What
The following psychologists are available to discuss how psychology can improve police-community relations and help repair the community in the wake of the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.
Who
Ellen Scrivner, PhDopens in new window
Chicago
(239) 472-6262
Scrivner is an executive fellow with the Police Foundation and former deputy director of the Office of Community-Oriented Policing, or COPS, at the National Institute of Justice within the Department of Justice. The COPS Program has trained more than 500,000 police officers, community members and government leaders to form partnerships to help prevent crime and address public safety issues. Scrivner also served as deputy superintendent for administration with the Chicago Police Department, and headed a leadership program for criminal justice and public safety officials at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice from 2007 to 2009.
Lorraine W. Greene, PhDopens in new window
Nashville, Tennessee
(615) 266-4119
(615) 969-9262
Greene served as the first manager of the Nashville police department’s behavioral health services division and has first-hand experience in developing community policing. During her tenure, the department launched a program to fight racial profiling, surveying community members and holding focus groups with police, residents and researchers.
Jameca W. Falconer, PhDopens in new window
St. Louis
(314) 800-4215
Falconer is the counseling psychologist at Logan University in Chesterfield, Missouri, and can talk about community healing, having first-hand experience working with Ferguson residentsopens in new window. With clinical expertise in geriatric psychology, she is one of the leading providers of psychotherapy services to older adults in St. Louis. Much of Falconer’s community involvement has focused on increasing the awareness of mental health conditions and decreasing the stigma associated with mental health in communities of color.
Laurence Miller, PhDopens in new window
Boca Raton, Florida
(561) 392-8881
Web pageopens in new window
Miller is the police psychologist for the West Palm Beach Police Department, mental health consultant for Troop L of the Florida Highway Patrol, a forensic psychological examiner for the Palm Beach County Court, and a consulting psychologist with several regional and national law enforcement agencies. His latest books are "Practical Police Psychology: Stress Management and Crisis Intervention for Law Enforcement" (2006) and "Mental Toughness Training for Law Enforcement" (2008).
Background
Psychologists have done extensive research on how stereotypes affect our assumptions about other people, particularly how members of majority groups perceive members of minority groups. For example, they have found that unconscious bias can make some people, including police officers, more likely to “perceive” African-Americans as holding guns when they aren’t. Other research has found that police officers and others see African-American boys as young as 10 as older and less innocent than white boys the same age. Training police about the impact of these kinds of stereotypes on their actions is critical to avoiding incidents like the shooting of Michael Brown last August.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 130,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.