BJA National Initiatives: Academies and Constitutional Policing

Constitutional policing is foundational to police-community relationships. However, there is not currently a level of consistency or intentionality about what is taught or how it is taught in law enforcement academies. Unfortunately, some law enforcement practices and policies, especially in the areas of racial bias, use of force, interactions with persons with mental illness, and search, seizure, and arrest, create the conditions for officers to engage in unconstitutional behavior.  Most law enforcement liability exposures relate directly to constitutional policing. 

The Constitutional Decision-Making Project, managed by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), is focused on enhancing constitutional decision-making for law enforcement officers. This initiative will develop a digital job aid aimed at providing training resources on constitutional policing that are accessible, scenario-based, and grounded in adult learning theory. The digital job aid will be designed for use as both a website and a mobile application, ensuring that it can be seamlessly integrated into existing training programs at the basic academy, in-service, or roll call training and accessed by officers and supervisors as needed.

There are two primary goals of this project: 1) Conduct a scan of the current training landscape for law enforcement focused on constitutional policing concepts and based on that scan, 2) develop a digital job aid to enhance law enforcement training, understanding, and application of constitutional decision-making.

The primary objective of this project is to enhance the understanding and application of constitutional principles in law enforcement through innovative resources. The project aims to:

Improve constitutional decision-making among law enforcement officers.
Supplement existing training in police academies, in-service training, and roll call sessions.
Provide a modern, adult learning-focused tool that is easily accessible and user-friendly.
Offer scenario-based content and expert analysis to ensure practical application and retention of knowledge.
Support instructors with a comprehensive guide for integrating the digital job aid into their training programs.

To accomplish Goal 1 (conduct a scan of the training landscape to identify need and opportunity), IADLEST will convene a working group of law enforcement executives, researchers, and training directors to identify existing and predicted needs of academies and law enforcement agencies, scan the training landscape to build our understanding, and make a product strategy based on the recommendations and findings for the working group and scan.

Goal 2 (develop a digital job aid) will be achieved by working with our legal, technology, and adult learning experts to design the job aid around a set of foundational constitutional categories so users can explore core principles within each category. Each principle will offer a variety of ways for users to interact including videos, reading, listening, and knowledge assessment/application. The job aid will require valid written content, development of video content, and the technology platform (website and mobile app) for delivery.

The digital job aid on constitutional decision-making will be an invaluable tool for the field. This project represents a significant step forward in law enforcement training, leveraging modern technology to provide accessible, effective, and engaging resources on constitutional policing. Through collaboration with experts and the development of a cutting-edge digital job aid, IADLEST aims to enhance the constitutional decision-making capabilities of law enforcement officers across the nation.