In our concluding chapter, we consolidate our shared understanding of the ‘policing brain’ and begin to form an action plan – taking a realistic, honest approach to what this means in operational terms on the ground, for individuals and organisations. Our exploration ends with a question put to you, the reader.

What we know about the ‘policing brain’

What we know is that the concept of the policing brain has earned its place on the front line and supports very much needed resilience out there in the everyday reality of life on the job. Contemporary policing now has a chance to catch up with the latest neuroscience that helps explain why working in policing looks and feels the way it does.

Key learning points include the following:

• • Science shows that training the brain can improve key areas of function to support policing, such as increasing connectivity between and redirecting energy towards specific regions, as well as breaking unhelpful or unproductive habits of thought.

• • Areas of the brain that can become compromised (by unprocessed trauma exposure, habits of thought or under-use/ neglect) can be effectively reactivated with simple, short techniques which can cultivate lasting resilience when applied regularly.

• • Our perceptions of our policing role and identity, how we relate to others and where we see ourselves in the broader context of our lives and the world around us can all come down to practising what we choose to pay attention to (how we steer our thinking).

• • Figure 5.1 summarises components of the policing brain that can be exploited (in a good way!) to develop resilient traits. These include: developing our decision-making skills and smartening up our compassion management, expanding and enriching a rational, common language about the uncomfortable truths on the job, reconnecting with our senses and communicating better with our bodies to manage stress and refine our intuition about other people, priming our brain for task-specific focus, resourcing ourselves more consciously with what we have in place to do the job, and professionalising our mastery over threat perception and our expertise in processing the experiences which make us who we are.