The National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved a $400,000 grant to teach police officers New Age meditation, in a bid to cut down on instances of shootings by police.
The grant for the project says that the New Age meditation practice is designed to keep police officers from shooting any African Americans.
“Successful policing requires rapid and unbiased decision-making, well-developed emotion regulation skills, and psychological resilience,” the grant declares.
According to the researchers working on the project, meditation will actually help prevent incidents of policemen shooting unarmed (black) suspects. The purpose of the meditation will be to train police to uncover their innate and hidden racial biases.
“The excessive use of force by law enforcement officers, including unjustified shootings, frequently captures national headlines is considered by many to be one of the most serious and divisive human rights issues in the United States,” the grant argues. “Previous research suggests that law enforcement officers can be impacted by various factors when making rapid decisions while using firearms, including a lack of careful consideration of contextual factors and unconscious racial stereotypes. This is especially true when their cognitive and emotional resources are compromised due to factors such as stress.”
Researchers behind this expensive project contend that there is “clear need” for a new method of intervention to try and keep police from shooting African Americans. For them, Buddhist meditation, and Far East religion, is the only solution.
“Our objective is to examine the feasibility and impact of a mindfulness-based intervention in reducing violence and associated outcomes related to the specific stressors experienced by law enforcement officers,” the grant states. “If found to be efficacious, mindfulness-based interventions could be widely replicated and help to reduce rates of other- and self-directed violence and associated health problems among [law enforcement officers].”
“This has the potential to improve the lives of officers, their families, and the communities they serve by improving public safety through mindful policing,” the grant states.
Since beginning in 2015, the project has already received $379,000 in taxpayer dollars. However, it is to be noted that the project’s budget does not end until July next year.
Your taxpayer dollars at work!
