EP 26 'Exploring the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for Professional Policing’ with Dr. Craig Bennell

In this interview Dr. Craig Bennell from Carleton University in Ontario Canada discusses the research he and his colleagues conducted into the core Knowledge, Skills and Abilities that law enforcement officers must possess in order to effectively manage potentially violent police public interactions. This important conversation evolves from a study that was published in Frontiers in Psychology in March 2022. In this interview Dr. Bennell outlines the critical findings of the paper that identified ten core knowledge, skills and abilities that are required by police officers for excellent performance in high pressure situations in order to meet societal expectations. Some of these KSA’s discussed are: Awareness and Management of Stress Effects, Communication Skills, Decision Making and Problem Solving, Perceptual Skills and Motor Skills Relating to Use of Force, among others.

This interview discusses training and instructional methods to consider in order to help law enforcement officers  improve their ability to manage potentially violent interactions with the public by focusing on developing their essential knowledge, skills and abilities through effective training design and delivery.