From Freud to anti-extradition, see why the police are prone to abuse of power｜The psychology of police brutality

Hello everyone, my name is Marley. This is a small channel dedicated to improving your thinking ability and tearing fifty cents. In each issue, we will combine a political and economic case to help you analyze the reasons behind it and different thinking dimensions.

A Minneapolis jury on April 20 ruled against the murder of Floyd, an African-American man, and convicted white policeman Chauvin of three counts of murder, namely second- and third-degree murder and second-degree murder. Manslaughter is convicted. That means Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison. US President Biden also congratulated Floyd's family. This is also considered to be the most politically correct collective victory for national public opinion in the United States since the outbreak of the epidemic.

Also a few days ago, I listened to an oral narration by witnesses of an online NGO's "anti-extradition" campaign in Hong Kong. Many of them also talked about their stories of confrontation with the police during the protest, as well as their own experiences. As a non-witness, we can only understand the development of this incident from the eyes of various media before. As for what the parties said, there may not be too many opportunities to see and hear. Here we put aside the evaluation first and look at a few sets of data.

According to the data released by the Hong Kong police in December last year, from June 9, 2019 to November 30, 2020, a total of 10,171 people were arrested and 2,389 people were prosecuted during the anti-amendment demonstrations. Among them, 826 people have completed the judicial process, and 679 people (82%) have to bear legal consequences. But there does not appear to be any verifiable data on police officers arrested for law enforcement issues in this incident.

According to Chapter 15 of the Thematic Review Report issued by the Hong Kong IPCC in May 2020, as many as 72.6% of Hong Kong residents were dissatisfied with the overall performance of the police in handling the demonstrations, while 69.5% believed that the police used excessive force. 13.2% and 12.6% of the public were dissatisfied with the police force's abuse of power respectively.

In the survey of police officers in the report, the results show that only 55% of police officers agree that "regardless of the behavior of the other party, everyone should be treated with the same level of respect", 43% of police officers said they are often angry, 28% Often feel tense or tense.

From the above data, we can roughly understand the current attitude of the Hong Kong people towards the police, as well as the hostility of a considerable number of police officers to the demonstrators. It is undeniable that, as a highly legalized society with the fifth police-to-people ratio in the world, the image of the Hong Kong police has gradually decreased from "the most sophisticated force in Asia" to "black police" in the eyes of ordinary people.

We may wish to review the democratization process of the East Asian continent in recent decades, from the Gwangju incident in 1980, to the June 4th in 1989, to the Sunflower Movement in 2014, the Umbrella Movement, the anti-extradition in 2019, and the military coup in Myanmar in 2021. , this scene of conflict and tragedy is constantly being staged. Regardless of the outcome, one thing in common is that the police or military police representing the state apparatus have played a disgraceful role of power and oppression, rather than standing on the side of the people. In the Chinese understanding, the police subdued the mob, and their duty was to maintain social stability and order. Even if the police used excessive force, the mob did not know what to do. Moreover, the state also stipulates that they cannot insult and slander their image, that is, if you say that the police are not good, you will become a mob and will be punished by the law. Therefore, in the minds of the Chinese people and the values they promote, there is no doubt that the police and soldiers are positive images of violence and safety.

But is this really the case? Li Meijin, the first person in criminal psychology in China, a professor of criminal psychology at China Public Security University, pointed out that the psychological problems and occupational background of police are the root causes of police violence. A similar point of view is also held internationally by experts on police issues, summarizing:

First of all, due to the inconsistent thresholds of the police industry in various countries, the personality characteristics of practitioners will also be reflected in law enforcement. If they encounter people who are overly sensitive, short-tempered, weak in self-control, and possessive, they are naturally prone to violence. James F. Albrecht, a professor of American criminology for more than 22 years, pointed out in his book "Police Brutality, Misconduct and Corruption" that he believes that violent police officers may be born with a certain biological Defects allow them to physically punish others without guilt, and they may also grow up exposed to violence or physical abuse and "learn" that physical violence is acceptable. Once a person with violent tendencies becomes a police officer, this "potential" may be unleashed, posing a major threat to the personal safety of citizens. For example, urban management and grass-roots police in China often have a very bad attitude after persuading the law to be invalid, which can easily lead to conflicts between the police and the people.

Second, apart from the original character traits, the police are also prone to occupational mental illness, that is, the nature of their work determines that the stimulation they receive is very extensive. They have not only the stimuli that ordinary people in society often encounter, such as problems of marriage, family, economy, and workplace conflicts, but also the social stimuli brought by the profession itself, such as life and death, injuries and sacrifices of comrades-in-arms, and a lot of exposure to the dark side of society , and even bribes, inducements and threats of offenders, etc. These stimuli can easily lead to psychological stress and mental illness in police officers. Some mental illnesses can cause them to have violent behaviors against themselves, such as suicide, while many others can lead to extreme reactions or aggressive behaviors. For example, it is clear that someone is suspected of a crime, but no evidence is obtained, and the accumulated emotions are often vented on a similar suspect. Or because of the irregularity of personal life and work, family conflicts and conflicts are caused, and the resulting bad emotions will also migrate to anyone who stimulates him. In psychology, this is known as the Frustration–Aggression Hypothesis, which states that people will attack innocent people if they are frustrated. If in a protest scene, the police take their frustration and pressure on the protesters, attacking is the best way to vent.

Third, the particularity of professional habits, the police is a role endowed with special powers by society. After entering a certain occupation (that is, a social role), people will go through a process: learn to master the behavior required by this role, and act according to it; think according to the requirements of the role, and gradually align the self with the occupational role. The specific behaviors and thinking habits of certain characters are often formed unconsciously. In addition, when people initially use a certain behavior to solve problems effectively, they will be more inclined to this behavior, and gradually form a "dynamic stereotype of behavior" through repeated implementation. At this time, this behavior will also become a habit, an attitude tendency. Generally speaking, police violence may initially occur during crime-stopping activities or during the interrogation of disgusting, hostile and defiant offenders. Their violent behavior is given the color of justice, consistent with a certain public opinion. Albrecht (James F. Albrecht) believes that according to the "neutralization theory" of criminology, violent police officers like to justify their illegal and socially unacceptable behavior, and to "bring criminals to justice" mission Feeling as a shield, refusing to admit any personal responsibility and pain caused to the victim. Therefore, this kind of behavior is easily affirmed and retained, and gradually becomes a habit or a tendency to behave inadvertently, an attitude and habit towards others.

Fourth, the particularity of the professional background, the police is a particularly isolated profession. The peculiar dangers and tensions of occupation make them always feel that they are surrounded by a hostile force; and long hours of work and shifts deprive them of the same social way of life as normal people, so that their main social The circles are limited to their own professional circles, and there is a natural isolation from the society outside the circles. Therefore, the police who deal with all kinds of criminals every day (who often appear to be ordinary people) are often not so friendly to all ordinary people, showing distrust, suspicion, and even rudeness.

National Police Foundation, professor of criminology David J. Thomas (David J. Thomas s) also pointed out that the police industry itself is a closed subculture, with a fixed and unique view of things, and discipline expects obedience and pays attention to collective The mode of operation of thinking forces all police officers to develop cohesion through the same world view, which can be described as a very strict culture of brainwashing. It is not difficult for us to find in film and television dramas how a timid "Senior Brother Xinzha" grows into a super detective with iron blood.

In addition, the police system's culture of "police guarding each other" is also an important reason why the police force is prone to degeneration. Because police officers are afraid that exposing police brutality will affect their careers and be ostracized by their peers, and high-level officials are afraid that the exposure of police brutality will bring shame to the police force, the police force will establish a "rule of silence" and will not take the initiative to investigate or report abuse of power violence, and will not cooperate with internal or external investigations into police issues.

American psychology professor Philip George Zimbardo conducted a controversial Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971: a group of students were randomly assigned to play the roles of prisoners or prison guards, and divided into tasks. At the end of the experiment, the students who played the police would coerce and abuse the students who played the prisoners, and the experiment had to be terminated early. Thus demonstrating how vulnerable human nature is under certain conditions.

There are many reasons why the police are prone to excessive use of force, such as obedience to authority, conformity, group responsibility, etc. We will not discuss them one by one due to time constraints.

Lin Shen, a Hong Kong-based criminologist based in Europe, pointed out in his book "The State of Police" that the concept of modern police is actually much shorter than most people think, and it only emerged in France in the mid-17th century. There is a common fallacy among ordinary people that the police are established by the state to maintain social order and consolidate power. But looking through history, the relationship between the two is often intriguing. In the process of establishing borders and identities of European countries in the 19th century, the role and function of the police were similar to those of a semi-military "gendarmerie". In modern times, many countries were influenced by the French period, such as mainland France, Belgium, Austria and other countries. It still exists in the form of "gendarmerie", has the concept of consolidating national borders, and directly affects the formation of modern sovereign states such as Spain, France, and Italy.

So the relationship between the police and the state, or even the relationship between the army and the state, is it to serve the ruling class or can it be above justice and morality? Can the police not carry out the orders of their superiors? The trolley dilemma problem seems to have risen to the philosophical level.

In ordinary social security cases, the interests of the police and the people are highly aligned, coupled with the general "hatred" mentality of public opinion, so the police "use violence to control violence" or even "use black to control black" in the process of law enforcement. Extreme means are often easily ignored by the justice of the results, and even encouraged. When we return to the level of social movements, the people have become the opposite of the police. In addition to analyzing the reasons for police brutality, from the perspective of demonstrators, the above logic can still be applied in many aspects, which is why "thugs" and "black police" have their own opinions. Each word is considered to be the other party's problem. However, from the perspective of human rights and public opinion, it is natural to stand on the relatively weak side, and the side that controls the state's rights will inevitably be subject to more supervision and restrictions. If you blindly stand on the side of the law enforcement and think that the police are only fighting against the "thugs" "in accordance with the law," you will deviate from the basic principles of a rule-of-law society, and it will definitely be untenable.

Personally, I believe that the key to the problem is the way and wisdom of the authorities or the ruling class to deal with protests and demonstrations. Judging from historical experience, repression by the military and police will inevitably lead to greater social contradictions and tears, especially the people's deeper hostility to the government, the problem is not resolved, and a whole body will fall. In the long run, if the transformation is successful, then the ruling party of that year will inevitably become a stain on the back of the opposition party and the people forever, such as the Kuomintang after February 28 and the military government of South Korea. If the transformation fails, like today's China, no matter how bright and beautiful, it can only wrap itself tighter to hide the inner unease.

Finally, let’s end today’s topic with the words of a frontline police officer in Hong Kong and a set of data, “Political issues need to be resolved politically, the government is incompetent, and the top police officers keep pushing us to ‘death’, I hope they think clearly, One day, both sides will be out of control, and no one wants to kill anyone."

(In 2020/21, a total of 919 people resigned from the Hong Kong Police Force, of which 220 police officers resigned voluntarily, accounting for about 24%, which is the highest among all disciplined services. At the same time, the number of applicants for the police force has also decreased year by year. In 2019, about 17,000 people were reduced to 10,000 people. In the end, the police recruited 592 people, 15 of whom were 41 years old or above.)

Alright, that's all for today's sharing, I'm Marley, if you think this video is helpful to you, please like, share, subscribe and support, we'll see you next time, 88.