Police Use of Force: Forming a Partnership Between Professional Psychology and Law Enforcement: WS208

In the past year, North American law enforcement agencies have received considerable scrutiny because of several well-publicized incidents of excessive force, especially toward various minority groups. Presented by a psychologist who has 25 years of experience as a sworn police officer, this introductory workshop reviews the existing “force” science, explores the relationship between implicit biases and force deployment, and identifies areas in which psychological science can help law enforcement increase the safety of police officers and the citizens they serve.

Note: Videos of use-of-force encounters are presented. This may be stressful to some participants.

Webinars are converted to video on-demand programs with closed captioning after the live air date.

• Describe the force continuum and the base rate of deadly force deployments in the United States.
• Cite at least three studies that have correlated poor executive functioning with implicit bias and inappropriate force decisions.
• Cite at least three studies in force science and the impact of those studies on police officers and police academy curricula.

Mark Zelig, PhD