Policing’s Hero Mentality

What if policing wasn't the first response – but the final one? In The Hero Mentality, Captain Craig Solgat, a FPI Fellow, proposes a bold, future-focused vision of policing where police are deployed not by default, but with deliberate purpose. Instead of being overwhelmed by society’s unsolved problems, officers become highly trained, surgically deployed responders – arriving only when truly necessary. This isn't a retreat from public safety. It's a refinement of purpose.

By shedding paradigms like the "warrior" or "guardian" mentality, and shifting away from mission creep, the Hero Mentality reframes policing as part of a larger, interdependent ecosystem. Social workers, educators, courts, and healthcare providers are all called to step up, relieving police of roles they were never built to fill. In doing so, officers can focus on what they do best: responding with skill, integrity, and resolve when society needs them most.

One could easily imagine this aspirational paradigm to re-imagine police recruiting messages, staffing strategies, and budgetary allocations. For some, this may appear to be heresay within the framework of community policing. But that’s not at all what Solgat argues. Rather, his is a thoughtful examination about redefining the true purpose of policing in the future. Click here to read the article.