Patrick, very well said. I find it interesting that we shy away from admitting we all have some cognitive bias, it is part of being a human being. We are all products of our environments to a certain extent and that means lugging around a certain amount of pre-existing baggage. That being said, we should all come to grips with the fact that each of us stores a certain amount of bias. If we accept that, we can overcome it by being open to new ideas, concepts and thoughts.

In law enforcement we are just beginning to accept that change is on its way. Change in tactics, change in policies and change in how we train our next generation of professionals. As society evolves, so must law enforcement, and legislators for that matter. Law enforcement represents the guardians of society, and in a democratic society that means creating a safe environment for all law abiding folks, regardless of their backgrounds.