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Traffic Safety

Better Encounters: Police and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

eLearning Course

3 Hours

Better Encounters: Police and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Course Overview: Better Encounters: Police and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, an eLearning course, enhances the capacity of law enforcement to identify and effectively interact with community members who may have intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) during traffic stops and other exchanges in the community.

The significant and rising prevalence of I/DD in the population makes this course especially pertinent for law enforcement and other safety practitioners with a focus on traffic safety. Better Encounters presents the rationale for learning more about people with I/DD, including the growing rates of specific disabilities and the likely contexts for interactions with police during traffic-related contact. The course also provides the means of identifying behaviors that are characteristic of those with I/DD, developing strategies for having positive interactions, and improving situational awareness and decision-making. Ultimately, the greater the awareness law enforcement officers have of the conditions and people they are likely to encounter, the better equipped they are to effectively manage a wide range of situations.

Learning Objectives:

Define the relevant I/DD terms including intellectual and developmental disability, developmental disability, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and community policing
Identify relevant legal obligations including those created by the ADA
Understand the prevalence of I/DD in the population
Recognize specific rationales for training to improve interactions between police and people with I/DD including self-identified need
Discern the most likely contexts for encounters between police and people with I/DD
Distinguish behaviors that indicate possible I/DD
Identify indicators that a person with I/DD may also have a mental health condition
Recognize the function of appropriate communications in improving encounters with people who may have I/DD
Explore strategies for managing stress during encounters
Discern a decision-making framework to improve interactions with an expanding range of people

Target Audience: Law enforcement officers and other public safety practitioners with a focus on traffic stops.

Cooperative Partners: This tuition-free online training was developed by the National Center for Policing Innovation (NCPI), formerly known as Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and was supported by cooperative agreement 15-J-COPS-21-GK-021240-MUMU by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Learning Hours: 3 hours including the pre-test and post-test.

Is this POST approved in my state?

Crisis Response

The Call: Serving Those with Behavioral and Cognitive Disabilities

eLearning Course

1 Hour

The Call: Serving Those with Behavioral and Cognitive Disabilities

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Course Overview: The Call: Serving Those with Behavioral and Cognitive Disabilities, an eLearning course designed as a video-based simulation, provides learners with an opportunity to assume the roles of three different law enforcement officers in an interactive movie, make decisions for these officers, and experience the consequences of their choices. The course trains officers on best practices for the recognition and response to incidents involving civilians with mental illness. Topics include properly assessing the situation, effective communication techniques, active listening, de-escalation, and crisis intervention.

This course continues the advancement of community policing by further enhancing mental illness training for law enforcement professionals through eLearning. The choose-your-own-journey approach of this course allows learners to assume the role of playable characters in an interactive simulation. Playing as three different officers in three different scenarios, learners experience in real time the feeling of responding to calls involving individuals with cognitive or behavioral conditions that may cause impairment. Each module (Introduction, Knowing the Signs, and Crisis Intervention) challenges learners to make quick decisions in response to the situations unfolding in front of them. Learners then experience the consequences of their choices. This course provides all law enforcement professionals, from new officers to seasoned veterans, best practice recommendations from leading experts in the field of mental health awareness and response.

Learning Objectives:

Explain considerations that officers make when responding to individuals with mental health or cognitive and emotional impairments
Identify on-scene responses when an individual in crisis does not have a support system
Identify basic principles that apply to any call, including those involving mental illness or I/DDs
Identify if mental health is a driver of a call - taking the extra moment to gain any insight into the subject's mental state could be critical
Explain how communication with a subject may be the best tactical tool to increase safety
Apply crisis intervention strategies with active listening skills

Target Audience: Law enforcement personnel.

Cooperative Partners: This tuition-free online training was developed by WILL Interactive and was originally supported by cooperative agreement 2018-CK-WXK-011 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Learning Hours: 1 hour including the pre-test and post-test.

Is this POST approved in my state?

Community Policing

Evaluation of the Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program

Resource

Evaluation of the Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program

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NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.

Resource Overview: Evaluation of the Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program, an interactive publication, provides a summary of an evaluation that was conducted on the Salt Lake City (Utah) Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) program. The report, which evaluates the three primary components of the HOST program—donations to homeless service providers, the homeless support group, and collaborative street outreach, is a valuable resource for anyone interested in homeless outreach efforts.

The Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) program was developed to bring Salt Lake City (Utah) police and community outreach workers together to identify homeless individuals and connect them to community resources. The objectives were to encourage police to make referrals to services rather than issue citations and to decrease panhandling by encouraging the public to give money to homeless service providers instead.

In 2012, the Salt Lake City Police Department received an award from the COPS Office to expand the HOST program to fund a public awareness campaign, coordinate strategic planning efforts, and train homeless individuals to assist with outreach efforts. Salt Lake City contracted with the Utah Criminal Justice Center to examine the impact of the award on the program's services and personnel. This report evaluates three primary components of the program: donations to homeless service providers, the homeless support group, and collaborative street outreach.

Target Audience: All community stakeholders interested in homeless outreach efforts

Authors: Erin B. Worwood, MCJ; Jessica Seawright, BSW; Robert P. Butters, PhD

Original Publication: October 5, 2016

Cooperative Partners: This interactive report is based on the 2016 written publication of the same name, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). This online version was developed by the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation (VCPI) and was supported by cooperative agreement 2018-CK-WXK-001 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Crisis Response

Innovations in Crisis Response: What CIT Programs Need to Know (e-Guide)

Resource

Innovations in Crisis Response: What CIT Programs Need to Know (e-Guide)

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Course Overview: Innovations in Crisis Response: What CIT Programs Need to Know, an e-Guide, features the latest practices in crisis response and provides case study examples of communities leading the way.

Recently, innovations in crisis response have made it possible for local communities to increase their capacity for responses that do not place responsibility solely on law enforcement. The e-Guide highlights trends in crisis response including 988 – the national crisis line number, law-enforcement and mental health co-response teams, growth of non-law enforcement community responders, and mobile crisis teams for children and youth. Each innovation is illustrated by an in-depth case study of a community or state program which includes audio interviews, commentary by experts in the field, lessons learned, links to outside resources and organizations, and a checklist of next steps for local CIT leaders interested in bringing these innovations to their communities.

Target Audience: Law enforcement agencies and practitioners, as well as mental health agencies and practitioners, telecommunicators, crisis line staff, mental health advocates and other community organizations.

Cooperative Partners: This tuition-free online resource was developed by the National Center for Policing Innovation (NCPI) and was originally supported by cooperative agreement 15JCOPS-21-GK-02306-SPPS by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Professional Skills and Competencies

Overcoming Language Barriers in Policing and Building an Effective Language Access Program

Resource

Overcoming Language Barriers in Policing and Building an Effective Language Access Program

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NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recognizes the need for additional resources to help law enforcement overcome language barriers and communicate accurately and effectively with people who have a limited ability to speak, write, or understand the English language.

Language barriers can impact officer safety, public safety, and the integrity of an investigation and prosecution. The DOJ’s Law Enforcement Language Access Initiative (LELAI) has developed resources and tools that can assist local and state law enforcement agencies in their efforts to provide meaningful language access to individuals with limited English proficiency within their jurisdiction. An initiative led by the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the resources below review the legal obligation to provide language assistance services and offer promising practices for overcoming language barriers.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is making its resources as well as LELAI's available below. Specifically, the language access resources include the following:

Roadblocks to Communication Recorded Virtual Training Event which discusses the legal obligation to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency, identifies and troubleshoots common translation and interpretation issues, and describes the appropriate use of tools and resources such as bilingual officers and machine translation.

LEP.gov Web Resources for Law Enforcement Officers provides sample language access plans, policies, and forms; examples of language access settlement agreements; and other resources to help law enforcement draft, revise, or adopt language access policies, plans, and procedures.

LEP Resource Guide for Law Enforcement that includes guidance on strategies for law enforcement agencies to ensure language access, resources for obtaining language services, and possible funding sources for law enforcement agencies.

FBI Advice of Rights Forms Translated in 40+ Languages, often referred to as the Miranda warning, this document is used by law enforcement to apprise subjects of their constitutional rights in various types of law enforcement interactions, including arrests and custodial interrogations. The form has been translated by FBI linguists into over 40 languages.

To learn more about the language access initiative, visit the Strengthening the Federal Government's Commitment to Language Access memo from the Office of The Attorney General and https://www.lep.gov/.

Tribal Policing

Public Law 280 Training Program for Enhanced Collaborative Law Enforcement

Resource

Public Law 280 Training Program for Enhanced Collaborative Law Enforcement

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NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.

Resource Overview: Public Law 280 Training Program for Enhanced Collaborative Law Enforcement, a module-based curriculum, provides participants with background information and tangible strategies necessary for effectively policing PL280 reservations. The nuances of PL280 can have varying applications in different states, resulting in confusion regarding jurisdiction in Indian Country. Through cooperation and collaborative resource sharing, tribal and non-tribal law enforcement can work within PL280 to benefit their jurisdictions.

The introductory module explores the history of PL280 while identifying when tribal, state, and federal governments have jurisdiction. Learners then examine the practical applications of PL280 in their state and recognize benefits and challenges to community policing and how to implement key community policing strategies to enhance responsiveness to the most challenging and frequently occurring crimes in PL280 jurisdictions. The curriculum demonstrates how to establish a task force, garner support for task force development, gather resources, and adapt the task force to overcome environmental and political barriers. Insight into the historical background of tribal governments leads to understanding how sovereignty can be used to foster effective law enforcement by building capacity through regulation and tribal law.

Target Audience: Law enforcement and tribal and non-tribal state/government leadership.

Additional Resources

Public Law 280 Homepage
Strategic Applications International Homepage
Cross-Deputization in Indian Country (pdf)
Promising Practices in Tribal Community Policing (pdf)
Public Safety Partnerships in Indian Country (pdf)
Successful Tribal Community Policing Initiatives: A Resource for Communities Developing Public Safety Programs and Strategies (pdf)
Department of Justice - American Indians and Crime (pdf)
Department of Justice - Public Law 280 FAQ
Department of Justice - Policing on American Indian Reservations (pdf)
National Institute of Justice - Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men (pdf)
What is Public Law 280? Learning Graphic (pdf)
Tribal Community Policing Learning Graphic (pdf)
Taskforce Development Learning Graphic (pdf)
Sovereignty Learning Graphic (pdf)

Community Policing

Salt Lake City Police Department, Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview

Resource

Salt Lake City Police Department, Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview

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NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.

Resource Overview: Salt Lake City Police Department, Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview, an interactive publication, provides a summary of the three primary components of the HOST program--donations to homeless service providers, the homeless support group, and collaborative street outreach. Designed with the purpose of sharing program information and materials to help create a better model to end homelessness across the nation, this publication serves as a valuable resource for anyone interested in homeless outreach efforts.

The Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) program was originally developed to bring Salt Lake City (Utah) police officers and community outreach workers together to identify homeless individuals who panhandle or engage in other types of public nuisance activities in the city and connect them to community resources. The main objectives were to encourage police to make referrals to services rather than issue citations and to decrease the prevalence of panhandling by encouraging the public to give money to service providers rather than directly to panhandlers.

In 2012, the Salt Lake City Police Department expanded the program to include a public awareness campaign, coordinate strategic planning efforts, and recruit and train formerly homeless individuals as volunteers to assist with outreach efforts.

Target Audience: The intended audience for this interactive publication is anyone interested in homeless outreach efforts

Original Publication: October 5, 2016

Cooperative Partners: This interactive report is based on the 2016 written publication of the same name, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). This online version was developed by the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation (VCPI) and was supported by cooperative agreement number 2018-CK-WXK-001 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

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