Business Post Contributor
By Nneka Okumazie
There is something about ownership with humans. The concept of owning something, being in control or having the power to do – as desired – regarding it.
Ownership is a driver of actions and decisions on major and micro scales. Ownership may be temporal, but may not affect the excesses of the possessor – in that time.
The case of police overreach in many instances can be seen in the telescope of behavioural economics.
Looking broadly at bias, rationality, loss, gain, reward, delays, heuristics, etc. and how they affect the use of power.
Normally, for consumers, their purchasing power is modelled and expressed in many forms under this subject, but it applies to the police force, in their duties with others.
How difficult would it be to prevent crime, increase safety and security without the wrong moves?
What are the adaptions of police behaviour from societal norms?
What is their confidence at the instance of doing as they choose – without ethics?
There are lots of calls for police reforms, but it will be difficult to find where or how to start without subdivision of their behaviour.
If the military is able to have precise strikes against enemies, due to intelligence, why isn’t police operating more often with a strong intelligence unit – without abuse?
Why isn’t police regulation faster – than the usual red tape?
Why can’t it be possible to open up some part of the force to public additions – in terms of social psychology?
If there’s often an imitation of behaviour within ranks, why can’t cooler heads be found and rotated within units, to avoid unnecessary aggression?
What more roles can technology play, or digital education in shaping how transparent they get?
Police issues have been a flashpoint in the last decade – in many places and would likely continue, except things get better.
What are the biases of police officers?
What does the authority of the law drive them – in control – to make?
How will it be possible to have new units, and more units, for peace, diplomacy and reconciliation, for certain low-risk encounters?
Yes, the work is tough and there’s much risk every day on the job, but safety is safety, from harm, either from criminals or non-criminals.
There are a lot of behaviourists would say in relation to police system cures, but there are also things genuine Christians would say – regarding the use of wisdom, the principal thing, to live and work.
In a life tailored to Jesus, continuously checking, with total humility, on loving God and loving one’s neighbour, there are situations to avoid, or not allow fester, if with power or around those who have it – using wisdom.
[Ecclesiastes 7:19, Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.]
