SIOP Partners With Department of Justice Office to Help Law Enforcement Agencies Increase Organizational Effectiveness

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) recently announced a new partnership with SIOP that will help law enforcement agencies increase organizational effectiveness.

The agreement was reached after a series of productive meetings between the COPS Office and SIOP’s Policing Initiative, a working group of volunteer members seeking to ensure federal policing policies and practices are rooted in evidence-based I-O psychology. At the core of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) is mutual agreement that awareness and implementation of I-O psychology findings can help law enforcement agencies cultivate safer, more effective workplaces, which can then lead to enhanced public safety and increased community engagement. 

“The COPS Office has invested many resources over the years toward the goal of developing and maintaining successful law enforcement agencies, including the critical areas of recruitment, hiring, and training, as well as promoting officer safety and wellness,” said Robert Chapman, acting director of the COPS Office. “Our partnership with SIOP is another important step in those efforts to build healthy law enforcement organizations that have the added advantage of leading to stronger relationships with the community.”

Through this partnership, the COPS Office and SIOP will work together to support organizational effectiveness in law enforcement agencies by showcasing evidence-based workforce solutions in areas such as hiring, recruitment, leadership development, training, and interventions to reduce stress and improve decision making. The partners will leverage their respective networks and communication tools to help law enforcement agencies throughout the nation directly connect with I-O experts and learn about their research findings, including solutions to enhance operations and efficiencies, which can ultimately improve public engagement.

“SIOP is proud of this important partnership with the COPS Office,” said SIOP President Mo Wang. “The Society has a core strategic goal to collaborate with communities to promote individual and organizational health and effectiveness through the translation of scientific knowledge.  We look forward to working with the COPS Office to ensure our nation’s law enforcement agencies have access to I-O psychology experts and findings to support evidence-based workforce solutions.”

The COPS Office is the federal component of DOJ responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers.

This SIOP Policing Initiative was a relaunched in June 2020 and was elevated as a key advocacy priority by SIOP leadership. The Policing Initiative working group has closely engaged with our federal relations partners at Lewis-Burke Associates LLC to advance the consideration of I-O psychology in conversations over policing practices and policies in Washington, DC. The Policing Initiative working group consists of Ann Marie Ryan, Rick Jacobs, Amy Grubb, and Sergeant Anna Tornello. The working group will look to incorporate other SIOP members based on relevant needs of federal stakeholders. SIOP members interested in learning more about the initiative, or SIOP advocacy efforts in general, can email Kristin Saboe at kristin.saboe@gmail.com.