The spokane county sheriff's office (SCSO) will use FY24 safer outcomes to carry out motivational interviewing (MI) training provided by the institute for individual and organizational change…

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) was awarded a $349,108 Project Grant under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants program (CFDA 16.710) by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The grant will fund the implementation of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Tactical Social Interactions (TSI) training for 24 SCSO field training officers and 18 first-line supervisors. The MI and TSI training aims to enhance police-community relations and officer safety through evidence-based strategies. Key project deliverables include a detailed schedule and report on the training sessions, a thorough data analysis and evaluation of the program, and the potential integration of MI as a de-escalation practice within SCSO's training programs based on the evaluation results. The grant award period is from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2026.

The spokane county sheriff's office (SCSO) will use FY24 safer outcomes to carry out motivational interviewing (MI) training provided by the institute for individual and organizational change (IFIOC) and tactical social interactions (TSI) developed for the defense advanced research projects agency (DARPA). This project will allow 24 SCSO field training officers and 18 first-line supervisors to participate in four two-day blocks of MI training for law enforcement, as well as two one-week trainings of TSI. SCSO has approximately 230 sworn deputies, serves a population of 550,000 people, and is the primary police agency for nine contract cities. The department is focused on evidence-based strategies to enhance police-community relations and safety. Project tasks include the implementation of four two-day MI trainings and two forty-hour TSI trainings for SCSO deputies and supervisors and a program evaluation. The success of the MI and TSI training project is supported by key partnerships that combine expertise from various fields. SCSO's mental health professional will support the integration of training to ensure psychological principles are included and that training delivery will gain buy-in amongst SCSO deputies. SCSO works with polissolutions, utilizing their truststat technology, which analyzes BWC footage using AI, natural language processing, and computer vision. BWC review will be used to understand the impact of the training on police behavior in the field and for training purposes to optimize performance. Lastly, SCSO will partner with parks research LLC to evaluate and continuously improve the program through a mixed-methods study examining the impact of training on intended outcomes. This will contribute to evidence-based policing research, particularly through the dissemination of research deliverables. Key project deliverables include a detailed schedule and report on total number of training sessions conducted for SCSO deputies, a thorough data analysis/evaluation of the program, detailed presentations, and written reports summarizing training outcomes and key findings. If supported by evaluation results, SCSO will develop and implement policies or update existing ones to integrate MI as a DE-escalation practice within training programs. This project represents a comprehensive and innovative approach to promote safer and more effective policing, with the potential to update widespread policies and training standards based on outcomes of the training.