Police In-Service Training

Send us Fan Mail Checklists are intended to improve the efficiency of people who have to perform in a complex work environment.  Dr. Cory Haberman joins the podcast to discuss his research into the effectiveness of using checklists in policing.  He also talks about the use of virtual reality tools in policing research (including a mildly embarrassing story of learning to use VR goggles for the fir...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Gene Paoline discusses his research into police academy training in the United States.  Using Bureau of Justice Statistics data from their census of police academy’s, Gene and his colleagues identified six basic themes of academy training.   Main Topics Police academy training has not changed substantially in nearly twenty years. There is an imbalance in academy training (acad...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Renee Mitchell joins the podcast to discuss evidence-based policing, and that law enforcement agencies have an ethical obligation to institute, whenever possible, policies and programs that are sound and supported by research. Main Topics Medical research provides empirical evidence to support a doctor’s decisions; it’s not guesswork. Appling evidence-based research to policin...

Send us Fan Mail Police body-worn cameras (BWC) have been around for several years, and a large number of studies have examined their acceptance by officers and their impact on use-of-force incidents.  Recent research expands on more subtle aspects of the use of body cameras.  This week Dr. Vincent Mousseau discusses his recent research, looking at officer’s views of activating body cameras when e...

Send us Fan Mail Human trafficking is not the first thing you might think about as a policing issue, but it occurs everywhere.  In this episode Dr’s Gibbs and Strohacker from Penn State Harrisburg discuss their research that indicates training is imperative for street-level officers to recognize human trafficking.   Main Topics •While human trafficking is portrayed in a sensational manner in enter...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Robin Engel takes a deep dive into police de-escalation, an approach that includes techniques to reduce the tension that can be part of any police-citizen interaction.  The tactics are designed to minimize the use of force by resolving incidents peacefully.   Main Topics Until recently, de-escalation research was non-existent and seen as potentially threating to the officers....

Send us Fan Mail There have been many questions about police proactive behavior and its impact on crime.  In 2020 two events caused police officers to “back off” on their street activity.  Dr. Jessica Huff explains the research into de-policing and how a reduction in proactive behavior lead to an increase in some types of crime. Main Topics Police officers backed off on their proactive behavior as...

Send us Fan Mail A police officer’s body camera can record the objective reality of an event, but the officer’s recall of the event will often be inaccurate.  Dr. Louise Porter from Griffith University joins the podcast to discuss her research exploring the memory and recall of police officers who are exposed to high-stress events. Main Topics -Dr. Porter discussed the perceptual distortions as th...

Send us Fan Mail Police officers are trained to use deadly physical force as a last resort.  They are also trained to reduce their own risk of death.  Active shooter events, however, require a different behavior formula.  Officers are trained to move toward danger, and there is an expectation that they should “kill the killer” (as stated by a Florida Sheriff after the active shooting incident at t...

Send us Fan Mail Whenever a police officer fires their weapon at another person it is important to understand why.  What were the conditions that lead to the shooting?  Explaining why a single officer shoots two or three times is important but explaining why three or four officers empty their clips seems to be a completely different question.  To better understand the idea of something called “con...

Send us Fan Mail Hot spots policing has been around for more than 20 years, and there are many studies exploring its use.  Joining us to discuss the broad range of research on the topic is Brandon Turchan, a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University. Main Topics •We’ll summarize the nuts and bolts of hot spots policing. •Brandon will explain that even if a hot spot never goes away...

Send us Fan Mail Studies show that a police officer experiences as many traumatic events in 6 months as the average person does across their entire lifetime.  These stressful experiences can build up within an officer and lead to any number of personal and professional problems.  For several decades there has been some recognition by policing to the impact of stress, and this has increased their w...

Send us Fan Mail In recent years there has been a small shift in how the police should frame their goals, and how police academies should train new recruits.  The “guardian” approach to policing emphasizes community service, democracy, procedural justice, and de-escalation. Shifting from a warrior training framework to a guardian framework may be a false dichotomy choice.  Both frameworks are like...

Send us Fan Mail Technological advancements have always found their way into policing, and Artificial Intelligence is no exception.   Dr. Ian Adams joins the podcast today to discuss some of the seminal research exploring AI in policing.  Ian is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina.  Ian is also a 2023 National Institute o...

Send us Fan Mail Police agencies are experiencing an increased loss in staffing and complex issues when trying to fill those positions.   This week Dr. Joe Schafer from Arizona State University's School of Criminology & Criminal Justice joins the podcast to explore the issue of hiring and retention.  Joe goes beyond the obvious factors, such as better pay, to discuss subtle elements of hi...

Send us Fan Mail Procedural Justice is more than a simple buzzword.  It is related to police legitimacy, de-escalation, hot spots policing, and organizational justice. This week we talk with Dr. Justin Nix, a Distinguished Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he teaches classes on policing and coordinates the Master of Art...

Send us Fan Mail At its most fundamental level, policing is a public service.  And there is a trend in policing to recognize that duty.  This episode will explore how some police agencies have begun to work with service providers to help people into drug treatment.  Professor Sean Varano, from Roger Williams University, discusses some of the complexities of this goal.  Dr. Varano is an active coll...

Send us Fan Mail "Policing Humor" can be interpreted in two ways.  First, the cops are cracking down on jokes or anyone trying to be a "funny guy."  Second, and correctly, the notion that policing expose officers to a lot of funny situations.  But there is utility in humor, and we'll examine this in the podcast.  Further, attempts to take away the ability for officers to c...

Send us Fan Mail Why am I spending time on a podcast for the police? I want to get officers and command staff information that can help them in their jobs.  This first episode explains the goals of this podcast, and since I'm discussing the origins of this idea, I decided to start with a conversation about police firearms.  We think the police have been carrying sidearms forever, but that&apo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we speak with Steven Bishopp, a Major in the Dallas Police Department.  Steve has been with the DPD for over 30 years.  Currently, he leads the R&D division, which handles police crime numbers from the reports officers do in the field.  He also leads the department's UCR/NIBRS team, which validates offense and arrest data under NIBRS rules and submits mont...

Send us Fan Mail A short trailer describing the podcast. Don't forget to like, FOLLOW, and share.  Sharing this podcast or an episode is one of the best complements I can receive, which will help grow the show. And don't forget to provide a review.  Giving five stars is never a bad idea. Feel free to email me your comments using the "send us a text" option (above), or at the fo...