NCJ Number
45409
Date Published
1976
Length
331 pages
Annotation
A SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, PROGRAM TO TRAIN POLICE OFFICERS IN CRISIS INTERVENTION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IS DESCRIBED AND EVALUATED.
Abstract
THE PROJECT TRAINED APPROXIMATELY 225 OFFICERS OF THE SYRACUSE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN GROUPS OF 15 OVER A 1-YEAR PERIOD. THE PROGRAM WAS DIVIDED INTO A 2-WEEK CLASSROOM PHASE FOLLOWED BY 6 WEEKS OF ROAD TRAINING. THE CLASSROOM WORK FOCUSED ON BEHAVIORAL SKILLS TRAINING, LECTURES ABOUT CRISIS AND THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS, AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AND USE OF THE HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE COMMUNITY. WHILE THE PROGRAM DEALT WITH A WIDE RANGE OF CRISIS SITUATIONS, THE DISSERTATION DEALS SPECIFICALLY WITH THE FAMILY DISTURBANCE CALL BECAUSE OF THE FREQUENCY AND COMPLEXITY OF THIS POLICE PROBLEM. TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM, THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF DATA WERE COLLECTED: (1) OPINION DATA, TO ASSESS THE OFFICERS' REACTION OF THE PROGRAM AFTER CLASSROOM TRAINING, AFTER ROAD TRAINING, AND 4 TO 8 MONTHS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF TRAINING; (2) OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS DATA, TO ASSESS THE OFFICER'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS OF CRISIS SITUATIONS; (3) BEHAVIORAL SKILLS DATA, TO ASSESS THE ABILITY OF THE OFFICERS TO PERFORM THE SKILLS THE PROGRAM FOCUSES ON UNDER SIMULATED AND ACTUAL CONDITIONS; (4) CITIZEN REACTION DATA, TO ASSESS THE REACTIONS OF THE RECIPIENTS OF THIS SERVICE; (5) DATA FROM THE CRISIS INTERVENTION REPORT FORM FILLED OUT BY AN OFFICER AFTER INTERVENTION IN A FAMILY DISPUTE; AND (6) STATISTICAL IMPACT DATA, TO ASSESS SHORT-TERM EFFECT OF TRAINING ON CRIME STATISTICS AND INJURIES TO POLICE OFFICERS. THE EVALUATION EXAMINED THE PROGRAM AT TWO LEVELS: THE GLOBAL LEVEL, I.E., WAS THE PROGRAM EFFECTIVE?; AND THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, I.E., FOR WHOM WAS THE PROGRAM EFFECTIVE? THE DISSERTATION CONCENTRATES ON THE SECOND PHASE OF THE EVALUATION. OFFICERS POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY PREDISPOSED TOWARD TRAINING DIFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THEIR POSTTRAINING RESPONSES TO THE PROGRAM: THOSE WHO ENTERED WITH A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE AND CHANGED THEIR OPINION GAVE CONSISTENTLY MORE FAVORABLE RESPONSES TO THE PROGRAM THAN THOSE WHO MAINTAINED A POSITIVE ATTITUDE THROUGHOUT. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THERE APPEARS TO BE A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ABILITY TO PERFORM CRISIS INTERVENTION SKILLS AND THAT OF OBSERVING AND ANALYZING THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHERS. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFFICERS' SUBJECTIVE REACTIONS AND THEIR SIMULATION AND ROAD PERFORMANCE WERE ALSO EXPLORED AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL SIMULATION AND ROAD RATINGS OF OFFICERS. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS FOR TRAINING, SELECTION, AND EVALUATION OF FUTURE PROGRAMS ARE DISCUSSED. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE PROGRAM WAS SUCCESSFUL AT THE GLOBAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVELS IN INCREASING THE KNOWLEDGE/SKILL OF THE POLICE OFFICER AND THAT THE PROGRAM MADE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CRISIS THEORY AND CRISIS INTERVENTION, THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE URBAN POLICE OFFICER, AND THE PRECURSORS OF THE PROJECT IS PROVIDED, AS WELL AS DETAILED DISCUSSIONS OF THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS DESIGN. APPENDIXES PRESENT A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE TRAINING MODEL AND A REPRESENTATIVE CLASSROOM TRAINING OUTLINE, SUPPORTING FORMS AND QUESTIONNAIRES, AND ADDITIONAL ANALYSES. TABULAR DATA ARE SUPPLIED, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.