the relationship between police and citizens’, says Sara. ‘But it is more interesting to know what kind of behaviour builds that safety and trust. ‘Frictional Differences’ shows that direct social contacts appear to be very important.

An important component of making contact is looking for common ground. So how do you make contact? When trying to make contact you look for shared interests, preferences or circumstances. This helps people think in terms of ‘we’, instead of ‘us and them’.

Another component is to ensure there is appreciation. By that I mean functional appreciation, what you can do for each other. The appreciation lies in the fact that this is mutual. Not only can the police do something for citizens, citizens can also do something for the police. The police can make this clear. You need one another and you have something to offer. For example, information, attention, effort, or simply recognition. As citizens we find reciprocity in relationships quite normal. The police do make use of this already, but not as much as they should.’

Fixation on emergency assistance

‘The police’s core value ‘connectedness’ is under threat’, says Ronald van der Wal. ‘This is a concern that was expressed by the former as well as the present Commissioner. We are losing our connection with society, because we have too many other things to do. Enormous demands are placed on community police officers. They are assigned all sorts of other tasks, particularly emergency assistance.

I recently attended a session entitled ‘Emergency assistance fixation’. A brainstorm session to discuss what can we do in the short and medium terms to truly become a “communicative” police force again. This term was coined by Gé Bouwhuis, former unit coordinator for networking in Brabant. He said: “It’s not enough to be community police, you have to be communicative police”.

Allies

Ronald conducted research into, among other things, the Allies Method of the police. This method was developed in the 2000s by the Midden-Nederland Unit in response to increasing social tensions in a number of Utrecht neighbourhoods. The method is a textbook example of how good relationships with citizens can help identify tensions and conflicts in the outside world. 

Actively establishing and maintaining contacts is key. With people who know the neighbourhood well and who represent a certain group in the community. ‘So that the police are ultimately fed with information from that group. But also to feed back your information to the same group via those allies’, says Ronald.

‘These allies are not the usual partners that we consult with already. They are, for example, directors of mosques and churches and schoolteachers. But also people who are active in associations, sports club coaches, and people who work at food banks. It is important to have as many different ‘critical friends’ as possible. They are well positioned to see what goes on in the neighbourhoods. You can then set up a permanent structure of at least five or six meetings a year.’

To be used all over the country

The Allies Method is one of the items on the development agenda “Police for Everyone”. The intention is for this method to be used by police across the Netherlands. In addition to Utrecht, other cities and rural areas are also working with this method now.

Ronald: ‘Allies have already proven valuable in several places during times of social tension. For example, the police consult them in order to gauge the sentiments that prevail in different communities. This is what they did in Utrecht following the Utrecht tram shooting in 2019. Another example is when police and youth workers go out on the streets together to de-escalate. This is what happened during rising tensions in Amersfoort at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

Structural contact is necessary

‘There are now several initiatives with Allies in the Netherlands. But there are differences in intensity and structure’, according to Ronald. ‘There are still team chiefs who say: ‘Why would we invest in a network? We’ve already got something like that and it will just cost more time’. We still hear this.

Yet in several of those districts they are starting to come around to the idea. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and also during the farmers’ protests in the Netherlands, a growing awareness could be seen of the necessity to establish structural contacts with certain communities that were manifesting themselves at that time.’

Cultural and organizational problem

The Allies network is not the solution for recognising and countering all polarization, says Sara. ‘The police have various methods and techniques aimed at relationships and connection and at countering polarization, tension, and escalation of conflicts, also within the police. This is one of those methods and it is also one of the recommendations from ‘Frictional Differences’. Another recommendation is the development of relational expertise among police officers.

I am aware that there are people who say that this should be taught as part of basic police training. But it is not only an education issue. It is also a cultural and organizational problem. Relational expertise must become a subject of conversation on the shop floor. Change may be impossible, but development is not. The police have committed themselves to becoming a learning organization. You become one by talking to each other. What does connection mean in our team and what do you do to make connections?’