Having California's officers in compliance with their training is important for public safety to ensure officers are competent and up-to-date with the latest training requirements. In October 2010, POST released the Compliance Dashboard and Interactive Course Catalog to allow individual officers to view and monitor their own training compliance, and to locate readily-available training courses. The Compliance Dashboard is available using a PC, an iPad, or a Smartphone through the POST Mobile Website.

The Center for Digital Government has awarded POST the Best of California Award in the category "Best In-House Developed Application." The Best of California Awards program is sponsored by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on Information Technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The Best of California Awards were established to recognize California state and local government and education organizations for contributions in information technology and solving business efficiency problems. All government and education organizations in California were invited to submit nominations.

POST is honored to receive this award. The awards presentation will be held at the annual Government Technology Conference (GTC) West in May 2011.

Questions about the "Best of California Award," the Compliance Dashboard, or the Online Course Catalog may be directed to Bureau Chief Mitch Coppin, Computer Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4850.

DETECTIVE SYMPOSIUM HELD IN UNIVERSAL CITY

The Robert Presley Institute for Criminal Investigation held its 7th Annual Detective Symposium in Universal City during April 2011. The annual event was organized by the Los Angeles Police Department with the help of dedicated volunteers. Planning for this program began a year ago and culminated in a successful program for almost 600 detectives from throughout California.

There were two plenary sessions everyday that discussed a recent case or a speaker to talk to the detectives about ways to improve job performance. The symposium featured Captain Charles Plumb, Navy Pilot and Prisoner of War, who received a standing ovation for his captivating presentation on overcoming adversity and everyday challenges. Every day also featured six breakout training sessions repeated in the morning and afternoon so detectives could attend as many sessions as possible.

The breakout session topics included Complex Case Management, Cross Border Kidnapping, Interview and Interrogation, Stress Management, Cell Phone Technology, GPS Tracking, Tower Tracking Cellular and Cellular Forensics, FBI Highway Serial Killer Initiative, Parole Leads Certification, Amber Alert Protocols, Eyewitness Errors, Crimes Against Children, DNA Submittals, Blood Splatter Analysis and Social Networking Investigations.

Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Michael Schwartz addressed the detectives and spoke about the significance of Brady Law and related policies. POST Commissioner and Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell, assisted by Senior Consultant Anne Brewer, presented “Investigative Excellence” Awards to individual detective recipients Steve Goard, Livermore Police Department, John Skaggs, Los Angeles Police Department, and Webster Wong, Los Angeles Police Department; and group recipients Valley Division Investigative Services Unit of the California Highway Patrol, Sexual Assault Section of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Steve Lo Task Force of the Sacramento Police Department.

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

TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOP PROGRAM

For nearly 40 years, the Team Building Workshop Program has provided specialized consultant services to assist the management team of a local agency with planning, problem solving, goal setting, or team building. Local agencies may apply for a POST-reimbursed Team Building Workshop beginning on May 1 each year. Applications are reviewed and approved in the order received.

Funding is available for 50 workshops per fiscal year. If an agency experiences a compelling need for a workshop due to a management crisis, the agency may request an urgency exemption.

Questions about the Team Building Workshop Program may be directed to Associate Governmental Program Analyst Kathy Hobson, Management Counseling Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3911.

CORONERS’ CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE

In April 2010, representatives from the Coroners’ Curriculum Development Committee (CCDC) met with POST staff to link the results of the recently-completed statewide Coroner Job Analysis to the curriculum of the 80-hour Coroners’ Course. During the meeting, participants identified and documented linkages between current curriculum topics and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) identified in the job analysis. This linkage provides the foundation for the identification of gaps in the curriculum and future curriculum development.

In coming months, POST will continue to work with CCDC to ensure adequate coverage of all job analysis KSAs.

Questions about the statewide Coroner Job Analysis project may be directed to Personnel Selection Consultant Elizabeth Wisnia, Standards andEvaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4830; or Personnel Selection Consultant Tammura Brown, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-2810.

Questions about the CCDC may be directed to Senior Consultant Michael Gomez, Training Delivery and Compliance Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4870.

THE 2011 POST INSTRUCTOR SYMPOSIUM

The 2011 POST Instructor Training Symposium was held in San Jose during April. The Symposium was presented by the San Diego Regional Training Center and featured the theme entitled, “Motivated to Train – Train to Motivate.”

The Instructor Symposium provides an opportunity for instructors to receive state-of-the-art instructor training and satisfy academy instructor and continuing professional training requirements. The symposium was attended by approximately 350 instructors, 100 of whom are Institute of Criminal Investigation (ICI) instructors. Since inception, there has been ample attendance at this annual event and positive feedback.

The symposium began with the first morning dedicated to ICI instructors, including a series of round robin sessions that included training in Best Practices, Embedding Video into PowerPoint and Creating Hyperlinks, and Maximizing the Effectiveness of Learning Activities. A luncheon followed the morning activities and culminated with an awards ceremony presentation for Excellence in Instruction Awards. Recipients of these awards consisted of instructors who were recognized by their presenters for their respective contribution of excellence in instruction of ICI courses. POST recognized Michele Thompson, San Diego Regional Training Center’s former Executive Director with the Robert Presley ICI 2011 Founder’s Award.

The afternoon general session commenced with the inclusion of all instructors, and continued for the remainder of the week. The symposium featured multiple workshops which included such topics as Presentation Skills, Facilitation Skills, Managing Stress for Emergency Services, Domains of Learning, Critical Thinking, Leadership and Ethics, Online Training Opportunities, Creating Videos in Law Enforcement Training, Creating Training Scenarios/Case Study Development, Creating Surveys for Law Enforcement Training, Reading Emotions in Your Students, Dealing with Difficult Participants, Emotional Intelligence, PowerPoint for Public Safety, Learning Activities for Law Enforcement, and Paralanguage: The Facilitator’s Secret Weapon.

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

REVISED PELLETB APPLICANT PREPARATION GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE

A revised version of the Applicant Preparation Guide for the POST Entry-Level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB) has recently been completed and will be available on the POST website in May. The revised guide clarifies and augments information for candidates preparing to take the PELLETB.

Questions about the revised guide may be directed to Personnel Selection Consultant Elizabeth Wisnia, Standards and Training Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4830; or Personnel Selection Consultant Tammura Brown, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-2810.

POST PARTICIPATES IN OTS LEADERSHIP AND TRAINING SEMINAR

POST staff—including Executive Director Paul Cappitelli, Bureau Chief Ed Pecinovsky, and Senior Consultant Bryon Gustafson—took part in the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) “2011 OTS Leadership and Training Seminar” during April at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The seminar offered courses targeting traffic, engineering, bicycle and pedestrian safety professionals, and was divided into 16-hour tracks focused on:

1. Driving Under the Influence (DUI)/Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST)
2. Leadership
3. Drug Impairment
4. Collision Investigation
5. Traffic Enforcement
6. Community Safety
7. Engineering
8. Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety

Participants registered for a specific track and completed all class-hour in the track to obtain an OTS Certificate of Completion. POST certifications were also offered for specific law enforcement-related courses. About 700 participants attended the seminar. As part of the “Leadership” track, POST staff delivered a 2-hour session titled “Cops and Collisions—Why We Crash and What To Do About It.” POST’s session highlighted best practices and strategies identified through the SAFE Driving Campaign. Approximately 160 law enforcement personnel attended.

Questions about the 2011 OTS Leadership and Training Seminar or the SAFE Driving Campaign may be directed to Bureau Chief Ed Pecinovsky, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-2820; or to Senior Consultant Robert "R.C." Smith, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3902.

POST STAFF PARTICIPATES IN “PERSONALITY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT” SYMPOSIUM AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

POST Consultant Shelley Weiss Spilberg, Ph.D., participated in a symposium entitled “Personality Assessment in Law Enforcement” at the 26th annual conference of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). The conference, held in Chicago, during April was attended by over 4,300 participants.

The focus of the symposium was on current findings and approaches for assessing personality as a part of the law enforcement selection process. Along with Dr. Spilberg, the symposium presenters included Ronald Page, Ph.D., Assessment Associates International; Deniz Ones, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Robert Davis, Matrix, Inc.; and Rick Jacobs, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University.

In her presentation, “Personality and Psychological Assessment of California Peace Officer Candidates,” Dr. Spilberg discussed recent and ongoing efforts at POST to create pre-employment peace officer psychological screening and personality assessment requirements and guidelines. Slides from Dr. Spilberg’s presentation can be downloaded at:

/Portals/0/post_docs/hiring/SIOP2011.pdf

Questions about the symposium may be directed to Senior Personnel Selection Consultant Shelley Spilberg, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4824.

POST TO SHARE ITS MODEL SCHOOL-BASED PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM NATIONALLY

In furtherance of Strategic Plan Objective B.8.08, Study the feasibility of a model school-based program that can be replicated statewide, POST has been developing a “career pipeline” program focusing on law enforcement partnering with schools in California to begin to “grow their own” qualified candidates. POST has identified school models, starting in elementary school and continuing through college that can be implemented throughout the state. Many of these models have application nationally. In light of the potential national application, POST has accepted an invitation from a triad of national organizations (Police Foundation; National Sheriffs’ Association; and National Partnership for Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security) to be a partner in creating a national framework for law enforcement-related careers.

To support the national endeavor, POST will do the following: 1) provide curriculum and supporting material that can be used to develop a national curriculum with lesson plans, related tests, and materials; 2) review drafts of lessons plans and related materials designed for use nationally; 3) review drafts for a national student assessment; and 4) provide the POST “Building a Career Pipeline” DVD and the accompanying POST Program Guide as resource materials. Any materials developed in the partnership for use in the national program will be provided to POST at no charge, and with copyright permission for use within the State of California.

Questions about the POST’s participation in this project, or the school-based public safety program may be directed to Senior Consultant Greg Kyritsis, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-2822.

LEARNING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES CONTINUES EXPLORATION OF PERFORMANCE SUPPORT AND TRAINING OPTIONS

POST staff visited the Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando to discuss their research in advanced technologies for training and performance support.

In an era of organizational downsizing and decreased budgets, this was an opportunity to assess how academic researchers and industry leaders are applying the latest technologies for education and training systems, job performance improvement systems, and knowledge management systems. POST is looking at how new technologies can be applied as the demand for the Learning Portal and other performance related products increases. Areas of possible research and development include natural language user interface, gaming, and immersive virtual environments.

Staff combined this research trip with a presentation of the Search Warrant Writing Tool at the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) annual conference.

Questions about the performance support research and development efforts may be directed to Supervisor Jan Myyra, Learning Technology Resources, at (916) 227-4500.

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.

Bill # and Author	Title, Summary, and Commission Position	Status of Bill
SB 428 (Strickland)	Public Safety Omnibus Bill. This bill, in part, would make non-substantive changes to Section 13540 of the Penal Code. Commission Position: Support.	Senate Public Safety Committee 5/3/11 (Hearing)
AB 308 (Ammiano)	Criminal investigations: eyewitness identification: lineups. This bill would require law enforcement officials to adopt and implement the policies and procedures regulating eyewitness lineup identifications recommended by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. This bill would also require the DOJ and POST to develop guidelines in consultation with specified entities to ensure the reliability of eyewitness identifications. Commission Position: Oppose Unless Amended.	Assembly Committees on Appropriations 4/12/11
AB 770 (Torres)	Emergency telephone systems. This bill, in part, would add one representative from the Commission on POST to the State 911 Advisory Board. The bill would also require the review and update of technical and operational standards for public agency systems to include standards for recruitment and training of public safety dispatchers. Commission Position: Neutral (recommended position).	Assembly Committee on Appropriations (Suspense File) 4/16/11

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

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