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Police Reform Must Begin With The Human Being Behind the Badge
In North America, we have come to regard the police as the "keepers of the gate"—the people standing between us and the threats we fear. We ask them to protect our homes, our families, our neighbourhoods, and our communities. We expect them to prevent crime, respond when we are victimized, apprehend those who break the law, and ensure that justice follows.
We also expect something more: professionalism.
We want our police services properly equipped, well trained, fiscally responsible, and capable of meeting the demands placed upon them. We want accountability. We want transparency. And, increasingly, we want a voice in how policing is delivered in our communities.
But there is an uncomfortable truth that we must confront.
When I speak of "the public," I cannot pretend that everyone experiences policing in the same way.
For many Black, racialized, and Indigenous people, the police do not always represent safety. For some, the arrival of a police officer can produce anxiety rather than reassurance. For others, encounters with police have left lasting scars of humiliation, fear, trauma, or distrust.
For these communities, the phrase "serve and protect" can feel like an empty slogan.
I know this because I have lived on both sides of the uniform.
I am a Black man. I am also a retired Police Superintendent who spent more than three decades in law enforcement. I have experienced policing as a citizen and as a police officer. I have seen the institution from within, including its strengths, its shortcomings, its noble intentions, and its failures.
That dual perspective has convinced me of something fundamental:
Police reform cannot be achieved simply by changing policies, rewriting procedures, or purchasing new equipment. It must begin with the human being behind the badge.
When communities lose faith in the police, the consequences extend far beyond hurt feelings. People become less likely to report crimes. They become reluctant to provide information. Victims may hesitate to seek assistance. Witnesses may remain silent.
In the end, everyone becomes less safe.
So when racialized parents feel compelled to give their children "the talk"—instructions on how to behave if they encounter the police—we should recognize that as a profound failure of trust. When a child is taught to fear the very institution charged with protecting them, we cannot simply dismiss that fear as a misunderstanding.
We have a problem.
The question is: What do we do about it?
Having spent more than 31 years in policing, I believe meaningful reform must address the human side of the profession. The following recommendations are not intended to be a comprehensive blueprint. But I believe they could make a significant difference—not only for racialized communities, but for every citizen and every police officer.
1. Choose Coach Officers With the Same Care We Choose Leaders
Police recruits are sponges.
They absorb what they see, what they hear, and—perhaps most importantly—what they are taught to accept as normal.
That is why the selection of coach officers must be taken far more seriously.
Police services should identify officers who genuinely exemplify the values, ethics, judgment, and culture they want to instill in the next generation. The coach officer is not merely teaching recruits how to write reports, conduct investigations, or make arrests. They are teaching them what it means to be a police officer.
And what they model today may become the culture of tomorrow.
The position of coach officer should also be separated from the promotional process. When coaching is viewed primarily as a stepping stone to advancement, the wrong incentives can emerge. Officers may pursue the role for their own career benefit rather than because they possess the qualities required to shape the careers and character of others.
If necessary, police services should create other meaningful incentives to attract the right people to the role.
There is another critical element that must not be overlooked: diversity.
Racialized officers should be intentionally and meaningfully included in the coaching and development of new recruits. Their perspectives can help prepare young officers to navigate issues of race, bias, cultural difference, and community relations.
If we fail to involve racialized officers in shaping the next generation of policing, we are leaving an invaluable resource on the sidelines.
2. Make Accountability and the Duty of Care Non-Negotiable
Every recruit should receive rigorous, accountability-based training.
Officers must understand that wearing a badge does not diminish their responsibility to the people they encounter. It increases it.
At the heart of policing must be a clear understanding of duty of care—the responsibility to treat people with dignity, respect, and humanity while safeguarding their rights, safety, and liberty.
That responsibility must extend beyond an officer's own conduct.
If an officer witnesses another officer behaving improperly, causing unnecessary harm, or failing to perform their duties, there must be a clear and enforceable obligation to intervene.
The culture of "I was just following orders" or "That wasn't my problem" cannot survive in modern policing.
Officers at a scene must be trained to manage one another as well as the situation itself. The goal should always be to create the best possible outcome for everyone involved.
That requires more than lectures in a classroom.
Police training should include realistic, dynamic simulations that replicate the pressure and uncertainty of actual incidents. Those scenarios should include situations in which an officer's own colleague becomes aggressive, loses control, or acts outside policy and law.
Officers must learn how to intervene.
They must learn how to de-escalate.
They must learn how to create time and distance.
They must learn how to project calm in the middle of chaos.
Because when a critical incident occurs, officers often revert to their training. If we want different outcomes, we must train for them—physically, mentally, and repeatedly.
3. Teach Officers That First Contact Can Determine Everything That Follows
One of the most overlooked aspects of policing is the first interaction between an officer and a citizen.
That first contact matters.
In fact, it can determine the direction of everything that follows.
Most police encounters are not high-risk confrontations. They involve traffic violations, noise complaints, calls for service, disputes, or other relatively routine matters.
Yet an officer's opening words can immediately establish whether the interaction becomes cooperative or adversarial.
Consider the difference between an officer approaching a driver and saying:
"Do you know why I stopped you? Where are you coming from? Licence, registration, and insurance."
The officer may simply be doing their job. But the tone and sequence can immediately place the citizen in a defensive posture.
As a uniformed supervisor, I received many complaints from citizens about the way officers treated them. In numerous cases, the underlying issue was not the reason for the police interaction itself. It was civility.
People often told me that the situation might never have escalated if they had not felt disrespected at the outset.
That is an important lesson.
Professional first contact should be a fundamental component of police training. Officers should be taught that respect is not a sign of weakness, and courtesy does not undermine authority.
The ability to communicate effectively is a policing skill.
So are de-escalation, critical decision-making, and knowing when to disengage.
4. Shift the Culture From "Arrest-First" to "Problem-Solving"
Police officers are trained in the powers of arrest—and rightly so. There are situations where arrest is necessary and appropriate.
But an arrest is not always the best answer.
Early in my career as a uniformed patrol officer, a seasoned detective once approached me at the station and advised me to make more arrests.
I asked him why.
His answer was simple: It demonstrated that I was working. It gave me experience processing paperwork. And, he suggested, it could make me more competitive when promotional opportunities arose.
He wasn't necessarily giving me bad advice.
But I couldn't get past one thing.
We were dealing with people's lives.
Young and somewhat naïve, I followed that advice. My arrest numbers increased, and my supervisors noticed. I was praised for being productive.
But something didn't feel right.
I knew that some of those arrests could have been handled differently.
Some situations called for discretion.
Some called for intervention.
Some called for problem-solving.
The culture of "Let's go make some arrests" needs to give way to a culture of "Let's go solve some problems."
Those are not the same thing.
The badge number attached to an officer should not be measured only by the number of arrests associated with it. We should also ask how many conflicts were resolved without an arrest, how many situations were successfully de-escalated, and how many people were connected to services that addressed the underlying problem.
Police organizations should consider recognizing officers who demonstrate exceptional problem-solving and sound discretion—particularly when they choose an alternative to arrest when a better, lawful option is available.
The goal should not be to make fewer arrests simply for the sake of making fewer arrests.
The goal should be to make better decisions.
5. Be Willing to Police the Police
Finally, reform requires courage.
Police services must be willing to immediately acknowledge mistakes, poor performance, misconduct, and criminal behaviour within their own ranks.
Not tomorrow.
Not after public outrage.
Not after a video goes viral.
Immediately.
The public should not have to demand accountability before a police organization takes responsibility.
When an officer fails, the institution must be prepared to say so.
When a policy is flawed, it must be changed.
When training is inadequate, it must be improved.
When misconduct occurs, it must be addressed.
And when criminal behaviour is committed by an officer, the response must be as serious as it would be for anyone else.
Accountability cannot be selective.
Reform Must Be About More Than the Badge
Police reform is often framed around use-of-force policies, administrative restructuring, recruitment, technology, and operational procedures. All of these things have a place in the conversation.
But if reform ignores the human side of policing, it will remain incomplete.
The public does not experience policing as a policy manual. They experience it through individual officers.
Through the officer who approaches their car.
The officer who responds to their home.
The officer who places them in handcuffs.
The officer who decides whether to arrest them.
The officer who chooses to listen—or not listen.
The officer who intervenes—or looks away.
That is where trust is either built or destroyed.
I believe we can build a better model of policing—one that protects the public while respecting the humanity of every person encountered by police. One that recognizes that accountability and compassion are not opposing principles. One that understands that discretion is not weakness, and that professionalism is not measured by how many people we arrest but by how effectively we serve our communities.
I have spent more than three decades inside policing. I have worn the uniform. I have supervised officers. I have made difficult decisions. I have also experienced the institution as a Black man.
Those experiences have taught me that meaningful reform will not come from simply changing what police officers do.
It will come from changing how they think, how they are trained, how they are held accountable, and how they understand the profound responsibility that comes with wearing the badge.
The police are, indeed, the keepers of the gate.
But the gate must be one that every citizen believes they can safely approach.
That is the standard we should be striving for.
And until we reach it, the work of police reform is not finished.
— Keith Merith