By Dr. Rudolph B. Hall Jr., and Dr. Brian Sprowal
Policies and procedures have long served as the backbone of law enforcement, reflecting and expressing an agency’s core values, legal obligations and operational priorities.
From the first day at the academy, recruits are introduced to an array of policies meant to guide every action and decision they make. Yet, for many officers, meaningful engagement with these policies often occurs only three times throughout their careers:
- During academy instruction or onboarding
- When preparing for a promotional exam
- When facing discipline for a violation.
This limited interaction exposes a critical weakness in the traditional approach to policy management. Over time, agencies have expanded policies in response to incidents, legal requirements and evolving community expectations. In doing so, they have often created sprawling documents without ensuring that the officers responsible for applying them truly understand their content.
Policies become a catch-all repository of legal language designed to protect the agency, while their practical utility for those in the field diminishes.
The cognitive challenge of modern policing
The underlying challenge is one of human cognition. National Institutes of Health research shows that individuals can hold only a limited amount of information in working memory at any given time. Patrol officers, already inundated with sensory input and required to act decisively under pressure, face significant risk when policies are overly detailed, overlapping or ambiguous.
This problem is especially pronounced for Generation Z officers, born between 1997 and 2012, who now make up a growing portion of the workforce. With short attention spans and near-constant interaction with electronic devices, asking these officers to read and retain dense, multi-page policies is increasingly unrealistic.
The result? Officers often sign acknowledgments of understanding without truly comprehending the content, and agencies respond to policy violations with discipline rather than reflection on whether the policies themselves are accessible or practical.
Even seasoned Generation X officers, trained in a pre-digital era of concise policies and mentorship-based learning, now struggle to navigate the maze of overlapping documents driven by legal, political and administrative pressures. For them, the shift toward policy inflation has replaced intuitive, experience-based decision-making with bureaucratic collision that invites decision fatigue and increases the likelihood of procedural missteps.
Human fallibility and policy complexity
The theory of fallibility offers a vital lens here. Human error should not always be viewed as negligent but rather as an inevitable consequence of cognitive limitations interacting with complex systems.
Policies that are excessively detailed, ambiguous or poorly structured can themselves become sources of fallibility. Recognizing this, agencies must move from a punitive approach to policy violations toward one that sees human fallibility as a catalyst for systemic improvement.
Building policies officers can use
What does that look like in practice?
1. Embrace cognitive accessibility.
Policies should be designed not only for legal precision but also for ease of comprehension and application in real-world conditions. This involves auditing existing policies to identify redundancies, eliminate outdated procedures and streamline guidance — particularly in sensitive areas such as crisis response, youth diversion and the use of force. Policies should be living documents, continuously evaluated and updated in alignment with legal standards, operational best practices and community expectations.
2. Leverage technology.
Artificial intelligence-powered tools, such as conversational policy assistants, can provide officers with immediate, interactive access to policies, breaking down lengthy documents into concise, plain-language summaries. Platforms like E-Train already incorporate body-worn camera footage, decision-making scenarios and agency-specific policies into realistic training modules. When paired with automated policy update notifications, these systems keep both sworn and civilian employees informed and engaged.
3. Use decision-support tools in the field.
Condensed checklists, flowcharts and mobile-accessible quick references help officers consult guidance in real time. These tools should be reinforced through scenario-based training that emphasizes discretion, critical thinking and judgment rather than rote compliance.
4. Foster a culture of reflection and feedback.
Officers should feel empowered to report where policies are unclear or impractical, creating a feedback loop that drives continuous improvement rather than reactive discipline. Authentication processes, such as electronic acknowledgments of having read a policy, should not be treated as a mere formality but as the start of an ongoing dialogue about understanding and application.
From punishment to progress
The evolution of law enforcement policy must strike a balance between the need for legal rigor and the realities of human cognition.
By recognizing the limits of working memory, designing policies that promote accessibility, and leveraging emerging technologies, agencies can create systems that foster lawful, ethical and effective policing — while respecting the cognitive limitations of those tasked with carrying it out.
About the authors
Dr. Rudolph B. Hall Jr. is a nationally recognized law enforcement trainer and subject matter expert who advises agencies, government partners and technology companies on constitutional policing, de-escalation, risk management and data-driven strategies. He serves on the federal monitor team overseeing NYPD compliance.
He previously led the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations, overseeing all investigations involving deaths following police contact statewide. Before that, he spent 21 years with the NYPD in supervisory roles across patrol, investigations, risk management and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He helped develop the department’s body-worn camera program and created its first constitutional policing training for plainclothes officers, personally training more than 5,000 members before retiring.
Dr. Hall holds a Doctorate in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University and an MPA from John Jay College. He is Force Science certified, a former adjunct professor and a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Dr. Brian Sprowal is a seasoned law enforcement professional with decades of experience and a proven record of leadership within the Philadelphia Police Department. During his tenure, Dr. Sprowal achieved significant milestones and contributed extensively to law enforcement. He focuses on developing authentic leadership that promotes interagency collaboration and community engagement. Dr. Sprowal’s extensive experience includes serving as a lieutenant at the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, real-time crime center watch commander, administrative lieutenant, patrol lieutenant, detective sergeant and patrol officer. He has worked in various districts and divisions, including the Intelligence Bureau, Tactical Narcotics Enforcement and as a community beat officer.
In addition to his law enforcement career, Dr. Sprowal has an impressive academic background with degrees in business administration, organizational development and leadership and a Doctor of Criminal Justice. Dr. Sprowal continues to serve as the department advocate for the Police Board of Inquiry, Philadelphia Police Department, and as an adjunct professor and researcher.
