august 2015

 

POST ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF NEW ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Assistant Executive Director
Executive Office

POST is pleased to welcome Assistant Executive Director Dave Cornejo.  Dave joined POST on August 3, 2015, as the new Assistant Executive Director of the Administrative Division.  In his new capacity, Dave will oversee the Administrative Services Bureau and the Computer Services Bureau.

Dave brings to POST over 20 years of executive and managerial experience in financial, information technology, and administrative programs.  As the past Chief Financial Officer for the California Department of Public Health and Fiscal Division Chief for the California Public Employees Retirement System, he has extensive experience overseeing and managing large statewide programs.  In addition, Dave worked with state law enforcement and emergency response programs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Cal-Fire, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Prior to becoming a state manager, Dave was a college professor at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento and taught both Computer Information Science and Business Administration courses.  He has been appointed to, and served on, various state and local government boards and commissions, primarily focused on education, accounting, and city planning.

Questions about the appointment of Assistant Executive Director Dave Cornejo may be directed to POST Executive Director Robert A. Stresak, Executive Office, at (916) 227-2803.

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS PANEL EVALUATES POST COLOR VISION SCREENING TEST

In June 2015, POST issued vision screening guidelines in the POST Medical Screening Manual (pdf).  The guidelines once again stress the importance of color vision for performing peace officer essential functions, yet acknowledge that mild degrees of color vision deficiency (CVD) is not generally a legitimate basis for medical disqualification.  Concurrently, work proceeds on the creation of a POST test that assesses a peace officer candidate’s ability to identify and name surface colors.  The test, designed by Dr. Robert Goldberg, Director of Occupation Health for Los Angeles County, would be used as a referral test for those candidates whose clinical test scores indicate the usefulness of additional testing.

In July 2015, POST conducted a meeting to validate the color naming test.  Meeting participants included 12 experienced peace officers across the Los Angeles area.  Subject Matter Experts rated the relevance and importance of the color naming task presented in each of the test’s photographs; in particular, the consequence of mistaking the color as any one of the other color alternatives.  Results are currently being analyzed to confirm the usefulness of each photograph and the scoring criteria for the test as a whole.  Updates will be provided in future progress reports.

Questions about the Color Vision Screening Test may be directed to Bureau Chief Kate Singer, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4832.

POST PROVIDES LAW ENFORCEMENT DRIVING SIMULATOR UPDATE TRAINING

POST Training Program Services Bureau provided updated Law Enforcement Driving Simulator (LEDS) instructor training to instructors from San Diego Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Escondido Police Department, and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.  Training sessions are scheduled throughout California until December 2015.  This update training will allow agency instructors to provide perishable skills training statewide in compliance with POST requirements.

Questions about the LEDS update training may be directed to Special Consultant Tamara Baarts, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 215-1595.

POST STAFF ATTENDS INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON RETURNING FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS
 
In July 2015, POST staff were invited to participate in a three-day workshop on returning foreign terrorist fighter reintegration training.  Attendees included representatives from federal, state, and local law enforcement, the Central California Intelligence Center, Belgium, and Nigeria.  Additionally, officials from the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the U.S. Department of State, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia joined via teleconferencing.  The workshop was facilitated by Major General Doug Stone (Ret.) under the auspices of the United Nations.

The workshop, located in Sacramento, included a session with CAL-OES Director Mark Ghilarducci on emergency preparedness and a tour of the state operation center.  Dialogue focused on developing best practices on the potential challenges with foreign terrorist fighters who are returning to their country.  Topics included rehabilitation efforts, asymmetric warfare, de-radicalization, violent extremism, and training implications for law enforcement and the wider communities in over 26 countries, including the United States.

General Stone has been serving as a subject matter expert with POST in this area and is a recent graduate of the Sierra College Module III and San Joaquin Delta College Module II Peace Officer training programs.  General Stone asked POST staff to give a brief presentation on how California POST develops curricula.
 
Questions about the workshop can be directed to Senior Consultant Greg Kyritsis, Management Counseling, Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-3898; or Senior Consultant Dan Toomey, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4828.

COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS INTERVIEWS

During this reporting period, Training Program Services Bureau (TPS) personnel participated in the Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) Interviews conducted by cognitive psychologist Gary Klein.  Dr. Klein and his research team are attempting to crack a mystery that has perplexed psychologists for decades:  How do law enforcement officers, who work in ambiguously complex and unpredictable situations, make life-and-death decisions?  And, how do they do it so well?  According to decision-making models, officers who are confronted with extraordinary chaotic events should fail more often than they succeed.  According to Dr. Klein, there is too much uncertainty and too little time for officers to make the frequency of good choices.  Nevertheless, time and time again, officers continue to make extraordinarily good decisions under conditions of extreme complexity.  Dr. Klein wants to know why.  The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has partnered with Dr. Klein to explore the question.

In the coming months, Dr. Klein’s research team will continue a series of interviews with law enforcement personnel who have been involved in life and death tactical situations.  Dr. Klein’s objective is to identify the critical thinking characteristics that law enforcement personnel access during life and death tactical events.  Dr. Klein hypothesizes that by analyzing and mapping the critical decision making schemas of officers, he can design strategies that enable law enforcement personnel to manage the evolutionary potential of real time, chaotic events.

Questions about this report may be directed to Senior Consultant Charles Evans, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 215-4432; or Senior Consultant Eddie Freyer, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 709-5230.

POST CONDUCTS SECOND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENING WORKSHOP

POST conducted the second Psychological Screening Workshop in July 2015 at the Embassy Suites Anaheim-Orange.  Over 40 screening psychologists attended the three-day, fee-based workshop, which provided 22 hours of continuing education.  The highly-interactive workshop sessions included training on POST regulations and guidelines, best practices in the implementation and interpretation of information from written assessments, personal history information, interviews, data integration, and reporting practices.

Related efforts have included the publication of the POST Peace Officer Psychological Screening Manual and the identification of 170 psychologists statewide who conduct pre-employment evaluations.  Future efforts will focus on educating law enforcement employers' role in ensuring that their peace officer psychological evaluations are valid, efficient, and effective.

Employers are reminded that per Regulation 1955(b) all peace officer screening psychologists must be listed on the POST Psychological Evaluators webpage and must be in compliance with the continuing professional education requirement.

Questions about the Psychological Screening Workshop may be directed to Bureau Chief Kate Singer, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4832; or to Personnel Selection Consultant Melani Singley, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4258.

SAFE DRIVING CAMPAIGN MOTORS WORKSHOP

A dedicated committee of 17 law enforcement motorcycle trainers from across California attended the SAFE Driving Campaign MOTORs Workshop during August.  Training Program Services Bureau hosted a three day workshop at the new POST facilities on Stillwater Road in West Sacramento, taking advantage of the on-site training rooms and equipment.

The workshop provided the MOTORs Committee with the opportunity to continue working on the statewide Safety Guidelines for Law Enforcement Motor Units, visit the Snell Foundation (a non-profit laboratory that tests the safety of helmets), and to hear about the work on motorcycle safety guidelines currently being completed with the World Wide Motorcycle Officers’ Association.

The Committee made major progress on their general guidelines and left with assignments to be completed by January.  The MOTORs Committee requested a review panel made up of chiefs, sheriffs, and risk managers to critique their guidelines and offer guidance as they move through the development process.  Review panel members will receive invitations to attend a meeting with the Committee in December.

Since the workshop, the MOTORs Committee has continued the work through ongoing conversation posts on the electronic MOTORs Forum.  Elayne Anderson (Computer Services Bureau web designer) and David Cheng (Training Program Services Bureau) made this activity possible by offering both a webinar prior to the workshop and a follow up problem-solving presentation during the workshop, highlighting the features and navigation of the discussion and file sharing boards of the MOTORs Forum.

Questions about the SAFE Driving Campaign MOTORS Workshop may be directed to Senior Consultant Janna Munk, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-0473.

POST RESEARCH SPECIALIST, DR. SHELLEY SPILBERG, RECEIVES RECOGNITION

The American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division of Psychologists in Public Service has selected POST Research Specialist, Dr. Shelley Spilberg, for the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Police and Public Safety Psychology.  The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of police and public safety psychology.  It is given for the development of policies, procedures, and other work that move the entire field forward.

Dr. Spilberg was recognized for her years of dedication, diligence, and outcomes in what has been a remarkable career committed to the fields of psychology and public safety; her outstanding contributions to the development of a comprehensive science-based system for assessing and selecting peace officers in the State of California which has had implications for the screening of law enforcement personnel across the nation; and her recent work on the Peace Officer Psychological Screening Manual (PSM).  The selection committee felt the PSM was Dr. Spilberg’s “crowning accomplishment” and that it further enhances the competence of police psychologists and the selection standards in law enforcement.

The award was presented during the APA’s Police and Public Safety Section Conference during August in Toronto, Ontario.  Accepting for Dr. Spilberg was her co-author on the PSM, Dr. David Corey.  Dr. Spilberg will be retiring from State service on September 30, 2015.

Questions about Research Specialist, Dr. Shelley Spilberg’s, recognition may be directed to Bureau Chief Kate Singer, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4832.

NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THE MENTALLY ILL, CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE

POST Training Program Services (TPS) Bureau personnel attended a two-day National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Conference to continue cultivating partners and learn about the latest developments in mental health training for law enforcement.

The TPS representative took part in workshops that included presentations by the Honorable Lawrence Brown, a local Sacramento mental health superior court judge; Major Sam Cochrane from the Memphis CIT Center; Lieutenant Daniel Lamm, California Highway Patrol; and Mark Gale, the Criminal Justice Chair of the NAMI Los Angeles Council.  TPS continues to field inquiries into mental health training from the recently-launched webpages, offers assistance to developers of mental health training, and has been invited to visit the Los Angeles Police Department to learn about services offered in the Los Angeles area and the newly-developed Mental Health Bureau by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.

Questions about the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill Conference may be directed to Senior Consultant Janna Munk, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-0473.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SAFE COMMUNITIES INSTITUTE

In August 2015, Training Program Services Bureau was invited to attend the launch of the University of Southern California (USC), Safe Communities Institute (SCI).  This program was formerly known as the Delinquency Control Institute (DCI).  The Safe Communities Institute engages research, interdisciplinary education, and collaboration, to advance sustainable "whole-of-community" public safety strategies, policies, and programs.  The Commission on POST was invited to attend the meeting due to its legacy of leadership in addressing the pressing issues facing public safety in the 21st century.

Questions about the USC SCI meeting may be directed to Senior Consultant Charles Evans, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 215-4432.

MEET THE NEW POST EMPLOYEES

SENIOR CONSULTANT
Management Counseling, Leadership Development Bureau

POST is pleased to welcome Senior Consultant Christine Ford to the Management Counseling, Leadership Development Bureau.  Christine's assignment includes conducting management studies for law enforcement agencies and serving as the coordinator for the Evidence and Property Manual and course.

Christine Ford was in law enforcement for over 20 years, beginning with the Hayward Police Department from 1994 to 2006, and most recently with the Citrus Heights Police Department for the past nine years.  She was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2011 and worked in the patrol and investigations divisions.  She managed the Field Training Program, Reserve Officer Unit, Domestic Violence Response Team, Formal Mentoring Program, and Crisis Negotiations Team.

Christine has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership.  She attended the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston (Class 54) and the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute.  She has been a facilitator for the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute for the past four years and has enjoyed every aspect of facilitating, teaching, and mentoring others.

Questions about management studies or the Evidence and Property Manual may be directed to Senior Consultant Christine Ford, Management Counseling, Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-2510.

SENIOR CONSULTANT Jeff Nelson
Basic Training Bureau

POST is pleased to welcome Senior Consultant Jeff Nelson to the Basic Training Bureau where his primary assignments are:  Scenario Managers Workshops and Committees, oversight of Los Angeles Police Department Regular Basic Course, and Student Workbooks and e-Workbooks.

Jeff retired as a captain from the Office of the Sheriff, Contra Costa County in 2014, after 23 years of service.  Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Army, Military Police.  His assignments in the Sheriff's Office were varied, spanning virtually all divisions/bureaus - Patrol/Field Operations, Custody Services, Administration, Training, and contract city.  His final assignments included Facility and Division Command.  Among his tasks in the agency, Jeff had the opportunity to work as the Training Coordinator for in-service training.  Later, as a sergeant, he was the Basic Academy Coordinator and then the Basic Academy Director, after promoting to lieutenant.

Jeff earned a Bachelor's Degree from San Jose State University in Public Relations, with additional focus on Military Science, and was commissioned as an officer in the Army in 1990.  He went on to earn a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University in 2002, and later a Master's Degree in Homeland Security/Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense & Security in 2013.

Jeff has been an instructor in numerous areas in both basic and in-service training with the Sheriff's Office.  Additionally, he was an adjunct faculty member in Criminal Justice at Solano Community College, as well as University of Phoenix and Kaplan University.

Questions about the Managers Workshop or Student Workbooks and e-Workbooks may be directed to Senior Consultant Jeff Nelson, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-2816.

BUREAU CHIEF FRANK DECKER RECEIVES AN AWARD OF APPRECIATION PRESENTED BY THE CALIFORNIA RESERVE PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

The California Reserve Peace Officers Association (CRPOA) held its Annual Reserve Peace Officer Conference (ARPOC) in Sacramento on August 5 through 8.  The conference was well-attended and included a variety of training courses to help reserve peace officers meet the required 24 hours of CPT.

Each year during the ARPOC, the CRPOA recognizes a number of people with awards for service relating to reserve programs throughout California.  This year, they presented an Award of Appreciation to Bureau Chief Frank Decker for his work at POST to support and improve the Reserve Peace Officer Program.  His work with reserves began prior to his career with POST when he was with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

In making the presentation, the CRPOA Board of Directors commented that, “We are pleased to present an award of appreciation to an individual who has supported the reserve program for many years.”  In regards to what Frank has done for the Reserve Peace Officer Program they commented, “At POST, he has ensured that reserve coordinators have received approved training.  He is the one who has answered numerous questions from reserves about their training requirements, their status and qualifications as reserves, and practically every possible question a reserve could ask.  Bureau Chief Frank Decker is deservedly known as ‘Mr. Reserve’ throughout the State for his vast knowledge and support of reserve programs.”

It was a pleasure to be there when CRPOA acknowledged what Frank has done to continue to enhance the professionalism of California reserve peace officers as they serve their respective communities throughout California.

Questions about the presentation award for Bureau Chief Frank Decker may be directed to Senior Consultant Jeff Dunn, Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau, at (916) 227-4873.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – STATUS OF CURRENT LEGISLATION

The following are bills in Legislative Session 2015-16.  The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has analyzed each bill to determine its affect on law enforcement training.

 The POST Monthly 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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