Police hiring standards matter. But they alone cannot stop abuse
Law enforcement in the US needs high hiring standards. But it also needs reform and trust-building in communities.
During a congressional hearing earlier this week, FBI Director Kash Patel defended changes to the bureau’s hiring standards. His testimony came just two weeks after reports surfaced of loosened hiring standards at another law enforcement agency in the US: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As a result, concerns have emerged about a retreat from standards intended to protect the public by offering a baseline of conduct for law enforcement officers. The American public is right to worry. Loose hiring standards can put reckless individuals in positions of power.
But ensuring commitment to higher standards in law enforcement recruitment alone cannot solve the police violence problem in the US.
The implication of all this is that hiring standards based on psychological profiling should neither be dismissed as irrelevant nor treated as a fully reliable way to eliminate all future risk. Standards should be evaluated according to what they actually predict, what they exclude, and what risks arise when they are removed.