Can implicit bias training help cops overcome racism?
Implicit bias can be disastrous when you're pressured into making quick decisions. (Unsplash/)Thirty police officers sat contemplating a deceptively simple question: at the scene of a car crash, why is it that the man dressed in a suit and driving a shiny BMW is usually more believable than the man wearing muddy jeans driving a pickup truck? It was late in 2018 at the New York Police Department, and under mandatory orders, they were there to learn about something lurking within everyone’s subconscious—racism.While you may not show explicit signs of racism against any particular group, or even consciously think negative things about them, you probably still carry prejudice in the form of implicit bias. Implicit biases are a symptom of grouping, which is something our brains start doing shortly after we’re born. When someone says peanut butter, jelly comes to mind. Salt and pepper. Beaches and sand. Every day, we...