Police and Criminal Psychology During Challenging Times:  Current Issues and our Future

With 291 participants from around the world, wonderful presentations, posters and panels, and great idea exchange among participants, SPCP Online 2020 was a remarkable success!

Conference program. The conference was held November 5-7 on Zoom.

The following awards were announced during the conference:

Ed Shaffer Award: This award is given to the research presentation that best represents the spirit of Ed Shaffer, who had a solid commitment to research. This year’s Shaffer Award goes to the presentation:  Stress, Organizational Culture and Coping Strategies in the Police: An Empirical Investigation presented by Daniela Gutschmidt and Antonio Vera.

Bob Davis Award: This award is given to the presentation exhibiting best research incorporating sophisticated use of statistics and psychometrics. This year’s Davis Award goes to the presentation: Ensuring Non-violence and Diversity Tolerance Among Protective Services Officers: Construct and Criterion-related Validation Support presented by Brian W. Dreschler, Steven W. Billings, and John W. Jones.

Chris Hatcher Award: This award is given to the presentation that best demonstrates thinking that would advance the field of police and criminal psychology. This year’s Hatcher Award goes to the presentation:  Conceptualizing a Working Model of Intra-Organizational Trust, presented by Eunice Tan and Charmaine Lee.

Wilson Kimbrough Award: This award is given to the presentation that has the best applied approach to a “real-world” problem. This year there were two co-winners of the Kimbrough Award: Black and Blue: Police, Deadly Force, and Race, by Lawrence Miller and Naked and Not Afraid by Gary Aumiller. 

Wayman Mullins Award for Best Journal Article: This award is given for the best scientific article as published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. This year’s Mullins Award for best article goes to: An Interview Study of the Experiences of Police Officers in Regard to Psychological Contract and Wellbeing by Fazeelat Duran Jessica Woodhams and Darren Bishopp

Eileen Gupton Award for Best Professional Poster:  This award is given in recognition of a high quality and excellent professional poster displayed by a non-student. This year’s award goes to The Relationship between Perceived Police Legitimacy and Mock Juror Outcomes in a Police Use-of-Force Trial, by Holly Ellingwood & Craig Bennell.

Michael Serafino Award for Best Student Poster: This award commemorates Michael F. Serafino.  Michael was born on November 19, 1968.  He died on July 21, 1992 at the age of 23 while he was a graduate student in criminal justice studies at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  He was a student member of the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology who had attended in 1991, where he made a positive impression on Society members.  At the time of his death, Michael had been preparing a paper for presentation at the Society's 1992 annual conference.  This paper was never presented. In 1994 the Society inaugurated the Michael F. Serafino Best Student Poster competition in honor of Michael. His parents, Gerry and Ann Serafino, have been members of the Society since 1984 and remain supporters of SPCP to this day. This year’s Michael Serafino Award recipient  is In Service of the Future: Temporal Perspective and the Reporting of Deviant Close-Others by Minzheng Hou & Lile Jia.

Jim Turner Mentorship Award: This award is given to the Society member that has exhibited a high-level of mentoring students in furtherance of police and criminal psychology. This year’s Turner Award goes to Craig Bennell. Craig is regularly seen at conferences and other settings leading students in the knowledge of police psychology. We thank him for his leadership and continued dedication to improving our field.