An upgrade in training for Pittsburgh police is long overdue. Too many incidents involving city officers end in overly aggressive responses or other mistreatment of civilians. Not only do the violent encounters generate headlines and lawsuits, but they also make for less-than-friendly community relations.
A year and a half into Chief Cameron McLay’s leadership of the police bureau, reform is not a dirty word. This year the chief has various plans, including reassessing field training and how recruits are trained at the academy and perhaps also using a consultant to audit the bureau’s training practices.
The fact that the Heinz Endowments has offered a $100,000 grant to support the chief’s plans is a positive development. Grant Oliphant, the nonprofit’s president, said his organization is sold on “the core notion of community policing and engaging communities differently, especially with sensitivity to racial bias.” Chief McLay shares that sensibility, having worked to build better police relations with city neighborhoods.
Through the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 80 Pittsburgh officers had training last year. Chief McLay’s goal is to reach even more members of the force in 2016. The result will be police who have a better understanding of human behavior — theirs and the public’s.
Everyone knows that being a police officer is a difficult, not to mention dangerous, job. If police are better trained in all aspects of their work — particularly in understanding the law, using weapons appropriately and knowing how their acts are perceived in the community — they can be more effective in protecting and serving the public. The Heinz Endowments’ grant toward that overall goal is a welcome contribution to a better Pittsburgh.
First Published: March 14, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
