Call for Proposals

The Society for Police & Criminal Psychology (SPCP) invites proposals for presentations and posters at the 2026 Annual Conference, centered on the theme:

Human-Centered Justice in a High-Tech World

This year’s conference explores how psychological science can keep justice systems humane, ethical, and effective in an era of rapid technological change. We welcome contributions that examine the people behind the systems – officers, first responders, analysts, clinicians, investigators, victims, offenders, families, and communities – while engaging critically with the tools, technologies, and structures that shape their work. We encourage submissions from researchers, scholars, mental health practitioners, law enforcement professionals, legal professionals, students, and community partners that align with the following broad subthemes.

• Police Psychology. Caring for the Guardians: Wellness, Assessments, Ethics, and Community in a Connected World
• Criminal & Investigative Psychology. Decoding Crime in the Digital Age: Behavior, Threats, and Decisions

Within these themes, we invite proposals for presentations and posters on all topics. We welcome a wide range of proposals, including empirical research findings, theoretical discussions, practical applications, and case studies. The conference seeks to engage a multidisciplinary audience, including academics, practitioners, and students, and to foster collaborations across sectors.

Topics of particular interest are listed below after the submission instructions.

Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026

Format Options

Presentations: A 20-minute oral delivery of research or professional insights by professionals or academics. Professionals and academics who have completed their graduate training are eligible to submit proposals for the standard 20-minute presentation.

Experienced practicing professionals who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program may request to make a presentation; however, these presentations must pertain to their work in their professional capacity, not work done as part of their graduate studies. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis; please contact the CEU chair, JoAnne Brewster at brewstja@jmu.edu. Note that if allowed to make a presentation as a professional, the presenter may not register for the conference at the student rate.

Posters: Students (undergraduate and graduate) and professionals are welcome to submit proposals to display and discuss posters in an interactive format.

Panel Presentations: Presentations on a common theme may be organized as a panel. To submit a panel, each presentation proposal should first be submitted individually through the website, and the organizing presenter should send an email with the panel proposal to the Conference Program Chair, Dr. Marina Sorochinski, at conference@policepsychology.org and copy Dr. JoAnne Brewster at brewstja@jmu.edu. Your e-mail should: (1) provide a title for the overall panel, (2) list the titles of the individual presentations, and (3) provide a description of the panel theme. Please include a clear rationale explaining how the presentations complement one another and contribute to the panel's overall theme.

Important Notes:

You do not need to be an SPCP member to submit a proposal, but if your proposal is accepted, you will be expected to join SPCP, pay 2026 dues, and register for the conference within 30 days of acceptance of your proposal.

The SPCP conference does not accept self-promotional talks or presentations aimed at marketing products or services.

Presenters are not compensated for their participation, and each presenter must pay registration and their own travel expenses.

Students are welcome at the conference and are encouraged to participate in the poster session. Awards and honoraria will be presented for outstanding student posters.

Submission Requirements

To ensure eligibility and APA CEU compliance, submissions must include:

• Corresponding Author: Name and contact information (The first/presenting author must be the corresponding author).
• Author Details: Names, highest degrees, email addresses, and affiliations for all authors.
• Title: Exact title as it should appear in the program.
• Abstract: Up to 2000 characters for inclusion in the program.
• Learning Objectives: Three objectives for each presentation or poster.
• Primary Author CV: Upload the CV of the primary author (co-author CVs are optional).
• References: Three references supporting the submission
• Conflict of Interest: Briefly disclose any potential conflicts as per APA CEU requirements, or state that no conflicts exist.

Notification

The primary (corresponding) author will be notified of the proposal status a few weeks after the submission deadline.

For proposal submission questions please contact Conference Program Chair Dr. Marina Sorochinski at conference@policepsychology.org and copy Dr. JoAnne Brewster at brewstja@jmu.edu .

2026 Conference Themes and Topics of Particular Interest

We invite presentations and posters on all topics that fit within the two central conference themes. Topics of particular interest are listed below, but submissions do not need to be limited to these topics.

Police Psychology
Caring for the Guardians:
Wellness, Assessments, Ethics, and Community in a Connected World

This subtheme focuses on supporting the people and organizations that safeguard our communities and on building trust-based relationships between public safety agencies and the communities they serve. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Wellness, resilience, and mental health of police, corrections, dispatchers, and other first responders (e.g., stress, burnout, moral injury, post-trauma growth).
• Clinical and assessment practice in police and public safety psychology, including pre-employment screening, fitness-for-duty evaluations, promotion and leadership assessments, and return-to-work decisions.
• Peer support, supervision, and leadership models that foster ethical cultures, inclusivity, and psychological safety within agencies.
• Trauma-informed and evidence-based approaches to supporting personnel exposed to critical incidents, mass violence, and chronic occupational stressors.
• Community relations and procedural justice, including communication, de-escalation, and conflict resolution in diverse communities.
• Collaborative and interdisciplinary models, such as co-response teams with social workers, mental health professionals, and/or community organizations.
• Technology and wellness, including telehealth, app-based support, digital wellness tools, and the psychological impact of constant connectivity, surveillance, and social media.
• Cultural sensitivity in recruitment, retention, promotion, and service delivery within public safety agencies.
• Training, education, and supervision in police and public safety psychology, including ethics, competence, and evolving practice standards.

Criminal & Investigative Psychology
Decoding Crime in the Digital Age: Behavior, Threats, and Decisions

This subtheme highlights psychological contributions to understanding, investigating, and responding to crime, especially as both offending and investigation increasingly unfold in digital and technologically mediated spaces. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Criminal and offender behavior, including violent, sexual, interpersonal, cyber, and tech-facilitated offending.
• Hostage and crisis negotiation, including decision-making under pressure, communication and de-escalation strategies, and integration with mental health expertise.
• Behavioral analysis, profiling, and crime linkage, including serial and pattern-based offending and advances in investigative psychology.
• Technology-facilitated crime, such as cybercrime, online harassment, technology-facilitated sexual violence, deepfakes, online radicalization, and virtual communities that foster offending.
• Investigative decision-making & technological enhancements, including incorporation of AI-driven and machine learning applications, and strategies to improve decision quality.
• Threat and risk assessment, including targeted violence, extremism, stalking, school and workplace threats, and digital threat assessment.
• Eyewitness identification, interviewing, and interrogation, including advances in research, reform efforts, and practical implementation challenges.
• Victim, survivor, and family perspectives, including the psychological impact of crime, investigative processes, and justice system outcomes.
• Cross-cultural and comparative perspectives on crime, investigation, and justice systems, including international collaboration and global/local interfaces.

Award and Honorarium for the Best Student Poster

The Society for Police & Criminal Psychology advocates for the pursuit of academic excellence by encouraging the submission of posters by current students at the undergraduate, masters, or doctoral level.  The Michael Serafino Award is given annually to the best student poster presented at our yearly conference. Posters are judged on scholarship, contribution to the fields of police and public safety psychology or criminal justice, and the quality of the poster presentation.  

Get further information about the Michael Serafino Award

Conference History 

The Society sponsors an annual conference held in the fall of each year at varying locations. The conference focuses on the interface between criminal justice and the behavioral sciences. 

2025 Conference

Our 2025 conference was held in Anaheim California, USA, September 24-27, 2025.

Click here to view the program.

2024 Conference

Our 2024 conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky, September 25-28, 2024.

Click here to view the program.

2023 Conference

Our 2023 conference was held in Arlington, Texas, September 20-23, 2023.

Click here to view the program.

2022 Conference

Our 2022 conference was held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, September 21-24, 2022.

Click here to view the program.