NCJ Number
104149
Date Published
1986
Length
26 pages
Annotation
An evaluation was conducted of the human awareness training program implemented by the London police in 1982.
Abstract
Four questionnaires were administered to a large number of recruits at the beginning and end of training and at 6- and 12-month followup. These included a social-evaluative anxiety questionnaire, a self-esteem measure, a measure of interpersonal orientation, and a personal profile analysis. Results of these evaluations found few significant changes across the four testing occasions except on the anxiety questionnaire, which showed improvements in social avoidance and distress scores. As a result, a recruit training questionnaire was designed and validated that better assessed the program's objectives. Results of this measure suggest that the interpersonal skills component of the program was most effective, the self-awareness component was of reasonable standard, and the community relations component was not achieving desired results. A recruit feedback questionnaire showed that recruits had favorable attitudes toward the program both at its beginning and after completing it. On the basis of these results, it is recommended that greater training efforts should be devoted to the principals and processes underlying human behavior and to community relations. In addition, it is suggested that better training of trainers is needed. 13 references.