CPRA REQUEST:  LOS ANGELES TIMES REQUESTS RELEASE OF PEACE OFFICER INFORMATION

On January 19, 2011, POST received a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request from the Los Angeles Times, requesting a list of peace officers from POST-participating law enforcement agencies, hired or terminated between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2010, and a list of active peace officers employed as of December 31, 2010.

To protect the identity of peace officers assigned to sensitive or potentially hazardous assignments, the memo offered departments the opportunity to redact the names of what the Supreme Court decision recognized as “particular officers”. POST requested the departments to transmit the requested redaction information to POST by 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, February 15, 2011.  Departments that did not respond by Friday, February 11, were contacted by POST staff on Monday, February 14, by telephone.  Approximately 300 phone calls were made.

Following three days of programming and cross checking agency responses, the requested data was provided to the LA Times on February 22, 2011, on a CD-ROM.

Questions about the CPRA request or the California Supreme Court decision may be directed to Legislative Liaison, Karen Lozito, Executive Office, at (916) 227-2085; or Assistant Executive Director, Dick Reed, Executive Office, at (916) 227-2809.

IS TODAY YOUR DAY?

Remembrances of those who lost their lives in the line of duty remind the viewer that a simple click could mean the difference between coming home from work, or not.  Conversely, interviews with officers who survived an accident examine the need for seatbelt safety versus quickly exiting vehicles to perform job tasks.  The purpose of the video is to encourage law enforcement officers to make a positive choice to protect their lives each time they enter a vehicle.

The video is used with permission from and thanks to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc.

About the POST SAFE Driving Campaign:  The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has undertaken the SAFE (Situation-Appropriate, Focused, and Educated) Driving Campaign to reduce the number of law enforcement officers killed and injured in traffic accidents.  The overall goal is to reduce fatal collisions to a rate comparable with that of the general driving public.

Questions about “Is Today Your Day?” may be directed to Bureau Chief Ed Pecinovsky, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-2820.

SHERMAN BLOCK SUPERVISORY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FACILITATOR ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP CONDUCTED

Phase I of the two-phase training program for prospective facilitators of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI) was conducted in Sacramento in February.  The training is a prerequisite for those graduates of the SBSLI program who aspire to facilitator positions within the program.  The training was attended by 18 SBSLI graduates.  Each graduate was recruited by a SBSLI facilitator.  During the phase I training, attendees were immersed in a highly cognitive and interactive environment.  Among the topics covered were Bloom’s Taxonomy, facilitation techniques, classroom management strategies, paralanguage, and coaching methods.

Phase II of the training will occur in early March and will consist of individual student and co-facilitation presentations of the SBSLI curriculum.  Each presentation will be evaluated by experienced SBSLI facilitators.  The evaluation will be based on a rubric discussed with students during the initial training session.

Questions about the SBSLI facilitator development and training, or the SBSLI program, may be directed to Senior Consultant Charles Evans, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-2824.

PELLETB RESEARCH UPDATE

In December 2010, the first phase of the longitudinal research project to update and enhance the POST Entry-Level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB) concluded.  In this first phase, POST partnered with researchers at CSU, Sacramento to review the current PELLETB, exams in other states, and literature relevant to peace officer selection.  Several comprehensive statistical analyses were performed.

Initial research indicates that the PELLETB’s ability to predict peace officer performance may be enhanced by the addition of reasoning assessments.  Based on these preliminary results, reasoning items have been developed for pilot-testing in the spring and summer of 2011.  The results of the pilot test will guide the development of new PELLETB versions in the fall of 2011. 

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

NEW SEARCH WARRANT WRITING TOOL TEMPLATES ARE NOW AVAILABLE VIA THE LEARNING PORTAL

The Search Warrant Writing Tool (SWWT), POST’s first performance support tool, now has search warrant templates for 57 counties in California.  This innovative software application, which installs directly on a computer, guides the user through the search warrant writing process and provides templates to create warrants matching the formats of each county.

Users who already have the tool installed only need to run the tool for it to automatically download and install these new templates.  Anyone looking to install the tool for the first time will find it on the Learning Portal under the title of “Search Warrant Writing Tool (SWWT).”  All templates are available to the user after downloading and installing the tool.

The tool now has search warrant templates for all but one county in California.  The San Diego county template is being developed to provide unique legal language used in that county.  Staff hopes to complete this template later in the year.

Questions about the SWWT may be directed to Senior Instructional Systems Engineer Rich Dunn, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-4262.

POST CONVENES AD HOC BASIC COURSE TEST TASK FORCE

POST has organized an ad hoc committee, the Basic Course Test Task Force, to develop testing recommendations that affect presenters of POST basic courses statewide.  The 22 members of the task force represent not only presenters of regular basic courses, but also presenters of modular and P.C. 832 courses.  At its first meeting in February, the Task Force made several initial recommendations and established short-term and long-term goals.  At its next meeting in March, the agenda will include reviewing the current test security requirements, presenter testing protocols, assessing potential testing formats such as computer-based testing, and other testing related issues.

Questions about this task force may be directed to Personnel Selection Consultant Supervisor Diane Hrepich, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4831.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - STATUS OF CURRENT LEGISLATION

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