Roca evaluates new training aimed at ‘rewiring police’ through enhanced behavioral health knowledge

By Tommie Clark

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — Baltimore is the first major city to try what’s being touted as a “first-of-its-kind police training.”

Roca uses brain science to help high-risk young people avoid violence by teaching them emotional regulation.

Roca Maryland Executive Vice President Kurtis Palermo explained that means participants learn how to “understand the difference between their thoughts, their feelings and their behaviors, so when they’re in a situation, they’re acting intentionally, instead of putting themselves in harm’s way,”

Now, a team is deploying that same concept to “rewire” Baltimore police officers as part of training called “Rewire4” that’s offered through Roca’s impact institute.

Over the past 18 months, more than 5,000 officers have participated in the training, which includes officers from Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, as well as in other states, including the police department in Boston, Massachusetts.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said he made the training mandatory for officers.

“We have a very big problem with juveniles, and this helps our officers deal with this on a daily basis,” Worley told 11 News.

Roca announced on Thursday that its findings show many officers who participated in the training reported feeling that they had gained skills to manage stress, as well as a better understanding of empathy.

During the discussion, Worley said that since Roca has been in Baltimore, the city has seen decreases in crime and a decrease in use of force. He said that, in part, goes back to Roca’s work and training like this.

“Our department was in a really bad area about four years ago. We have completely reformed their police department. We’re under a federal consent decree, but we put in so much training, and we train our officers a lot. Our training has gotten a lot better over the last few years, and this happens to be one of the best ones that we have,” Worley told 11 News.

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