May 2011

ICI DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INVESTIGATION COURSE UPDATE

The Robert Presley Institute for Criminal Investigation (ICI) Domestic Violence Investigation training course is being redesigned to update its curriculum and develop new learning activities. In May 2011, ICI presenters, course administrators, and instructors attended a workshop in San Diego to finalize the redesign.

During the first phase, the existing course was reviewed to identify training needs, and a plan was prepared to create contemporary content and incorporate adult learning methods. Several new ideas were generated such as the use of adjudicated cases in new scenarios that incorporated cyber stalking and the addition of an officer-involved domestic violence incident.

During the final phase, workshop participants completed new learning activities, student materials and lesson plans. This course is funded through a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant and is an ICI Foundation Specialty course. The redesigned course will be completed and implemented in Fiscal Year 2011-2012.

Questions about the redesign project may be directed to Senior Consultant Anne Brewer, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4895.

COMMAND COLLEGE ATTAINS A 25-YEAR MILESTONE

The 22 members of Command College Class 48 graduated in May, in Folsom. This represented the 25th year of Command College graduations. In recognition of this milestone, Assistant Executive Director Mike DiMiceli gave the keynote address. Assistant Executive Director DiMiceli led development and implementation of the Command College. He provided insight into the program’s historical context and its ongoing mission of preparing graduates to lead, influence, and respond to the challenges ahead.

Lieutenant Carl Nielsen of the Turlock Police Department presented a summary of his Futures Project, “Dispatching in Slippers: The Future of Public Safety Communications Centers.” Lieutenant Nielsen explored the potential for dispatchers to work from home. His project paper and other Command College papers are available online via the POST Library.

Chief Reginald Chappelle, California Highway Patrol, was the recipient of the Hank Koehn Award for “most inspirational student;” he was also the Class Speaker. Captain Erik Upson, Berkeley Police Department, received the Dorothy Harris Award for academic achievement and his futures project and article entitled “Holodecks and Active Shooters: How the Future of Violent Video Games Will Affect Law Enforcement.” Mr. John Smart, President of Acceleration Studies Foundation, was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

Applications are currently being accepted for Command College Class #52, which is scheduled to begin December 11, 2011, in Folsom. Applications are due by August 5, 2011.

Questions about the Command College registration or other matters may be directed to Senior Consultant Mike Davies, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-48922.

POST PRESENTS AT THE CALIFORNIA PEACE OFFICER ASSOCIATION’S (CPOA) ANNUAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

The CPOA Annual Leadership Summit was held in May at the Omni Hotel in San Diego. This year’s theme was “Developing Excellence in Leadership.”

POST Executive Director Paul Cappitelli, Senior Consultant Bryon Gustafson and Dr. Bryan Vila of Washington State University, Spokane, a member of the SAFE Driving Campaign Research Team, delivered a 3-hour session entitled “Fatigue, Fitness, and Fast Cars: Keys to SAFE Driving in your Agency.”

The panel described best practices and strategies identified through the on-going efforts of the POST SAFE Driving Campaign. Driving a patrol car is, statistically, the most dangerous task in law enforcement. This session discussed common causes of law enforcement traffic collisions and provided real-world interventions that can be implemented personally, on a shift, and throughout an agency. While a “primary collision factor” might be “failure to yield,” what happened in the hours, days, weeks, and years before the collision that set it up? The presenters identified personal and policy strategies that support Situation-Appropriate, Focused, and Educated (SAFE) driving to help officers get home at the end of the shift.

Questions about the SAFE Driving Campaign may be directed to Senior Consultant Robert "R.C." Smith, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3902.

DRIVING SIMULATOR SCENARIOS MODIFICATION BEGINS

The installation of the new Law Enforcement Driving Simulators (LEDS) at 21 locations throughout the state is completed. The simulators came preloaded from the manufacturer with 60 driving scenarios divided into nine different scenario series. Each series of scenarios focuses on different training topics (e.g., code 3 driving, pursuits). Although adequate, the current scenarios are updated versions of the scenarios originally designed for an older generation of simulators.

During May 2011, subject matter resources from various Regional Skills Training Centers (RSTC), met at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department EVOC Center to begin reviewing and modifying the current scenarios into more effective training tools. Over the three days,28 scenarios were updated and modified. Several were converted into new night time scenarios in order to provide more options for LEDS training. Two more workshops are planned which will result in the modification of the remaining scenarios and the creation of new scenarios to meet emerging needs for in-service officers as well as new trainees in the academy.

Questions about the simulator training may be directed to Senior Consultant Cliff Peppers, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4887.

REVISION OF MISSING PERSONS INVESTIGATIVE GUIDELINES BEGINS

Staff from the Training Program Services Bureau and Basic Training Bureau met with subject matter resources in May to review and recommend revisions to the Guidelines for Handling Missing Persons Investigations and training curriculum. Penal Code 13519.07 directs staff to modify the Missing Persons Guidelines and training curriculum with contemporary information. The group reviewed the Guidelines and focused on updating the material with recently enacted laws. The revised Guidelines will include information on the availability of statewide task forces, the SAFE Task Force Regional Teams, and other entities that can assist in the search for a missing person. Additionally, the group introduced content for a segment which will address child abductions committed by non-custodial parents. A new investigative checklist will provide investigation guidelines and resources available to peace officers in the early hours of a missing person investigation. The updated Guidelines and training curriculum will be available in January 2012.

Questions about the project may be directed to Senior Consultant Tamara Evans, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-0473.

SECOND POST BLOOD DRIVE

The second of five scheduled POST Blood Drives for 2011 was held in May. There were 17 signups and 13 pints collected. Since February 2009, POST-sponsored Blood Drives have resulted in 334 pints. POST staff, friends, and family are encouraged to join the next blood drive on Wednesday, July 20.

The 30 pints of blood collected from the November 2010 blood drive was the third special donation for Niki Jones, the goddaughter of a POST employee. Niki suffers from Sickle Cell Anemia and requires frequent blood transfusions and hospitalization. She is also hoping to find a match for a bone marrow donor.

Questions about the POST Blood Drive or joining the Bone Marrow registry may be directed to Blood Drive Coordinator Patti Kaida, Administrative Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4847.

RESULTS OF PRE-OFFER PERSONALITY TESTING - AGENCY USE SURVEY

In October 2010, POST published the Pre-Offer Personality Testing in the Selection of Entry-Level California Peace Officers: Resource Guide to provide the information necessary to weigh the costs and benefits of adding a personality test to the pre-offer phase of the hiring process. In conjunction with the Resource Guide, POST also made available the Pre-Offer Personality Test Information database, an online database of test publisher information on individual personality tests.

As a follow up, POST conducted a brief on-line survey to determine if agencies are using or are considering the use of pre-offer personality testing as part of the selection process. A total of 26 agencies responded to the survey. No agency indicated that they currently include pre-offer personality testing in their peace officer hiring process. However, 15 agencies (58%) indicated that they are considering the use of pre-offer personality testing, while six agencies (23%) reported that they are not interested.

Follow-up phone calls were made to those agencies who indicated that they were considering the use of pre-offer personality tests. During these conversations, agency representatives offered the following perceived advantages of pre-offer personality testing:

• It may identify patterns of behavior that could be missed by other candidate assessments (e.g., hiring interviews, background investigations).
• It will provide useful information meriting further investigation to background investigators, screening psychologists, and others involved in the hiring process.
• It provides an effective way to rank order candidates for later steps in the hiring process.

Respondents also expressed several concerns that serve to negatively influence the adoption of pre-offer personality testing:

• The extra costs associated with an additional step in the already resource-intensive peace officer hiring process, especially in light of shrinking agency budgets and associated peace officer layoffs.
• Concerns voiced by those in human resources regarding the legality of administering a personality test prior to a conditional offer of employment.
• Hesitancy of being one of the first (and therefore test case) agencies to implement a change in the hiring process.

It is interesting to note that only half of the respondents had viewed the POST Pre-Offer Personality Test websites listed above. Agencies are encouraged to review the POST Resource Guide, which provides a thorough discussion of the issues – both pro and con – surrounding the use of pre-offer personality testing, and the Test Information Database, which includes comparison information on a variety of viable tests.

Questions about the pre-offer personality testing may be directed to Senior Personnel Selection Consultant Shelley Spilberg, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4824; or to Selection Standards Program Analyst Melani Singley, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4258.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - STATUS OF CURRENT LEGISLATION

The following are bills in Legislative Session 2011/12 on which the Commission has taken, or will consider taking, a position.

Questions about the Legislative Updates may be directed to Legislative Liaison Karen Lozito, Executive Office, at (916) 227-2085.

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The Administrative Progress Report is a monthly status report that informs POST Commissioners and the California law enforcement community of recent progress on POST projects and instructional programs under development, and other information of importance to our mission to continually enhance the professionalism of California law enforcement.

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