Course Details
| Course Title | SPCP 2020 - Session 2 - Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity in Assessment |
| Date |
11/5/2020
|
| Provider | Society for Police and Criminal Psychology |
| Phone | |
| Email | |
| Website |
https://www.policepsychology.org/SPCP-Online-2020
|
| Location | Virtual Conference |
| Credit Hours | 1 |
| Instructor(s) | Brian W. Dreschler; Steven W. Billings; John W. Jones; Ali Shalfrooshan; Shaun Wehle; Scott Stubenrauch; Casey O. Stewart |
| Method of Instruction | Workshop/Seminar |
| Approving Agency | APA |
| Course Syllabus |
|
Course Description
This three part session includes: Part 1: Ensuring Non-violence and Diversity Tolerance Among Protective Services Officers: Construct and Criterion-Related Validation Support; Part 2: Applying a ‘Valuing Diversity’ Competency Model and Assessment in Policing; Part 3: Reengineering the Conventional
Screening Model and Designing Technologies for Selecting More Culturally Competent
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Course Objectives
Part 1:
Police and security officers play crucial roles in protecting people, property, systems, and information. Given this, employers must ensure applicants they hire are competent and emotionally resilient to handle critical job duties. The nature of the job makes it essential that background checks and assessments include measures of an individual’s protective services mindset. In addition to being security-oriented, protective service excellence also requires officers to be courteous and tolerant. As recent events have highlighted, there are opportunities for improvement regarding the selection and training of officers. This presentation describes the development and validation of two measures designed for use in the selection and training of protective services officers. The measures are designed to assess attitudes and behaviors related to getting along with others, working well with people from other ethnic and social backgrounds, respecting differences among people of all cultures, and not using violence, threats, or excessive force on the job. A study was conducted via a large protective services sample that confirmed the validity of these key nonviolence and diversity measures.
Part 2:
Difference is all around us. Public safety professionals excel when they are able to effectively work with people who have different beliefs, opinions, attitudes and orientations. Their ability to effectively work and engage with diverse populations is a critical job requirement and particularly relevant to police departments throughout the world today. As part of a strategy to effectively serve diverse populations, departments and agencies are working towards building workforces that value diversity. PSI’s Valuing Diversity assessment is a tool that can help identify candidates who demonstrate this competency and associated behaviors, as well as develop existing officers in this competency.
Part 3:
A research and practice psychologist working within the police and public safety field as a behavioral science expert and assessment specialist serving as consultant to hundreds of police organizations across the United States provides examples of tragic failures in American policing and illustrates scientific solutions designed to fix errors in traditional screening methods and procedures toward progress in selecting culturally competent police that can more perfectly serve and protect the diverse communities that constitute our increasingly pluralistic society in line with the principles of social justice.