Thin Blue Mind / Smokey Heroes

Police Psychology:  Identity Politics by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D, AABP   This is one of those terms that many people in the media throw around, but few in real life understand.  Let me describe it simply as far as what is going on in the media. Basically, it is about the power of the voice.  […]

Police Psychology:  Moments after Parkland:  A Personal Story by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP   I went from police psychologist to victim last week.  I’d not been a victim for awhile, since someone stole my tires in my driveway way back in the 90’s.  This one was a little more active. Some guy who used […]

De-escalation vs. Use of Force: Are we sending mixed messages Dr. Philip J. Swift   In 2015, I became involved in a law enforcement reform process that would not only change the way the agency provided services to the community, but would test the resiliency of the agency’s culture. As with most law enforcement reform […]

Police Psychology:  Rock and Roll by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.  ABPP   I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last Monday in Cleveland Ohio.  I had been there before and never saw it as part of police psychology, or psychology at all.  This time I did. I never knew that The Beatles […]

Police Psychology | Take the Operational Triangle Home by Doug Gentz, Ph.D. Psychological Services The operational triangle was developed to provide a graphic way to represent priorities for officers in the field. At the base of the triangle is Officer Safety which always comes first. The middle level of the triangle is about building Rapport […]

Police Psychology | Hanukkah Wishes and Communication by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.  ABPP

Police Psychology:  Be the Solution, Not the Cause by Lt. Jason Childers, Texas We frequently hear about how stressful police work is, and the sacrifices we make in the service of our community is an oft-repeated narrative in police circles. The jerks we deal with on the street, the trauma of violent incidents, rotating shifts, […]

Police Psychology | Morale by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.  ABPP   My very first job and first elected office, I was voted president of the Mighty Mouse Club by the kids in my neighborhood.  Mighty Mouse was a cartoon super hero mouse character that beat up cats in the 40’s 50’s and early 60’s.  The […]

Police Psychology | The TRIAD:  A Department’s Own Superheroes Nancy K. Bohl-Penrod, Ph.D., San Bernardino, Calif. Peer support has been around for ages.  In the 1950’s and 1960’s peer support programs began to emerge at the Chicago Police department, the Boston Police department and NYPD.  They called those willing to be in the program “peer […]

Officer Down by Adam Pasciak PhD, LP, Clarkston, Michigan   Over the years a few people have asked me what is was like to get shot. To get it out of the way here, it hurt a lot—at first—but then when you start going into shock that helps. Having said that, I don’t recommend it. […]

Police Psychology | Officer Involved Shootings – Collateral Damage Chief George Filenko, Round Lake Park Police Department It was early New Year’s morning 2006. The phone rang jolting me out of a sound sleep. The gruff voice on the other end of the phone was then Task Force Commander Bill Valko. Commander Valko was a […]

Police Psychology | Mass Casualties by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.  ABPP   In light of the Orlando night club shooting this week, I wanted to give you some information on the effects this kind of tragedy can have on first responders and what can be done as a police leader or psychologist to help the […]

Police Psychology | Motivation – Back to the Basics Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY   As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.  What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated differently due to different frames […]

Police Psychology | Thinking Outside the Box   Police psychology would tell us that sometimes you have to “think out of the box.” I wanted meatballs the other day! I got it in my brain to make meatballs, and my 9-year old daughter loves meatballs, so I wanted to make meatballs. I didn’t want to […]

Police Psychology | How Policing Can Be Improved with Science  Marcus Clarke is the author of psysci.co a psychology blog that examines the latest research and explains findings in simple terms. Police forces around the world face increasing pressure, from cuts to funding to new forms of crime, so ensuring policing standards are maintained and […]

Police Psychology | Emotional Labor in the Workplace   Police psychology has to deal very often with an ultimate question: does the person really like being a police officer?   For the most part the answer is “yes…but” with the “but” usually being something about a boss. Everyone likes to complain about his or her job, […]

Police Psychology | Those Damn Cameras   Body cameras are the latest “big thing” in policing, and thus those in the field of police psychology needs to explore how that affects the job.  Although people argue that body cameras are a good thing, they can also impose an incredible amount of additional police stress on […]

Police Psychology | Are You Being Manipulated?   With the current feeling about racial issues in police psychology, perhaps we should review the research on manipulation and subliminal messages. If you graduated in the 80’s much of this might be new to you.   In 2000, there was a well-documented election scandal: in one of […]

Rumors, Gossip, and Urban Legends   Every profession in the world deals with rumors and gossip, and police psychology is no different. Much like how animals tend to migrate toward large water sources, where they can find safety in like animal-friends, people tend to drift toward the water cooler to hang out with individuals of […]