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Res No 175-24-16280
RESOLUTION NO.175-24-16280 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA,ACCEPTING AND APPROVING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ)SAFER OUTCOMES GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATING COMMUNICATIONS,ASSESSMENT,AND TACTICS (ICAT)TRAINING PROGRAM;APPROVING THE PROPOSAL OF THE POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM (PERF)AND AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $39,950 FOR ICAT TRAINING FACILITATOR SERVICES;AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE GRANT AND ANY NECESSARY AGREEMENTS FOR THE ICAT TRAINING FACILITATOR SERVICES;PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION,CORRECTIONS,AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS,the City of South Miami (the “City”)has been awarded the Department of Justice (DOJ)FY24 Safer Outcomes Grant in the amount of $40,000 under Award No.15JCOPS- 24-GG-05394-DETU for the purpose of enhancing de-escalation and crisis response training for law enforcement personnel (“Grant”),which Grant is attached hereto as Exhibit “A”;and WHEREAS,the Grant funding will support the implementation of the Integrating Communications,Assessment,and Tactics (ICAT)training program for the City’s Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)officers (“ICAT Training”);and WHEREAS,the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)has provided a proposal and scope of services for the ICAT Training for the City’s Police Department’s CIT officers in the amount of $39,950 (“Proposal”),which Proposal is attached hereto as Exhibit “B”;and WHEREAS,the ICAT Training facilitated by PERF is an innovative,evidence-based program designed to provide first responders with tools to successfully and safely resolve critical incidents,leveraging a Critical Decision-Making Model;and WHEREAS,the ICAT program has been nationally recognized and endorsed by FEMA and the Center for Domestic Preparedness for its effectiveness in promoting safety and reducing use-of-force incidents;and WHEREAS,Article III,Section 5,of the City Charter provides that all purchases in excess of the purchasing limitations set by ordinance of the City Commission shall be approved by the City Commission after competitive conditions have been maintained and competitive bids sought from at least three different sources of supply,if available;and Page 1 of 3 Res.No.175-24-16280 WHEREAS,PERF has provided a sole source letter indicating that the ICAT Training program is a unique and proprietary police training program designed and developed exclusively by PERF,and the services may be engaged by the City without competitive bids or proposals as a sole source provider;and WHEREAS,the ICAT Training to be provided by PERF will be funded utilizing the Grant and charged to an account to be established by the City’s Finance Department,for a total expenditure of $39,950;and WHEREAS,the City Commission finds that accepting the Grant attached hereto as Exhibit “A”and engaging PERF as the ICAT Training facilitator pursuant to the Proposal attached hereto as Exhibit “B”aligns with the City’s goals of enhancing public safety and officer preparedness. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA,AS FOLLOWS: Section 1.Recitals.The above-stated recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference. Section 2.Acceptance and Approval of Grant.The City Commission hereby accepts the Department of Justice FY24 Safer Outcomes Grant award in the amount of $40,000,as detailed in the Grant attached hereto as Exhibit "A." Section 3.Approval of PERF for Training Facilitator Services;Authorization _of Expenditure.The City Commission approves the Proposal of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)for ICAT Training facilitator services,as attached hereto as Exhibit “B”,and authorizes the expenditure of $39,950 to PERF for such purposes.ICAT Training to be provided by PERF will be funded utilizing the Grant and charged to an account to be established by the City’s Finance Department,for a total expenditure of $39,950. Section 4.Implementation.The City Manager is authorized to take all necessary action to implement the Grant and the purposes of this Resolution,including the execution of the Grant and any agreements necessary for the ICAT Training facilitator services. Section 5.Corrections.Conforming language or technical scrivener-type corrections may be made by the City Attorney to ensure accuracy and compliance with the intent of this Resolution. Section 6.Effective Date.This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 10th day of December,2024. Page 2 of 3 Res.No.175-24-16280 ATTEST: READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE,LEGALITY AND EXECUTION THEREOF WEI^S^EROTA HELFMAN COLE &BIERMAN,P.L. CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED: COMMISSION VOTE:5-0 Mayor Fernandez:Yea Vice Mayor Corey:Yea Commissioner Calle:Yea Commissioner Bonich:Yea Commissioner Rodriguez:Yea Page 3 of 3 Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Washington, D.C. 20531 Name and Address of Recipient: CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI 6130 SUNSET DR City, State and Zip:SOUTH MIAMI, FL 33143 Recipient UEI:MGH7KSNCDBK8 Project Title: FY24 City of South Miami LEA Safer Outcomes Award Award Number: 15JCOPS-24-GG-05394-DETU Solicitation Title: FY24 Safer Outcomes: Enhancing De-Escalation and Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement – Support for Law Enforcement Agencies Federal Award Amount: $40,000.00 Federal Award Date: 11/14/24 Awarding Agency: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Funding Instrument Type:Grant Opportunity Category: D Assistance Listing: 16.710 - Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants Project Period Start Date: 10/1/24 Project Period End Date: 9/30/26 Budget Period Start Date: 10/1/24 Budget Period End Date : 9/30/26 Project Description: The South Miami Police Department will use FY24 Safer Outcomes funding to offer the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) training for all Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers. ICAT is an innovative, evidence-based approach to use-of-force training, and provides first responding police officers with the tools, skills, and options they need to defuse a range of critical incidents successfully and safely. Over 80% of South Miami Police Department officers are CIT trained. This training program is anchored by the Critical Decision-Making Model that helps officers assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. ICAT is a nationally recognized training program supported by FEMA and the Center for Domestic Preparedness. Page: 1 of 17 7 Award Letter November 14, 2024 Dear Reo Hatfield, On behalf of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, it is my pleasure to inform you the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) has approved the application submitted by CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI for an award under the funding opportunity entitled 2024 FY24 Safer Outcomes: Enhancing De-Escalation and Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement – Support for Law Enforcement Agencies. The approved award amount is $40,000. Review the Award Instrument below carefully and familiarize yourself with all conditions and requirements before accepting your award. The Award Instrument includes the Award Offer (Award Information, Project Information, Financial Information, and Award Conditions) and Award Acceptance. For COPS Office and OVW funding the Award Offer also includes any Other Award Documents. Please note that award requirements include not only the conditions and limitations set forth in the Award Offer, but also compliance with assurances and certifications that relate to conduct during the period of performance for the award. These requirements encompass financial, administrative, and programmatic matters, as well as other important matters (e.g., specific restrictions on use of funds). Therefore, all key staff should receive the award conditions, the assurances and certifications, and the application as approved by the COPS Office, so that they understand the award requirements. Information on all pertinent award requirements also must be provided to any subrecipient of the award. Should you accept the award and then fail to comply with an award requirement, DOJ will pursue appropriate remedies for non-compliance, which may include termination of the award and/or a requirement to repay award funds. Prior to accepting the award, your Entity Administrator must assign a Financial Manager, Grant Award Administrator, and Authorized Representative(s) in the Justice Grants System (JustGrants). The Entity Administrator will need to ensure the assigned Authorized Representative(s) is current and has the legal authority to accept awards and bind the entity to the award terms and conditions. To accept the award, the Authorized Representative(s) must accept all parts of the Award Offer in the Justice Grants System (JustGrants), including by executing the required declaration and certification, within 45 days from the award date. To access your funds, you will need to enroll in the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system, if you haven’t already completed the enrollment process in ASAP. The Entity Administrator should have already received an email from ASAP to initiate this process. Congratulations, and we look forward to working with you. Hugh T. Clements COPS Director Office for Civil Rights Notice for All Recipients The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces federal civil rights laws and other provisions that prohibit discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance from OJP, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Several civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, require recipients of federal financial assistance (recipients) to give assurances that they will comply with those laws. Taken together, these and other civil rights laws prohibit recipients from discriminating in the provision of services and employment because of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, and sex or from discriminating in the provision of services on the bases of age. Some recipients of DOJ financial assistance have additional obligations to comply with other applicable nondiscrimination provisions like the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in addition to race, color, national origin, and sex. Recipients may also have related requirements regarding the development and implementation of equal employment opportunity programs. Page: 2 of 17 8 OCR provides technical assistance, training, and other resources to help recipients comply with civil rights obligations. Further, OCR administratively enforces civil rights laws and nondiscrimination provisions by investigating DOJ recipients that are the subject of discrimination complaints. In addition, OCR conducts compliance reviews of DOJ recipients based on regulatory criteria. These investigations and compliance reviews permit OCR to evaluate whether DOJ recipients are providing services to the public and engaging in employment practices in a nondiscriminatory manner . For more information about OCR, your civil rights and nondiscrimination responsibilities, how to notify your employees or beneficiaries of their civil rights protections and responsibilities and how to file a complaint, as well as technical assistance, training, and other resources, please visit www.ojp.gov/program/civil-rights-office/outreach. If you would like OCR to assist you in fulfilling your civil rights or nondiscrimination responsibilities, please contact us at askOCR@o jp.usdoj.gov or www.ojp.gov/program/civil-rights-office/about#ocr-contacts . Award Information This award is offered subject to the conditions or limitations set forth in the Award Information, Project Information, Financial Information, and Award Conditions. Recipient Information Recipient Name CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI UEI MGH7KSNCDBK8 ORI Number no value Street 1 6130 SUNSET DR Street 2 City SOUTH MIAMI State/U.S. Territory Florida Zip/Postal Code 33143 Country United States County/Parish no value Province no value Award Details Federal Award Date 11/14/24 Award Type Initial Award Number 15JCOPS-24-GG-05394-DETU Supplement Number 00 Federal Award Amount $40,000.00 Funding Instrument Type Grant Assistance Listing Number Assistance Listings Program Title 16.710 Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants Page: 3 of 17 9 Statutory Authority The Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. § 10381 et seq [ ] I have read and understand the information presented in this section of the Federal Award Instrument . Project Information This award is offered subject to the conditions or limitations set forth in the Award Information, Project Information, Financial Information, and Award Conditions. Solicitation Title 2024 FY24 Safer Outcomes: Enhancing De-Escalation and Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement – Support for Law Enforcement Agencies Application Number GRANT14197811 Awarding Agency COPS Grant Manager DONNA INGRAM-ALLEN Phone Number 202-746-5566 E-mail Address donna.ingram-allen@usdoj.gov Project Title FY24 City of South Miami LEA Safer Outcomes Award Performance Period Start Date 10/01/2024 Performance Period End Date 09/30/2026 Budget Period Start Date 10/01/2024 Budget Period End Date 09/30/2026 Project Description The South Miami Police Department will use FY24 Safer Outcomes funding to offer the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) training for all Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers. ICAT is an innovative, evidence-based approach to use-of-force training, and provides first responding police officers with the tools, skills, and options they need to defuse a range of critical incidents successfully and safely. Over 80% of South Miami Police Department officers are CIT trained. This training program is anchored by the Critical Decision-Making Model that helps officers assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. ICAT is a nationally recognized training program supported by FEMA and the Center for Domestic Preparedness. [ ] I have read and understand the information presented in this section of the Federal Award Instrument . Financial Information This award is offered subject to the conditions or limitations set forth in the Award Information, Project Page: 4 of 17 10 Information, Financial Information, and Award Conditions. A financial analysis of budgeted costs has been completed. All costs listed in the approved budget below were programmatically approved based on the final proposed detailed budget and budget narratives submitted by your agency to the COPS Office. Any adjustments or edits to the proposed budget are explained below. Budget Clearance Date:9/27/24 4:41 PM Comments No items Budget Category Proposed Budget Change Approved Budget Percentages Sworn Officer Positions:$0 $0 $0 no value Civilian or Non-Sworn Personnel:$0 $0 $0 no value Travel:$0 $0 $0 no value Equipment:$0 $0 $0 no value Supplies:$0 $0 $0 no value SubAwards:$0 $0 $0 no value Procurement Contracts:$0 $0 $0 no value Other Costs:$40,000 $0 $40,000 no value Total Direct Costs:$40,000 $0 $40,000 no value Indirect Costs:$0 $0 $0 no value Total Project Costs:$40,000 $0 $40,000 no value Federal Funds:$40,000 $0 $40,000 100.00% Match Amount:$0 $0 $0 0.00% Program Income:$0 $0 $0 0.00% Budget Category Sworn Officer Civilian Personnel Page: 5 of 17 11 Travel Equipment Supplies SubAwards Procurement Contracts Other Costs Indirect Costs [ ] I have read and understand the information presented in this section of the Federal Award Instrument . Other Award Documents [ ] I have read and understand the information presented in this section of the Federal Award Instrument . No other award documents have been added. Award Conditions This award is offered subject to the conditions or limitations set forth in the Award Information, Project Information, Financial Information, and Award Conditions. Condition 1 Restrictions on Internal Confidentiality Agreements: No recipient or subrecipient under this award, or entity that receives a contract or subcontract with any funds under this award, may require any employee or contractor to sign an internal confidentiality agreement or statement that prohibits or otherwise restricts the lawful reporting of waste, fraud, or abuse to an investigative or law enforcement representative of a federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Public Law 118-47, Division B, Title VII, Section 742. Condition 2 Federal Civil Rights: The recipient and any subrecipient must comply with applicable federal civil rights and nondiscrimination statutes and regulations including: Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d), as implemented in Subparts C and D of 28 C.F.R. Part 42; section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794), as implemented in Subpart G of 28 C.F.R. Part 42; section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. § 1681), as implemented in Subpart D of 28 C.F.R. Parts 42 and 54; section 303 of the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. § 6102), as implemented in Subpart I of 28 C.F.R. Part 42; and section 809(c) of Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. § 10228(c)), as implemented in Subpart D of 28 C.F.R. Part 42. In addition to applicable federal statutes and regulations that pertain to civil rights and nondiscrimination, the recipient and any subrecipient must comply with the requirements in 28 C.F.R. Parts 22 (Confidentiality of Identifiable Research and Statistical Information); 28 C.F.R. Part 23 (Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies); 28 C.F.R. Part 38 (Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations); and 28 C.F.R. Part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For an overview of the civil rights laws and nondiscrimination requirements in connection with your award, please see https://www.ojp.gov/program/civil-rights/overview. Page: 6 of 17 12 Condition 3 Award Monitoring Activities: Federal law requires that recipients receiving federal funding from the COPS Office must be monitored to ensure compliance with their award conditions and other applicable statutes and regulations. The COPS Office is also interested in tracking the progress of our programs and the advancement of community policing. Both aspects of award implementation—compliance and programmatic benefits—are part of the monitoring process coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice. Award monitoring activities conducted by the COPS Office include site visits, enhanced office-based grant reviews, alleged noncompliance reviews, financial and programmatic reporting, and audit resolution. As a COPS Office award recipient, you agree to cooperate with and respond to any requests for information pertaining to your award. This includes all financial records, such as general accounting ledgers and all supporting documents. All information pertinent to the implementation of the award is subject to agency review throughout the life of the award, during the close-out process and for three-years after the submission of the final expenditure report. 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.334 and 200.337, and, as applicable, 34 U.S.C. § 10385(a). Condition 4 Authorized Representative Responsibility: The recipient understands that, in accepting this award, the Authorized Representatives declare and certify, among other things, that they possess the requisite legal authority to accept the award on behalf of the recipient entity and, in so doing, accept (or adopt) all material requirements throughout the period of performance under this award. The recipient further understands, and agrees, that it will not assign anyone to the role of Authorized Representative during the period of performance under the award without first ensuring that the individual has the requisite legal authority. Condition 5 Contract Provision: All contracts made by the award recipients under the federal award must contain the provisions required under 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Appendix II to Part 200—Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards. Please see appendices in the Award Owner’s Manual for a full text of the contract provisions. Condition 6 Award Owner’s Manual: The recipient agrees to comply with the terms and conditions in the applicable award year COPS Office Program Award Owner's Manual; DOJ Grants Financial Guide; COPS Office statute (34 U.S.C. § 10381, et seq.) as applicable; Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018 (34 U.S.C. § 10551, et seq.) as applicable; the requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards), including subsequent changes, as adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2 C.F.R. § 2800.101; 48 C.F.R. Part 31 (FAR Part 31) as applicable (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures); the Cooperative Agreement as applicable; representations made in the application; and all other applicable program requirements, laws, orders, regulations, or circulars. Failure to comply with one or more award requirements may result in remedial action including, but not limited to, withholding award funds, disallowing costs, suspending, or terminating the award, or other legal action as appropriate. Should any provision of an award condition be deemed invalid or unenforceable by its terms, that provision will be applied to give it the maximum effect permitted by law. Should the provision be deemed invalid or unenforceable in its entirety, such provision will be severed from this award. Condition 7 Duplicative Funding: The recipient understands and agrees to notify the COPS Office if it receives, from any other source, funding for the same item or service also funded under this award. Condition 8 Prohibited conduct by recipients and subrecipients related to trafficking in persons (including reporting requirements and COPS Office authority to terminate award): The recipient and subrecipient agree to comply with the following requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 175, Appendix A to Part 175 – Award Term: I. Trafficking in Persons (a) Provisions applicable to a recipient that is a private entity. (1) Under this award, the recipient, its employees, subrecipients under this award, and subrecipient’s employees must not engage in: (i) Severe forms of trafficking in persons; (ii) The procurement of a commercial sex act during the period of time that this award or any subaward is in effect; Page: 7 of 17 13 (iii) The use of forced labor in the performance of this award or any subaward; or (iv) Acts that directly support or advance trafficking in persons, including the following acts: (A) Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or otherwise denying an employee access to that employee’s identity or immigration documents; (B) Failing to provide return transportation or pay for return transportation costs to an employee from a country outside the United States to the country from which the employee was recruited upon the end of employment if requested by the employee, unless: (1) Exempted from the requirement to provide or pay for such return transportation by the Federal department or agency providing or entering into the grant or cooperative agreement; or (2) The employee is a victim of human trafficking seeking victim services or legal redress in the country of employment or a witness in a human trafficking enforcement action; (C) Soliciting a person for the purpose of employment, or offering employment, by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises regarding that employment; (D) Charging recruited employees a placement or recruitment fee; or (E) Providing or arranging housing that fails to meet the host country’s housing and safety standards. (2) The Federal agency may unilaterally terminate this award or take any remedial actions authorized by 22 U.S.C. 7104b(c), without penalty, if any private entity under this award: (i) Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph (a)(1) of this appendix; or (ii) Has an employee that is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph (a)(1) of this this appendix through conduct that is either: (A) Associated with the performance under this award; or (B) Imputed to the recipient or the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, ‘‘OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),’’ as implemented by DOJ at 2 C.F.R. Part 2867. (b) Provision applicable to a recipient other than a private entity. (1) The Federal agency may unilaterally terminate this award or take any remedial actions authorized by 22 U.S.C. 7104b(c), without penalty, if a subrecipient that is a private entity under this award: (i) Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph (a)(1) of this appendix; or (ii) Has an employee that is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph (a)(1) of this appendix through conduct that is either: (A) Associated with the performance under this award; or (B) Imputed to the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, ‘‘OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),’’ as implemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 2867. (c) Provisions applicable to any recipient. (1) The recipient must inform the Federal agency and the Inspector General of the Federal agency immediately of any information you receive from any source alleging a violation of a prohibition in paragraph (a)(1) of this appendix. (2) The Federal agency’s right to unilaterally terminate this award as described in paragraphs (a)(2) or (b)(1) of this appendix: (i) Implements the requirements of 22 U.S.C. 78, and (ii) Is in addition to all other remedies for noncompliance that are available to the Federal agency under this award. (3) The recipient must include the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this award term in any subaward it makes to a private entity. (4) If applicable, the recipient must also comply with the compliance plan and certification requirements in 2 CFR 175.105(b). (d) Definitions. For purposes of this award term: Employee means either: (1) An individual employed by the recipient or a subrecipient who is engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award; or (2) Another person engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award and not compensated by the recipient including, but not limited to, a volunteer or individual whose services are contributed by a third party as an in-kind contribution toward cost sharing requirements. Private Entity means any entity, including for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and hospitals. The term does not include foreign public entities, Indian Tribes, local governments, or states as defined in 2 CFR 200.1. Page: 8 of 17 14 The terms ‘‘severe forms of trafficking in persons,’’ ‘‘commercial sex act,’’ ‘‘sex trafficking,’’ ‘‘Abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process,’’ ‘‘coercion,’’ ‘‘debt bondage,’’ and ‘‘involuntary servitude’’ have the meanings given at section 103 of the TVPA, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7102). Condition 9 Termination: Recipient understands and agrees that the COPS Office may terminate funding, in whole or in part, for the following reasons: (1) When the recipient fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a Federal award. (2) When the recipient agrees to the termination and termination conditions. (3) When the recipient provides the COPS Office written notification requesting termination including the reasons, effective date, and the portion of the award to be terminated. The COPS Office may terminate the entire award if the remaining portion will not accomplish the purposes of the award. (4) Pursuant to any other award terms and conditions, including, when an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities to the extent such termination is authorized by law. 2. C.F.R. § 200.340. Condition 10 Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters: For awards over $500,000, the recipient agrees to comply with the following requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Appendix XII to Part 200 – Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters: I. Reporting of Matters Related to Recipient Integrity and Performance (a) General Reporting Requirement. (1) If the total value of your active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of this Federal award, then you as the recipient must ensure the information available in the responsibility/qualification records through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), about civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings described in paragraph (b) of this award term is current and complete. This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110–417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111– 212, all information posted in responsibility/qualification records in SAM.gov on or after April 15, 2011 (except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts) will be publicly available. (b) Proceedings About Which You Must Report. (1) You must submit the required information about each proceeding that— (i) Is in connection with the award or performance of a grant, cooperative agreement, or procurement contract from the Federal Government; (ii) Reached its final disposition during the most recent five-year period; and (iii) Is one of the following— (A) A criminal proceeding that resulted in a conviction; (B) A civil proceeding that resulted in a finding of fault and liability and payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more; (C) An administrative proceeding that resulted in a finding of fault and liability and your payment of either a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more or reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000; or (D) Any other criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding if— (1) It could have led to an outcome described in paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(A) through (C); (2) It had a different disposition arrived at by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault on your part; and (3) The requirement in this award term to disclose information about the proceeding does not conflict with applicable laws and regulations. (c) Reporting Procedures. Enter the required information in SAM.gov for each proceeding described in paragraph (b) of this award term. You do not need to submit the information a second time under grants and cooperative agreements that you received if you already provided the information in SAM.gov because you were required to do so under Federal procurement contracts that you were awarded. (d) Reporting Frequency. During any period of time when you are subject to the requirement in paragraph (a) of this award term, you must report proceedings information in SAM.gov for the most recent five-year period, either to report new information about a proceeding that you have not reported previously or affirm that there is no new information to report. If you have Federal contract, grant, and cooperative agreement awards with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000, you must disclose semiannually any information about the criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings. (e) Definitions. For purposes of this award term— Administrative proceeding means a nonjudicial process that is adjudicatory in nature to make a determination of fault or Page: 9 of 17 15 liability (for example, Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative proceedings, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals proceedings). This includes proceedings at the Federal and State level but only in connection with the performance of a Federal contract or grant. It does not include audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables. Conviction means a judgment or conviction of a criminal offense by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether entered upon a verdict or a plea, and includes a conviction entered upon a plea of nolo contendere. Total value of currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts includes the value of the Federal share already received plus any anticipated Federal share under those awards (such as continuation funding). Condition 11 Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation: The recipient agrees to comply with the following requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 170, Appendix A to Part 170 – Award Term: I. Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation (a) Reporting of first-tier subawards—(1) Applicability. Unless the recipient is exempt as provided in paragraph (d) of this award term, the recipient must report each subaward that equals or exceeds $30,000 in Federal funds for a subaward to an entity or Federal agency. The recipient must also report a subaward if a modification increases the Federal funding to an amount that equals or exceeds $30,000. All reported subawards should reflect the total amount of the subaward. (2) Reporting Requirements. (i) The entity or Federal agency must report each subaward described in paragraph (a)(1) of this award term to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) at http://www.fsrs.gov. (ii) For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the subaward was issued. (For example, if the subaward was made on November 7, 2025, the subaward must be reported by no later than December 31, 2025). (b) Reporting total compensation of recipient executives for entities—(1) Applicability. The recipient must report the total compensation for each of the recipient’s five most highly compensated executives for the preceding completed fiscal year if: (i) The total Federal funding authorized to date under this Federal award equals or exceeds $30,000; (ii) in the preceding fiscal year, the recipient received: (A) 80 percent or more of the recipient’s annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal awards (and subawards) subject to the Transparency Act; and (B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal awards (and subawards) subject to the Transparency Act; and, (iii) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after receiving this subaward. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http:// www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.) (2) Reporting Requirements. The recipient must report executive total compensation described in paragraph (b)(1) of this appendix: (i) As part of the recipient’s registration profile at https://www.sam.gov. (ii) No later than the month following the month in which this Federal award is made, and annually after that. (For example, if this Federal award was made on November 7, 2025, the executive total compensation must be reported by no later than December 31, 2025.) (c) Reporting of total compensation of subrecipient executives—(1) Applicability. Unless a first-tier subrecipient is exempt as provided in paragraph (d) of this appendix, the recipient must report the executive total compensation of each of the subrecipient’s five most highly compensated executives for the subrecipient’s preceding completed fiscal year, if: (i) The total Federal funding authorized to date under the subaward equals or exceeds $30,000; (ii) In the subrecipient’s preceding fiscal year, the subrecipient received: (A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal awards (and subawards) subject to the Transparency Act; and, (B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts), and Federal awards (and subawards) subject to the Transparency Act; and (iii) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports Page: 10 of 17 16 filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after receiving this subaward. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.) (2) Reporting Requirements. Subrecipients must report to the recipient their executive total compensation described in paragraph (c)(1) of this appendix. The recipient is required to submit this information to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) at http://www.fsrs.gov no later than the end of the month following the month in which the subaward was made. (For example, if the subaward was made on November 7, 2025, the subaward must be reported by no later than December 31, 2025). (d) Exemptions. (1) A recipient with gross income under $300,000 in the previous tax year is exempt from the requirements to report: (i) Subawards, and (ii) The total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of any subrecipient. (e) Definitions. For purposes of this award term: Entity includes: (1) Whether for profit or nonprofit: (i) A corporation; (ii) An association; (iii) A partnership; (iv) A limited liability company; (v) A limited liability partnership; (vi) A sole proprietorship; (vii) Any other legal business entity; (viii) Another grantee or contractor that is not excluded by subparagraph (2); and (ix) Any State or locality; (2) Does not include: (i) An individual recipient of Federal financial assistance; or (ii) A Federal employee. Executive means an officer, managing partner, or any other employee holding a management position. Subaward has the meaning given in 2 CFR200.1. Subrecipient has the meaning given in 2CFR 200.1. Total Compensation means the cash and noncash dollar value an executive earns during an entity’s preceding fiscal year. This includes all items of compensation as prescribed in 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2). Condition 12 Assurances and Certifications: The recipient acknowledges its agreement to comply with the Assurances and Certifications forms that were signed as part of its application. Condition 13 Conflict of Interest: Recipients and subrecipients must disclose in writing to the COPS Office or pass-through entity, as applicable, any potential conflict of interest affecting the awarded federal funding in 2 C.F.R. § 200.112. Condition 14 Debarment and Suspension: The recipient agrees not to award federal funds under this program to any party which is debarred or suspended from participation in federal assistance programs. 2 C.F.R. Part 180 (Government-wide Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension) and 2 C.F.R. Part 2867 (DOJ Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension). Condition 15 Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (EEOP): All recipients of funding from the COPS Office must comply with the federal regulations pertaining to the development and implementation of an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. 28 C.F.R. Part 42 subpart E. Condition 16 Employment Eligibility: The recipient agrees to complete and keep on file, as appropriate, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9). This form is Page: 11 of 17 17 to be used by recipients of federal funds to verify that persons are eligible to work in the United States. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), Public Law 99-603. Condition 17 Enhancement of Contractor Protection from Reprisal for Disclosure of Certain Information: Recipients and subrecipients agree not to discharge, demote, or otherwise discriminate against an employee as reprisal for the employee disclosing information that he or she reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a federal contract or award, a gross waste of federal funds, an abuse of authority relating to a federal contract or award, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a Federal contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or award. Recipients and subrecipients also agree to provide to their employees in writing (in the predominant native language of the workforce) of the rights and remedies provided in 41 U.S.C. § 4712. Please see appendices in the Award Owner’s Manual for a full text of the statute. Condition 18 False Statements: False statements or claims made in connection with COPS Office awards may result in fines, imprisonment, debarment from participating in federal awards or contracts, and/or any other remedy available by law. 31 U.S.C. § 3729-3733. Condition 19 Mandatory Disclosure: Recipients and subrecipients must timely disclose in writing to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity, as applicable, all federal criminal law violations involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity that may potentially affect the awarded federal funding. Recipients that receive an award over $500,000 must also report certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings in SAM and are required to comply with the Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters as set out in 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Appendix XII to Part 200. Failure to make required disclosures can result in any of the remedies, including suspension and debarment, described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.339. 2 C.F.R. § 200.113. Condition 20 Reports/Performance Goals: To assist the COPS Office in monitoring and tracking the performance of your award, your agency will be responsible for submitting semi-annual programmatic performance reports that describe project activities during the reporting period and quarterly Federal Financial Reports using Standard Form 425 (SF-425). 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.328 - 200.329. The performance report is used to track your agency’s progress in implementing the award, and, as applicable, community policing strategies including gauging the effectiveness of your agency’s community policing capacity. The Federal Financial Report is used to track the expenditures of the recipient’s award funds on a cumulative basis throughout the life of the award. Condition 21 System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Universal Identifier Requirements: The recipient agrees to comply with the following requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 25, Appendix A to Part 25 – Award Term: I. System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Universal Identifier Requirements (a) Requirement for System for Award Management. (1) Unless exempt from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, the recipient must maintain a current and active registration in SAM.gov. The recipient’s registration must always be current and active until the recipient submits all final reports required under this Federal award or receives the final payment, whichever is later. The recipient must review and update its information in SAM.gov at least annually from the date of its initial registration or any subsequent updates to ensure it is current, accurate, and complete. If applicable, this includes identifying the recipient’s immediate and highest-level owner and subsidiaries and providing information about the recipient’s predecessors that have received a Federal award or contract within the last three years. (b) Requirement for Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). (1) If the recipient is authorized to make subawards under this Federal award, the recipient: (i) Must notify potential subrecipients that no entity may receive a subaward until the entity has provided its UEI to the recipient. (ii) Must not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its UEI to the recipient. Subrecipients are not required to complete full registration in SAM.gov to obtain a UEI. (c) Definitions. For the purposes of this award term: System for Award Management (SAM.gov) means the Federal repository into which a recipient must provide the information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Additional information about Page: 12 of 17 18 registration procedures may be found in SAM.gov (currently at https://www.sam.gov). Unique entity identifier means the universal identifier assigned by SAM.gov to uniquely identify an entity. Entity is defined at 2 CFR 25.400 and includes all of the following types as defined in 2 CFR 200.1: (1) Non-Federal entity; (2) Foreign organization; (3) Foreign public entity; (4) Domestic for-profit organization; and (5) Federal agency. Subaward has the meaning given in 2 CFR 200.1. Subrecipient has the meaning given in 2 CFR 200.1. Condition 22 Additional High-Risk Recipient Requirements: The recipient agrees to comply with any additional requirements that may be imposed during the award performance period if the awarding agency determines that the recipient is a high- risk recipient. 2 C.F.R. § 200.208. Condition 23 Allowable Costs: The funding under this award is for the payment of approved costs for program-specific purposes. The allowable costs approved for your agency's award are limited to those listed in your agency’s award package. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.400(g), the recipient or subrecipient must not earn or keep any profit resulting from the award. Your agency may not use award funds for any costs not identified as allowable in the award package. Condition 24 Training Guiding Principles: Any training or training materials developed or delivered with award funding provided by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is to adhere to the following guiding principles – 1. Trainings must comply with applicable law. In developing and conducting training under the award, recipients (and any subrecipients) shall not violate the Constitution or any federal law, including any law prohibiting discrimination. 2. The content of trainings and training materials must be accurate, appropriately tailored, and focused. The content of training programs must be accurate, useful to those being trained, and well matched to the program's stated objectives. Training materials used or distributed at trainings must be accurate, relevant, and consistent with these guiding principles. 3. Trainers must be well?qualified in the subject area and skilled in presenting it.Trainers must possess the subject?matter knowledge and the subject?specific training experience necessary to meet the objectives of the training. In selecting or retaining a trainer, recipients (or subrecipients) should consider such factors as the trainer's resume and written materials, interviews with the trainer, observation of other trainings conducted by the trainer, feedback from other entities with which the trainer has worked, training participant feedback and evaluations, and the general reputation of the trainer. 4. Trainers must demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism. Trainers must comport themselves with professionalism. While trainings will necessarily entail varying teaching styles, techniques, and degrees of formality, as appropriate to the particular training goal, professionalism demands that trainers instruct in the manner that best communicates the subject matter while conveying respect for all. Condition 25 Computer Network Requirement: The recipient understands and agrees that no award funds may be used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography. Nothing in this requirement limits the use of funds necessary for any federal, state, tribal, or local law enforcement agency or any other entity carrying out criminal investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Public Law 118-42, Division C, Title V, Section 527. Condition 26 Evaluations: The COPS Office may conduct monitoring or sponsor national evaluations of its award programs. The recipient agrees to cooperate with the monitors and evaluators. 34 U.S.C. § 10385(b). Condition 27 Page: 13 of 17 19 Human Subjects Research: The recipient agrees to comply with the provisions of the U.S. Department of Justice’s common rule regarding Protection of Human Subjects, 28 C.F.R. Part 46, prior to the expenditure of Federal funds to perform such activities, if applicable. The recipient also agrees to comply with 28 C.F.R. Part 22 regarding the safeguarding of individually identifiable information collected from research participants. Condition 28 Extensions: Recipients may request an extension of the award period to receive additional time to implement their award program. Such extensions do not provide additional funding. Only those recipients that can provide a reasonable justification for delays will be granted no-cost extensions. Extension requests must be received prior to the end date of the award. 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.308(f)(10) and 200.309. Condition 29 Modifications: Award modifications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.308(i). For federal awards in excess of $250,000, any modification request involving the reallocation of funding between budget categories that exceed or are expected to exceed 10 percent (10%) of the total approved budget requires prior written approval by the COPS Office. Regardless of the federal award amount or budget modification percentage, any reallocation of funding is limited to approved budget categories. In addition, any budget modification that changes the scope of the project requires prior written approval by the COPS Office. Condition 30 The Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance and Privacy Act Review: Recipient agrees, if required, to submit all surveys, interview protocols, and other information collections to the COPS Office for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before submission to OMB, all information collections that request personally identifiable information must be reviewed by the COPS Office to ensure compliance with the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act compliance review and the PRA clearance process may take several months to complete. 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3520 and 5 U.S.C. § 552a. Condition 31 Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment: Recipient agrees that it, and its subrecipients, will not use award funds to extend, renew, or enter into any contract to procure or obtain any covered telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment as described in 2 CFR §200.216. Covered services and equipment include telecommunications or video surveillance services or equipment produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities); Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities); or an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of the National Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity owned or controlled by, or otherwise connected to, the government of China. The use of award funds on covered telecommunications or video surveillance services or equipment are unallowable. 2. C.F.R. § § 200.216 & 471. See also Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2019, Public Law 115-232. Condition 32 Sole Source Justification: Recipients who have been awarded funding for the procurement of an item (or group of items) or service in excess of $250,000 and who plan to seek approval for use of a noncompetitive procurement process must provide a written sole source justification to the COPS Office for approval prior to obligating, expending, or drawing down award funds for that item or service. 2 C.F.R. § 200.325(b)(2). Condition 33 Supplementing, not Supplanting: State, local, and tribal government recipients must use award funds to supplement, and not supplant, state, local, or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funds that are already committed or otherwise would have been committed for award purposes (hiring, training, purchases, and/or activities) during the award period. In other words, state, local, and tribal government recipients may not use COPS Office funds to supplant (replace) state, local, or BIA funds that would have been dedicated to the COPS Office-funded item(s) in the absence of the COPS Office award. 34 U.S.C. § 10384(a). Page: 14 of 17 20 Condition 34 Travel Costs: Travel costs for transportation, lodging and subsistence, and related items are allowable with prior approval from the COPS Office. Payment for allowable travel costs will be in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.475. Condition 35 Copyright: If applicable, the recipient may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was acquired, under this award in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(b). The COPS Office reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work, in whole or in part (including create derivative works), for Federal Government purposes, and to authorize others to do so. The COPS Office also reserves the right, at its discretion, not to publish deliverables and other materials developed under this award as a U.S. Department of Justice resource. Products and deliverables developed with award funds and published as a U.S. Department of Justice resource will contain the following copyright notice: “This resource was developed under a federal award and may be subject to copyright. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal Government purposes and to authorize others to do so. This resource may be freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes only.” Condition 36 Requirement to report actual or imminent breach of personally identifiable information (PII). The recipient (and any subrecipient at any tier) must have written procedures in place to respond in the event of an actual or imminent breach (as defined in OMB M-17-12) if it (or a subrecipient)-- 1) creates, collects, uses, processes, stores, maintains, disseminates, discloses, or disposes of personally identifiable information (PII) (as defined in 2 C.F.R. 200.1) within the scope of a COPS Office grant-funded program or activity, or 2) uses or operates a Federal information system (as defined in OMB Circular A-130). The recipient's breach procedures must include a requirement to report actual or imminent breach of PII to the recipient’s COPS Office Program Manager no later than 24 hours after an occurrence of an actual breach, or the detection of an imminent breach. Condition 37 Domestic preferences for procurements: Recipient agrees that it, and its subrecipients, to the greatest extent practicable, will provide a preference for the purchase, acquisition, or use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States. 2. C.F.R. § 200.322 and Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers, January 25, 2021. Condition 38 Public Release Information: The recipient agrees to submit one copy of all reports and proposed publications resulting from this award ninety (90) days prior to public release. Any publications (written, curricula, visual, sound, or websites) or computer programs, whether or not published at government expense, shall contain the following statement: "This project was supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number [YYYY-XX-XXXX] awarded to [Entity] by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) or contributor(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific individuals, agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s), contributor(s), or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the date of publication. Given that URLs and websites are in constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the COPS Office can vouch for their current validity." [ ] I have read and understand the information presented in this section of the Federal Award Instrument . Page: 15 of 17 21 Award Acceptance Declaration and Certification to the U.S. Department of Justice as to Acceptance By checking the declaration and certification box below, I-- A. Declare to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), under penalty of perjury, that I have authority to make this declaration and certification on behalf of the applicant. B. Certify to DOJ, under penalty of perjury, on behalf of myself and the applicant, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that the following are true as of the date of this award acceptance: (1) I have conducted or there was conducted (including by applicant’s legal counsel as appropriate and made available to me) a diligent review of all terms and conditions of, and all supporting materials submitted in connection with, this award, including any assurances and certifications (including anything submitted in connection therewith by a person on behalf of the applicant before, after, or at the time of the application submission and any materials that accompany this acceptance and certification); and (2) I have the legal authority to accept this award on behalf of the applicant. C. Accept this award on behalf of the applicant. D. Declare the following to DOJ, under penalty of perjury, on behalf of myself and the applicant: (1) I understand that, in taking (or not taking) any action pursuant to this declaration and certification, DOJ will rely upon this declaration and certification as a material representation; and (2) I understand that any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent information or statement in this declaration and certification (or concealment or omission of a material fact as to either) may be the subject of criminal prosecution (including under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 and/or 1621, and/or 34 U.S.C. §§ 10271-10273), and also may subject me and the applicant to civil penalties and administrative remedies under the federal False Claims Act (including under 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3730 and/or §§ 3801-3812) or otherwise. Agency Approval Title of Approving Official COPS Director Name of Approving Official Hugh T. Clements Signed Date And Time 11/8/24 11:05 AM Authorized Representative Page: 16 of 17 22 Page: 17 of 17 23 1 November 21, 2024 Chief Reo Hatfield, III South Miami Police Department 6130 Sunset Drive South Miami, FL 33143 Re: Provision of ICAT training for the South Miami Police Department Dear Chief Hatfield, On behalf of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), I am pleased to present our proposal to provide PERF’s Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) instruction to the South Miami Police Department. We will conduct three, consecutive 12‐hour classes over three days for approximately 16 officers each. PERF’s ICAT program takes the essential building blocks of critical thinking, crisis intervention, communications, suicide by cop, and tactics, and puts them together in an integrated approach to training. ICAT is anchored by a Critical Decision‐Making Model that helps officers assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. The goal of ICAT is to enhance both officer safety and public safety by providing officers with more tools, skills, and options for handling different types of critical incidents, especially those that involve subjects who are acting erratically because of mental illness or behavioral crisis and who are unarmed or armed with a weapon other than a firearm. Our experience includes assisting state, county and local police departments, sheriffs’ offices, and federal law enforcement agencies, both within the United States and internationally. We have in‐depth experience in evaluating and aiding law enforcement agencies to ensure maximum effectiveness. We have worked extensively to help law enforcement agencies 24 Police Executive Research Forum 2 develop long‐term and short‐term goals, policy, training, and measurable benchmarks to track progress. PERF, established in 1976, exists to improve the delivery of police services and the effectiveness of crime control. We are a private, non‐profit 501 (c) (3) research, development, and consulting organization, as well as a membership organization of police executives and others with an interest in exercising national leadership and participating in public debate on police and criminal justice issues. We perform police research, develop policy, and provide vital management and leadership training services to police agencies. Because of our long‐standing commitment to progressive leadership in policing, PERF is relied upon by police leaders nationwide to provide critical management services and technical assistance. PERF very much looks forward to the possibility of working with the South Miami Police Department. Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal. Sincerely, Jason Cheney Senior Research Associate Police Executive Research Forum 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 930 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202‐454‐8331 jcheney@policeforum.org 25 3 About PERF Founded in 1976, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a premier police research organization and a provider of high‐quality management services, technical assistance, and training to support policing and the criminal justice system. As an international, private, non‐ profit 501 (c) (3) organization located in Washington DC, PERF improves the delivery of police services and the effectiveness of crime control through: 1. The exercise of strong national leadership; 2. Public debate of police and criminal justice issues; 3. Research and policy development; and 4. The provision of vital management and leadership services to police agencies. PERF is a source of expertise on the policies, practices, and operations of police departments. For over 40 years, PERF has provided consulting services to law enforcement agencies, conducted research on the issues of greatest concern to police executives, educated up‐and‐ coming police officials at its Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), and stimulated debate about policing issues within the profession, in the news media, and among policy‐ makers and the public. PERF is one of the nation’s leading providers of management consulting services to police agencies, having conducted comprehensive studies of police departments and reviews of particular systems or issues in departments of all sizes across the nation. We offer a full range of consulting services to police organizations of all sizes, including: Comprehensive management surveys, performance audits, and organizational studies; Development of use‐of‐force policies and training and early intervention systems; Human resource management reviews; Productivity analysis and recommendations for improvements; On‐site assistance in implementing recommendations; Education and training development, delivery, and review; Organizational climate review and organizational development planning; Police communications and dispatch; Core process identification and process mapping; and Strategic planning assistance. PERF has provided technical assistance in specialized areas such as use of force, records and information processing, budgeting, communications, crime prevention, management of criminal investigations, vice and narcotics unit operations and police handling of special populations. 26 4 PERF has conducted over 250 comprehensive management studies of law enforcement agencies across the United States. Through this work and with PERF’s close relationship with all levels of police practitioners, PERF enjoys an excellent national reputation for being in touch with contemporary law enforcement leadership styles, effective organizational structures, operations, and tactics ‐ and how they relate to individual agency missions, professional values, and expectations of the public. Our consulting studies are based on the timely and accurate collection of information, since this is paramount to facilitating an effective study of a law enforcement agency. In this manner, PERF is able to glean the necessary information from the police department to provide a complete picture of the department’s operations. And through our experience in conducting numerous management studies, our research, and our daily contacts with police executives, PERF has gained a wider, deeper, more thorough knowledge base on all aspects of contemporary policing. Our studies identify opportunities to improve current departmental practices. We also identify processes and functions in police agencies that add minimal or no value to the department and thus are candidates for realignment or elimination. Our final work products are complete and comprehensive based upon the thorough analysis of the information obtained. PERF’s Work on Use of Force In 2012, when the term “de‐escalation” was still relatively new in policing circles, PERF published An Integrated Approach to De‐Escalation and Minimizing Use of Force, which provides guidance on minimizing use of force in situations involving persons with mental illness and other conditions that can cause erratic behavior. In September 2014, one month after a controversial officer‐involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, PERF convened approximately 180 police executives and other experts in Chicago to discuss de‐escalation strategies, particularly new concepts for reviewing the moments before a use of lethal force, to see if officers missed opportunities for de‐escalating the situation, rather than focusing solely on the moment when lethal force was considered necessary and was used. These discussions were detailed in PERF’s 2015 report, Defining Moments for Police Chiefs. One of the key issues to emerge from the “Defining Moments” conference was the need to rethink the training that police officers receive on use of force, specifically on de‐escalation strategies and tactics. So in the spring of 2015, PERF conducted a survey of PERF member agencies on the training they provide to new recruits in the police academy and to experienced officers during in‐service training. The survey found that while agencies spend a median of 58 hours of recruit training on firearms and another 49 hours on defensive tactics, they spend only 27 5 about 8 hours of recruit training each on the topics of de‐escalation, crisis intervention, and Electronic Control Weapons. A similar imbalance was noted with in‐service training. With the survey and other information in hand, PERF convened another national conference in May 2015, to elicit more specific ideas on new approaches to training on use of force. That conference brought together nearly 300 police chiefs and other law enforcement executives, federal government officials, academic experts, and, importantly, representatives from policing agencies in the United Kingdom. Because the vast majority of police officers in England and Scotland do not carry firearms, agencies there have developed innovative ways to train their officers on how to deal with suspects armed with knives, baseball bats, and other weapons besides firearms. The dialogue and findings from the conference were captured in PERF’s August 2015 report, Re‐Engineering Training on Police Use of Force. Next, PERF arranged for police chiefs and other high‐ranking executives from 23 American police agencies to travel to Scotland to witness how officers there are trained in the concepts described in the “Re‐Engineering Training” report. Many of the approaches PERF was hearing about from police chiefs, such as tactical disengagement, preservation of life training, tactical communications to minimize use of force, scenario‐based training, emotional intelligence training, and stress management for officers during critical incidents, are already being implemented in some U.S. police agencies. PERF learned that the New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit (ESU) is considered a leader in these strategies. PERF staff members conducted field research at NYPD’s Floyd Bennett Field in December 2015. A key focus was on how some of the principles used by the specially‐trained ESU personnel in responding to critical incidents could be used by patrol officers as well, because they are typically the first responders on most scenes. In January 2016, PERF brought together close to 200 police chiefs and other executives, federal agency representatives, mental health experts, academics, and others to develop PERF’s Guiding Principles on Use of Force, a set of 30 principles in the areas of policy, training and tactics, equipment, and information exchange – all of which are based on the goal of protecting the sanctity of human life. Most recently, PERF in 2016 developed a training program to help law enforcement agencies implement the Guiding Principles. ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics provides lesson plans and training materials based on the essential building blocks of critical thinking, crisis intervention, communications, and tactics, anchored by a Critical Decision‐ Making Model that helps officers to assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. 28 6 PERF’s Electronic Control Weapon Guidelines In partnership with the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services, PERF researched and published the 2011 Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) Guidelines. The 2011 ECW guidelines were based on information gathered from interviews, a national survey of more than 190 law enforcement agencies, and an executive session in Philadelphia that focused on ECW policy and practice. PERF’s Body Worn Camera Recommendations In 2013, again in partnership with the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services, PERF hosted a conference in Washington, D.C., where more than 200 law enforcement officials, scholars, representatives from federal agencies, and other experts gathered to share their experiences with body‐worn cameras. The discussions from this conference, along with interviews with more than 40 police executives and a review of existing body‐worn camera policies, culminated in the recommendations set forth in the publication “Implementing a Body‐ Worn Camera Program: Recommendations and Lessons Learned.” Other Past Work Some of the PERF studies over the last 20 years of consulting include the following police and sheriff’s agencies. Under 100,000 population 100,000‐399,999 population Over 400,000 population Annapolis, MD Ashland, OR Boynton Beach, FL Brooklyn Center, MN Brooklyn Park, MN Canton, CT Cape Girardeau, MO Cape May County, NJ Clinton, CT Corvallis, OR Destin, FL East Haven, CT Edmond, OK Elkhart, IN Ferguson Twp., PA Fort Lee, NJ Fredericksburg, VA Grass Valley, CA Greenbelt, MD Greenville, NC Groton, CT Anchorage, AK Akron, OH Arlington, TX Bell County, TX Bellevue, WA Brown County, WI Bridgeport, CT Cleveland, OH Dauphin County, PA Dayton, OH Denton, TX Elk Grove, CA Eugene, OR Fayetteville, NC Fort Collins, CO Gainesville, FL Killeen, TX Lafayette Parish, LA Lakewood, CO Lane County, OR Las Cruces, NM Albuquerque, NM Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Berks County, PA Broward County, FL Charlotte/Mecklenburg, NC Chicago, IL Columbus, OH Denver, CO Fairfax County, VA Fort Worth, TX Fresno, CA Fresno County, CA Gwinnett County, GA Houston, TX Indianapolis, IN Kansas City, MO Kent County, MI Memphis, TN Mesa, AZ Miami Dade, FL 29 7 Indian Trail, NC Indio, CA Kiawah Island, SC Lake Park, FL Longview, WA Lorain, OH Lynchburg, VA Mansfield, CT Medford, OR Miami Beach, FL North Miami, FL Ocean City, MD Old Brookville, NY Riverton, WY Rockville, MD Schenectady, NY Scranton, PA Sparks, NV State College Borough, PA Temple, TX The Woodlands, TX Windsor, CT Winslow, AZ Yarmouth, MA Lowell, MA Minneapolis, MN Naperville, IL New Haven, CT Oakland, CA Overland Park, KS Pasadena, CA Provo, UT Raleigh, NC Savannah Chatham, GA Springfield, MA St. Louis, MO St. Petersburg, FL Stamford, CT Tacoma, WA Tallahassee, FL Tuscaloosa County, AL Vancouver, WA West Palm Beach, FL Wilmington, NC Wright County, MN Milwaukee, WI Morris County, NJ Nashville, TN Nassau County, NY New Castle County, DE Ocean County, NJ Palm Beach County, FL Phoenix, AZ Prince George’s County, MD Prince William County, VA San Antonio, TX San Francisco, CA San José, CA Shelby County, TN Virginia Beach, VA Volusia County, FL Washington, DC York County, PA 30 8 Scope of Services ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics By The Police Executive Research Forum Overview: The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) will provide the South Miami Police Department (SMPD) with departmentwide ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training. PERF will conduct three, 12‐hour classes for approximately 16 officers each. These classes will be scheduled consecutively over one week (e.g., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). PERF will arrange to have SMPD’s assigned ICAT trainers in the first class and have them take a co‐ teaching role over the course of subsequent classes so that PERF’s instructors can answer their questions and provide feedback, observations, and issue any necessary corrections immediately. SMPD’s trainers will be provided with a train‐the‐trainer certificate, while officers receive an ICAT course completion certificate. ICAT is designed to help officers learn to safely and professionally resolve critical incidents involving individuals who may pose a danger to themselves or others, but who are not armed with firearms. Reducing the need to use deadly force, upholding the sanctity of life, building community trust, and protecting officers from physical, emotional, and legal harm are the cornerstones of ICAT. PERF will provide links to all necessary training materials. PERF and SMPD will work cooperatively to schedule the class to best meet the scheduling needs of all parties. SMPD will be responsible for selecting the training location equipped with projectors and screens for audio/visual demonstrations. PERF will work with SMPD to provide examples of scenario‐based training and video case studies as time and resources allow. Training Goals The ICAT training program is based on the following goals: 1) Reinforce with officers the core ideal of sanctity of all human life. This includes the need to protect themselves, members of the public and, whenever possible, criminal suspects and other individuals in crisis from danger and harm. 31 9 2) Promote public safety and officer safety by learning and integrating skills and strategies related to decision‐making, crisis recognition, tactical communications, and safety tactics. 3) Provide patrol officers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to assess and manage threats, influence behavioral change, and gain voluntary compliance whenever possible in dynamic and potentially dangerous situations. 4) Provide officers with a decision‐making model that is intuitive, practical, and effective for safely resolving non‐firearms critical incidents and for documenting and explaining their actions and decisions after the fact. 5) Provide officers with basic skills needed to recognize individuals in crisis and to approach and attempt to engage them in a safe and effective manner. 6) Provide officers with key communications skills needed to safely engage with, de‐escalate, and gain compliance from subjects who are in crisis and/or non‐compliant. 7) Reinforce with officers effective tactical approaches and teamwork skills needed to safely resolve incidents. 8) Provide officers with realistic and challenging scenario‐based training, which enables them to practice the concepts and skills presented in the training, including recognizing persons in crisis, tactical communications and decision‐making, and the appropriate actions to take as part of an overall, integrated de‐escalation strategy. Training Modules This Training Guide is presented in seven modules: Module 1: Introduction. This module explains the purpose and focus of the training, emphasizing that public safety and officer safety lie at the heart of the entire Training Guide. Module 2: Critical Decision‐Making Model (CDM). This module discusses the importance of critical thinking and decision‐making for officers responding to the types of incidents that are the focus of this Training Guide. It presents the Critical Decision‐Making Model as a training and operational tool for agencies to structure and support officers’ decision‐making. Module 3: Crisis recognition. This module provides basic information on how to recognize individuals who are experiencing a behavioral crisis caused by mental illness, drug addiction, or other conditions. Module 4: Tactical communications. This module provides more specific and detailed instruction on how to respond to such individuals and initiate communications with them. It 32 10 focuses on key communications skills, including active listening and non‐verbal communication, that are designed to help officers manage these situations and gain voluntary compliance. Module 5: Suicide by Cop. This module teaches officers to recognize and respond safely to incidents in which a person decides to attempt to die at the hands of a police officer. These encounters are called “Suicide by Cop” (SbC) incidents. Many SbC incidents can be resolved without using lethal force against the suicidal person, and without endangering officers or the public. Module 6: Operational tactics. Using the Critical Decision‐Making Model as the foundation, this module reviews critical pre‐response, response, and post‐response tactics to incidents in which a person in behavioral crisis is acting erratically or dangerously but is not brandishing a firearm. It emphasizes concepts such as the “tactical pause;” using distance and cover to create time; using time to continue communications, de‐escalate heightened emotional responses, and bring additional resources to the scene; tactical positioning and re‐positioning; and teamwork. Module 7: Step up and step in. This module integrates the previous six modules while presenting case studies in which there were potential missed and successful opportunities for someone to Step Up and Step In and manage a scene to increase the likelihood of a favorable conclusion. Integration and practice. Officers then participate in scenario‐based exercises to put into practice the lessons taught in the previous modules. The ICAT modules utilize lecture/discussion‐based training and practical instruction. Because traditional, lecture‐based classes do not provide kinesthetic learners with an avenue to easily retain the information presented, the instruction includes multiple hands‐on activities. In addition, some individuals do not have a single learning style. For example, visual/kinesthetic learners will retain more information if it is presented across the two different learning styles. The modules were designed for these types of learners as well. 33 11 PERF Trainers PERF will send its lead trainer, Dan Alioto, and one vetted instructor for the training, along with two role players for the scenario‐based component. Training Location SMPD will provide the classroom and all the necessary audio and visual equipment, such as projectors and screens, to present the ICAT material. SMPD will also be responsible for supplying blue guns, rubber knives, and training bats for the scenario‐based trainings. PERF instructors will work with SMPD to ensure these items are available. Cost PERF will provide the departmentwide ICAT training for a fixed fee of $39,950.00. 34 November 21, 2024 Chief Reo Hatfield, III South Miami Police Department 6130 Sunset Drive South Miami, FL 33143 Re: Sole source letter, PERF’s ICAT training program Dear Chief Hatfield, This sole source letter is to inform you that the Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training program is a proprietary police training program designed and delivered exclusively by the Police Executive Research Forum. In January 2016, PERF brought together close to 200 police chiefs and other executives, federal agency representatives, mental health experts, academics, and others to develop PERF’s Guiding Principles on Use of Force, a set of 30 principles in the areas of policy, training and tactics, equipment, and information exchange – all of which are based on the goal of protecting the sanctity of human life. Then, also in 2016, PERF developed a training program to help law enforcement agencies implement the Guiding Principles. ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics provides lesson plans and training materials based on the essential building blocks of critical thinking, crisis intervention, communications, and tactics, anchored by a Critical Decision‐ Making Model that helps officers to assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. PERF is the sole provider of ICAT training to agencies across the United States. PERF has trained over 1,400 agencies in ICAT since the program’s inception. 35 HH Police Executive Research Forum PERF very much looks forward to working with the South Miami Police Department to provide departmentwide ICAT instruction. Sincerely, Jason Cheney Senior Research Associate Police Executive Research Forum 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 930 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202‐454‐8331 jcheney@policeforum.org 36 37 Implementing the ICAT Training Program at Your Agency May 2023 38 mil Police Executive Research Forum This publication is supported by funding from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The points of view expressed herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright © 2023 by Police Executive Research Forum All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-1-934485-70-5 Graphic design by Dave Williams. 39 From PERF’s Executive Director: ICAT Is Making Communities and Officers Safer ....................................1 How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers .........................4 Sidebar: ICAT Mission Statement .................................5 Sidebar: A Brief History of ICAT: Key Milestones ..........6 The ICAT Curriculum .............................9 Three Training Elements ..............................................9 Seven Modules ...........................................................10 Sidebar: The Critical Decision-Making Model Explained ....................................................................12 Sidebar: Oxnard, CA: Suicide by Cop from the Perspective of the Person in Crisis .............15 Sidebar: How to Preview the ICAT Curriculum ..........16 Who Is Using ICAT? ...............................17 Sidebar: New Jersey Adopts ICAT Statewide .............18 What the Research Says about ICAT ................................................20 Contents Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations .............23 Align Agency Culture, Policy, and Operations with ICAT ..........................................24 Select the Right Instructors ......................................25 Rolling Out the Training: Who Goes First? .................27 ICAT in the Academy ..................................................28 Sidebar: What about Lateral Hires? ...........................28 Sidebar: Integrating ICAT with Field Training ............29 Conducting Effective Scenarios .................................29 Sidebar: Stop-and-Discuss or Let-it-Go? 2 Approaches to Debriefing Scenarios ......................31 Sidebar: Evaluating Scenarios: Four Key Questions to Ask .........................................32 Sidebar: What Happens to Students Not Going through Scenarios? ...................................33 Implementation Fidelity: Remaining True to the ICAT Curriculum ....................33 The Role of First-Line Supervisors .............................34 Sidebar: Leadership Snapshots: A New ICAT Feature ....................................................35 ICAT “Booster Shots”: Providing Ongoing Training .......................................35 Sidebar: Agencies Need to Stay Up to Date with ICAT .....................................................................36 Sidebar: Reinforcing ICAT through Monday-Morning Quarterbacking .............................37 40 ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies .............................................38 Alliance, NE Police Department .................................38 Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office .............................40 Sidebar: How ICAT Principles Are Helping to Improve Investigations in Volusia County ............41 Monterey, CA Police Department ..............................42 Sidebar: “Left of Bang”: Using ICAT to Limit Disruptions When Responding to Any Incident ........43 Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office ...............................44 What’s Next for ICAT? ...........................46 PERF National ICAT Training Center ..........................46 ICAT in Jails.................................................................47 Sidebar: PERF Is Looking for Videos to Use in ICAT ..............................................................48 Curriculum Enhancements ........................................48 Other Information and Resources .........................................49 About the Police Executive Research Forum .....................................51 41 From PERF’s Executive Director: ICAT Is Making Communities and Officers Safer — 1 They are the type of encounters that have challenged police officers for years. A person is unarmed or armed with a knife or other weapon besides a firearm. The individual is agitated and acting erratically, maybe because they are in a mental health crisis. The person may be acting in a manner that may provoke the officer to use deadly force in a “suicide-by- cop” situation. Traditionally in these types of situations, officers have been trained to confront the subject, bark commands like “drop the knife,” and rely on an escalating continuum of force options, up to and including deadly force, if the subject did not comply. And the results were often tragic – for the subject, for the officers involved, and for the police department and its relationship with the community. In 2015, the Washington Post began assembling detailed information on fatal officer-involved shootings in the United States. The Post’s database found that each year, police officers shoot and kill approximately 1,000 individuals.1 Of these, 400 or so were unarmed or armed with a weapon other than a firearm. And at least 1 in 4 of these individu- als had mental health issues at the time of the shooting. Increasingly, these encounters are being captured on video – either the officers’ 1. “Fatal Force.” The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/ graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/. body-worn cameras or on bystanders’ cell phones – and the footage is often shared widely through social and traditional news media. When the officers’ actions appear questionable, public trust in the police can be undermined and the involved officers can face months, even years, of intense scrutiny and FROM PERF’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ICAT Is Making Communities and Officers Safer Vancouver, Washington Police Department. 42 Stic Washington post Democracy Out in Darlene** FATAL FORCE people have been shot and killed by police in the past 12 months The Post has tracked 8,410 fatal police shootings since 2015 2 — From PERF’s Executive Director: ICAT Is Making Communities and Officers Safer Over the years, my PERF colleagues and I have heard two common reactions to ICAT: • First, some people insist that “we’re already doing that.” While it may be true that agen- cies have trained their personnel in some type of de-escalation, few departments teach all three critical skill sets contained in ICAT – communications, assessment, and tactics – and do so in an integrated curricu- lum that includes scenario-based exercises. • Second, people often ask, “How is ICAT different from CIT?” There are certainly common elements to both curricula, including identifying persons in crisis and effectively communicating with them. But there are significant differences as well. Crisis Intervention Team training focuses heavily on the specific types of mental ill- ness and developmental disabilities among individuals that officers may encounter. ICAT dedicates a module to recogniz- ing someone in crisis, but it also focuses on effective tactics for safely resolving encounters with these individuals. ICAT starts with teaching officers the Criti- cal Decision-Making Model and teaches them to think through challenging situa- tions using this decision-making approach. This is a critical component to ICAT that is not necessarily taught in other curricula. ICAT and CIT do not represent an either-or proposition. Rather, many agencies have found it useful to train their personnel in both programs. ICAT was rolled out in 2016, and today it has been adopted by hundreds of police agencies – large, mid-sized, and small – across the country. The entire state of New Jersey has adopted ICAT and mandated the training for every police agency in the state (see page 18). ICAT is also the only de-escalation training program that has been rigorously studied and shown to be effective through a randomized control trial – the gold standard of research. A 2020 study of ICAT in the Louisville (KY) Metro Police Department found that the the potential loss of their livelihoods and even their freedom. In 2015, during a period of considerable focus on police use of force in the U.S., the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) began examining what could be done to signif- icantly impact when and how police use force. PERF studied how and why force was used, how police officers were trained, and what we could learn from the practices of other coun- tries. PERF was convinced there had to be a better and safer way to resolve these types of incidents – so that both police officers and everyone else could “go home safely” at the end of the day. The result of this intensive effort was ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics. ICAT is an innovative training curriculum that combines classroom instruc- tion with scenario-based exercises to help officers successfully – and safely – resolve the types of challenging incidents described above. (For a look at key milestones in the development of ICAT, see page 6.) What makes ICAT unique is that it integrates the critical skills that officers need in these situations: • Communications – with the subject, fel- low officers, dispatchers, and others. ICAT teaches officers how to ask questions (not just bark commands), actively listen to what a subject is telling them, and then try to make a connection and build rapport. • Assessment – of the situation, the threat, the mental state of the subject, and the range of options for addressing the incident. • Tactics – including the use of time, dis- tance and cover, tactical repositioning when necessary, and bringing in specialized resources. Other training programs focus on one or maybe two of these skill sets. ICAT emphasizes all three, and presents them in a comprehen- sive, integrated manner. 43 From PERF’s Executive Director: ICAT Is Making Communities and Officers Safer — 3 and others – to share their experiences with ICAT over the past several years. I thank all of them – especially PERF’s ICAT team and our dedicated cadre of ICAT trainers – for their contributions to this report. I want to especially thank my friend Howard G. Buffett, the philanthropist and former Sheriff of Macon County, IL. Howard has been with PERF from the very beginning of ICAT. He traveled with us to Scotland to study how police there train to handle per- sons with knives, and he has supported our efforts all along the way. His invaluable sup- port has enabled PERF to continually upgrade and improve the curriculum and to train hundreds of police agencies in ICAT over the past several years. And his latest contribu- tion – the creation of the PERF National ICAT Training Center – will allow for the training of many more agencies in the years ahead. Whether your agency has been using ICAT for years or is just now considering the training, I think you will find this guide to be informative and helpful. And if you have any questions or want to talk through implementa- tion, please contact PERF. Chuck Wexler Executive Director training was associated with reductions in officers’ use of force as well as substantial declines in injuries to both citizens and officers. (See page 20 for more details about this ground-breaking study.) This ICAT implementation guide provides information about what ICAT is and how it is being used in agencies across the country. The guide includes: • A summary of the seven ICAT training mod- ules, including the recently added modules on suicide by cop and duty to intervene (what we call “Step Up and Step In”). • Key implementation issues agencies have faced as they rolled out the training and how some departments are addressing those challenges. • Case studies of how agencies of different sizes, in different parts of the country, have implemented ICAT. • Recent enhancements to ICAT, including the opening of a state-of-the-art PERF National ICAT Training Center in Decatur, IL (see page 46). Much of the information in this guide was discussed at the first ICAT National Confer- ence that PERF held in January 2023. That event brought together close to 200 people – police chiefs and command personnel, first- line supervisors, officers, trainers, researchers, LEFT: The first National ICAT Conference was held in San Diego in January 2023. RIGHT: PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler and Howard Buffett tour the site of the PERF National ICAT Training Center while it was under construction in Decatur, IL. 44 4 — How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers ICAT is revolutionizing how police agencies train their officers in use of force. It replaces outdated concepts such as the traditional (staircase model) use-of-force continuum, the “21-foot rule,” and drawing a line in the sand with approaches that are more versatile and effective. These include critical thinking and decision-making, using time, distance, and cover to an officer’s advantage, active listening and communica- tions, and involving specialized personnel and resources, among other strategies. In ICAT, these concepts and skills are presented through a combination of classroom instruc- tion, video case studies, and scenario-based training. ICAT is designed primarily for those situ- ations in which someone is acting erratically or aggressively, but is unarmed or armed with a weapon other than a firearm (knife, baseball bat, etc.). Nothing in ICAT says that officers cannot use force, including deadly force, if the circumstances warrant. How- ever, the goal of ICAT is to give officers the options and tools they need to safely resolve these situations without having to resort to deadly force whenever possible. ICAT is not the brainchild of a single indi- vidual or entity. The training was developed and tested in the field through a collabora- tive process involving hundreds of police professionals at all ranks and from a variety of agencies in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. And now that the curriculum has been in the field for several years, PERF continues to learn from the experiences of ICAT agencies. ICAT is also a dynamic curriculum. As new topics and challenges emerge, the core ICAT training is updated with new How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers For the longest time, we allowed our tactics to drive our psychology. With ICAT, you have to reverse that, letting the psychology drive our tactics. You have to use your brain and think, “How do I want to respond to this?” Then, “What are the best tactics in this situation?” And it may not be how you were trained years ago. — Officer Cam Deane Cambridge, MA Police Department ICAT Trainer 45 How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers — 5 information, video case studies, and sce- narios. Recent additions have included a module on suicide-by-cop encounters and another one on effective intervention strate- gies, called “Step Up and Step In.” There is no charge to agencies to adopt the ICAT curriculum. However, to help ensure successful implementation, agen- cies are expected to send personnel to a PERF train-the-trainer session where they can learn about the curriculum in detail and receive guidance on how to effectively pres- ent the material. In addition, ICAT is trademarked, and only PERF is authorized to control or repre- sent the training content. Agencies should be wary of other entities claiming to offer “ICAT training.” Santa Cruz County, California Sheriff’s Office. ICAT Mission Statement Patrol officers will learn to safely and professionally resolve critical incidents involving subjects who may pose a danger to themselves or others but who are not armed with firearms. Reducing the need to use deadly force, upholding the sanctity of life, building community trust, and protecting officers from physical, emotional, and legal harm are the cornerstones of ICAT. See the ICAT Training Guide (www.police forum.org/assets/icattrainingguide.pdf , page 13) for the eight training goals that flow from the ICAT Mission Statement. 46 ICATI Integrating Communications, Assessment,and Tactics'” 6 — How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For OfficersA Brief History of ICAT: Key Milestones Here are some of the key milestones in the development of ICAT.• In 2015, PERF published Re-Engineering Training on Police Use of Force, which included a survey of its members on their use-of-force training practices. The research found that both recruits and veteran officers receive substantial training on firearms and defensive tactics, which is appropriate given the firearms threats that officers in the United States face. However, officers receive considerably less training on de-escalation, crisis intervention, tactical communications, and less-lethal options such as electronic control weapons (ECWs).2Recruit Training: Hours Spent on Use-of-Force Topics (median values)Source: Police Executive Research ForumFirearms58Defensive Tactics49Constitutional Law/Legal Issues40Basic FirstAid16Use-of-Force ScenarioBased Training24Communication Skills10Use-of-Force Policy8Deescalation8Crisis Intervention8Baton8Electronic Control Weapons8OC Spray60102030405060HOURS2. Re-Engineering Training on Police Use of Force, 2015. http://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining1.pdf.3. PERF’s visit to Police Scotland was chronicled by Al Baker, at the time a reporter with the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/ 2015/12/12/nyregion/us-police-leaders-visiting-scotland-get-lessons-on-avoiding-deadly-force.html.• Later that year, PERF took 25 police chiefs and other agency executives to Scotland to study how police there respond to individuals who are armed with knives or other weapons besides firearms. Because the vast majority of police officers in Scotland do not carry firearms or electronic control weapons (TASERs), they need to rely on their communications skills, tactical positioning, shields and other less-lethal devices, and teamwork to safely resolve these types of challenging encounters. The U.S. delegation sat in on training and heard from both leaders and front-line personnel with Police Scotland.3 Several Police Scotland officials have continued to advise PERF on the development and rollout of ICAT.47 How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers — 7 • After the trip to Scotland, PERF staff spent several days with the New York Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit. The ESU has an international reputation for dealing with emotionally disturbed individuals and successfully resolving crises. The purpose of this visit was to see how the specialized skills and approaches used by ESU could be translated to the work of patrol officers. • In March 2016, PERF published Guiding Principles on Use of Force, which included 30 recommendations for improving police policy, training, tactics, and equipment. These recommendations form the basis of the ICAT training program.4 • The next month, PERF brought together more than 60 training and tactical experts representing more than 30 police agencies and other organizations from across the country and Police Scotland. The group spent a week at the New York City Police Academy discussing how to put the 30 guiding principles into practice and hashing out details of the ICAT curriculum. TOP ROW AND SECOND ROW, LEFT: Some of the demonstrations and discussions the U.S. police delegation engaged in during the 2016 visit to Police Scotland. SECOND ROW, RIGHT: New York Police Department Emergency Service Unit officers demonstrate a response to a mentally ill man barricaded in a room with a pickaxe. 4. Guiding Principles on Use of Force, 2016. https://www.policeforum.org/assets/guidingprinciples1.pdf. Police professionals from across the U.S. and Scotland spent a week at the NYPD Academy hashing out the ICAT curriculum. >> continued on page 8 48 8 — How ICAT Was Developed: By Officers, For Officers • Following a peer review of the draft lesson plan, ICAT was pilot tested during the summer of 2016 in seven agencies around the country: the Baltimore Police Department; Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department; Burlington, VT Police Department; Camden County, NJ Police Department; Daytona Beach, FL Police Department; Houston Police Department; and Prince William County, VA Police Department. Based on feedback from students and instructors, the curriculum was updated and finalized. • The initial version of ICAT was released in December 2016 at a national meeting PERF held in New Orleans. It was attended by 425 police professionals. • Since then, PERF has held hundreds of ICAT orientation meetings and train-the-trainer sessions throughout the country. Today, many of these agencies are using ICAT to train their personnel (see Who Is Using ICAT?, page 17). • In addition, PERF has held several meetings in Decatur, IL focusing on emerging issues such as suicide-by-cop situations and the necessity of stepping up and stepping in with fellow officers when intervention is warranted. These sessions with nationally recognized experts such as Dr. John Nicoletti, a police psychologist, were instrumental in the development of the most recent ICAT modules (see The ICAT Curriculum, page 9). ABOVE: Attendees at the ICAT rollout meeting in New Orleans in 2016. RIGHT: PERF brought together a team of experts to discuss new approaches to suicide-by-cop encounters. BOTTOM, LEFT: An ICAT information session hosted by the Camden County, NJ Police Department. BOTTOM, RIGHT: Executive Director Chuck Wexler meets with Dr. John Nicoletti, a police psychologist with more than 40 years of experience. continued from page 7 49 The ICAT Curriculum — 9PERF developed ICAT to be seamlessly incorporated into an agency’s recruit and in-service training. The ICAT training pack-age includes detailed lesson plans, instructor notes, recommended videos, and sample scenario-based training exercises.Three Training ElementsThe curriculum has three primary elements:Classroom lectures and discussion. ICAT concepts and approaches are presented in seven modules. The curriculum is typically delivered by agency trainers who have gone through a detailed train-the-trainer program run by PERF. As concepts are presented, students are encouraged to participate in class-room debates and discussions.Video case studies. Each ICAT module includes video case studies that illustrate the content covered in that module. Reviewed and selected by PERF’s ICAT training team, these videos typically feature body-worn camera footage from the officers involved in the incidents. And in a unique twist, many of the videos in the ICAT curriculum include interviews conducted by PERF staff with the officers involved in the encounter. (One case study includes interviews with both the involved officer and subject; see page 15.) These interviews provide first-hand information about what the officers perceived and key insights into their decision making. The “narrated” video case studies are designed to spur classroom discussion about the incidents and what officers can do better in the future. The case studies are not designed to point fingers, but rather to identify more effective approaches.The ICAT CurriculumJefferson County, Colorado Sheriff’s Office.50 10 — The ICAT Curriculum While ICAT allows for some flexibility in how the curriculum is presented, research has found that following the core curriculum and devoting sufficient time to scenario-based exercises are critical to successful implemen- tation. This is known as maintaining program fidelity (see page 33). Seven Modules The ICAT curriculum includes seven modules that present the core lessons related to com- munications, assessment, and tactics. Other modules cover specific topics such as suicide- by-cop and intervention strategies with fellow officers whose actions are not helping the situation. Here is an overview of the seven ICAT modules. Module 1: Introduction. This module provides an overview of ICAT – how it was developed, what the training is (providing officers with more options in use-of-force situations), and what the training is not (tell- ing officers they cannot use force when appropriate). Module 1 also shows how ICAT is challenging conventional wisdom about the response to potential use-of-force encounters. The introductory module is an opportunity for the police chief or sheriff to express their Scenario-based exercises. An essential component of ICAT is having officers practice the concepts and skills covered in the lectures, video case studies, and classroom discussions. This is done through scenario-based exercises. To provide the most realistic setting, PERF recommends that agencies conduct “live,” in- person scenarios using role players (although some agencies use simulators, often for their refresher training). The ICAT curriculum includes sample scenarios that agencies can use, plus guidance on how to effectively debrief scenarios once they are completed. There are also videos that illustrate recom- mended practices in scenario-based training. Implementation Tip: While the ICAT curriculum provides sample scenarios that can be used by just about any agency, many departments have found it effective to customize scenarios based on their particular setting (urban, suburban, or rural) or past experiences. For example, university police departments will want to create scenarios that would be likely to occur in a campus setting; transit police agencies might create scenarios occurring on trains or buses. And all agencies can benefit from reviewing previous incidents they had with people in crisis who were not armed with a firearm and looking to customize scenarios based on those encounters. ICAT is designed to be a 12-hour curriculum. • One full day is devoted to lectures, video case studies, and discussions. • PERF has found that most agencies need at least half a day to run students through sce- narios. Some agencies, however, spend a full day on scenario-based training, which often allows officers to complete a wider variety of scenarios. Broomfield, Colorado Police Department. 51 The ICAT Curriculum — 11 support for the training, either in person or through a video message, as PERF recommends. Module 2: Critical Decision- Making Model. The CDM is a five-step process that helps officers structure and guide their decision making in responding to any type of incident; it can be especially useful in potential use-of-force encoun- ters. In many agencies, officers also use the CDM as a tool to explain their actions following an incident, and supervisors use it to debrief critical incidents in a structured manner. This module explains the basics of the CDM, describes each of the five steps, and presents exam- ples of how agencies have incorpo- rated the model into their training and operations. Module 3: Crisis Recognition. When they encounter the police, some people may behave irrationally because they are in a mental or behavioral health crisis or because they have an intellectual or developmental disability. For police officers, being able to recognize these conditions is crucial to devel- oping a response that is both effective and safe for everyone involved. Using both research and case studies, this module provides useful information about recognizing people in crisis and practical tips on how to approach them and defuse potentially volatile situations. Module 4: Tactical Communications. One of the most effective tools police offi- cers have for dealing with someone in crisis is their ability to communicate. This mod- ule covers both the theory and practice of effective communications in tense, dynamic LEFT: Santa Cruz County, California Sheriff’s Office. RIGHT: Conyers, Georgia Police Department. >> continued on page 13 The Critical Decision-Making Model (CDM) 52 12 — The ICAT Curriculum The Critical Decision-Making Model Explained Decision making is at the core of ICAT, and the CDM is a logical and intuitive tool for structuring and guiding officers’ decision making. The CDM includes five steps that officers should work through when they are responding to any incident, but especially a potential use-of-force encounter. The five steps are: 1. Gather information 2. Assess situation, threats, and risks 3. Consider police powers and agency policy 4. Identify options and determine the best course of action 5. Act, review, and re-assess The beauty of the CDM is that officers can work through the model as quickly or as deliberately as needed, depending on the circumstances. And if the situation is not resolved the first time through, or if new information enters the picture, then officers go through the steps again – a process known as “spinning the model.” The CDM helps you look at the process, not just the outcome. What information did you have? What were the threats and the risks? Was it something you had to respond to right away? If so, what was the plan? The more we can focus on the process, the more likely we are to end up with the outcomes that we want. — Lt. Dan Warren (ret.) Riverside, CA Police Department ICAT Instructor ABOVE, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: NYPD CDM; Harris County, Texas Sheriff’s Office CDM; and Indiana University Police Department CDM. LEFT: Monterey, California Police Department CDM. 53 The ICAT Curriculum — 13 situations. It operationalizes concepts such as active listening (listening to understand and not just respond), “triggers” and “hooks,” and non-verbal communications. It also uses video case studies to illustrate how officers effec- tively used tactical communications to defuse situations involving people in crisis who were posing a threat to themselves or others. Implementation Tip: Many times, officers who encounter someone with a knife (or other weapon besides a firearm) end up shouting “drop the knife” over and over again. To help get officers out of the loop of just repeating the same command, some agencies give their officers canned phrases they can use in these situations. For example, “What are you planning to do with that knife?” or “What happened today that caused you to get that knife?” These types of alternatives to “drop the knife” can change the dynamics of the encounter and get the person talking. Module 5: Suicide by Cop. This module was added to the original ICAT curriculum after PERF noted the frequency of those extremely challenging situations in which someone who is suicidal tries to get a police officer to take their life. The module builds on the Suicide by Cop: Protocol and Training Guide published by PERF in 2019 with input Agencies have found the CDM has two key benefits: • Better decisions up front, often because officers took the time to gather information, assess the situation, and develop options. • Better explanations of decisions after the fact. The CDM helps officers in writing their reports and testifying in court, and it is used by supervisors to debrief critical incidents in an organized fashion. The heart of the CDM is the core. It represents the mission, ethics, values, and principles and priorities of the agency. The core guides all five steps in the decision-making process. Agencies that adopt ICAT are encouraged to customize the CDM core to represent their own mission, culture, and values. Implementation Tip: To reinforce the message and importance of the CDM, many ICAT agencies print and display posters of the CDM throughout the agency – for example, in training facilities, and roll call and break rooms. The NYPD places its CDM in the elevators of its Training Academy. Some agencies provide officers with pocket cards containing the CDM or include it as a screen-saver background on agency computers. continued from page 11 Sample scenario filmed in Decatur, Illinois. 54 14 — The ICAT Curriculumor 2) if the officer has a plan that is more likely than the current course of action to success-fully resolve a situation. The concept of “step-ping up and stepping in” is about preventing problems in potential use-of-force situations before they occur. The module includes several video case studies showing instances where officers successfully intervened and redirected situations that were headed in the wrong direction, as well as cases where “step-ping up and stepping in” could have been valu-able. Module 7 is designed to give officers the tools they need to exercise leadership when the tactics and communication being used aren’t working.from experienced police officers and Dr. John Nicoletti, a psychologist with more than four decades of experience working with law enforcement.5 Both the publication and the ICAT module define the two types of suicide-by-cop encounters (planned and spontane-ous), describe how to recognize suicide-by-cop situations, and provide practical steps that officers can take to try and safely defuse these encounters without having to resort to deadly force.Module 6: Operational Tactics. One thing that differentiates ICAT from other de-escalation training is that it integrates tactics with skills such as crisis recognition and com-munications. This module focuses on three phases of any police call: pre-response plan-ning, the actual response, and post-response reviews. Using several video case studies, the module focuses on tactics such as taking a “tactical pause” (if safe and appropriate) to develop or refine a response strategy, using time and repositioning to establish and main-tain a “reactionary gap,” operating as a team when several officers are on the scene, manag-ing yourself throughout the encounter, and always keeping yourself in a winnable posi-tion, including by having a Plan B. The module also includes guidance on how to conduct an effective after-action review to assess perfor-mance and learn for the future.Module 7: Step Up and Step In. Another addition to the original ICAT curriculum, this module focuses on how officers can and should intervene in two types of situations: 1) when a colleague is about to engage in mis-conduct (including the use of excessive force) Vancouver, Washington Police Department.5. Suicide by Cop: Protocol and Training Guide, 2019. www.policeforum.org/assets/SBCTrainingGuide.pdf.55 The ICAT Curriculum — 15 Oxnard, CA: Suicide by Cop from the Perspective of the Person in Crisis ICAT Module 5 includes a video case study that offers a unique and critically important perspective: that of the suicidal person who is attempting to get an officer to kill them. In 2019, Oxnard, CA Police Officer Timothy Roberts responded to a call about a young woman, possibly under the influence or mentally ill, who was waving a knife. The woman, who was just 17, said “Kill me” as she advanced on Officer Roberts while displaying the knife. Officer Roberts backed up and repeatedly tried to talk her into dropping the knife. Instead, she charged toward Officer Roberts, and he shot her three times. The young woman, Alejandra, survived the shooting. Less than a year later, she met Officer Roberts and they have stayed in touch ever since. ICAT Module 5 includes footage of the incident from Officer Roberts’s body-worn camera, interspersed with interviews with both Officer Roberts and Alejandra. It is fascinating – and instructive – to hear what was going through each of their minds as the incident was unfolding. Here is some of what Alejandra has said: Before I approached the situation, I was thinking, “How can I present myself as enough of a threat to him to get what I wanted?” When he pointed that gun at me, I kind of finalized my decision to go forth with it…. I was trying to provoke him. But when he pointed the gun at me, I thought, “Okay, me provoking him is working, and I’m going to get what I want. I just have to be a little more defiant towards him.” Alejandra’s comments demonstrate how suicide-by-cop encounters pose very different challenges from other use-of-force situations, and they reinforce the importance of providing officers with training specifically geared toward handling these incidents. For example, this case study illustrates how tactical decisions, such as pointing a gun at a person with a knife (instead of keeping it in a “low ready” position, for example) can make a person in crisis even more anxious and lead them to run toward the officer in the hope of having their suicide attempt succeed. This insight, which is supported by research by Dr. John Nicolette, an expert on suicide by cop, could help prevent a shooting if an officer is able to identify the subject as suicidal and knows how to adjust their communication and tactics accordingly. Module 5 is designed to provide officers with the tools they need to better deal with these very difficult encounters. LEFT, ABOVE: Officer Timothy Roberts. LEFT, BELOW: Alejandra. ABOVE: Oxnard, CA Police Officer Timothy Roberts and Alejandra with PERF’s ICAT training team at the national conference in San Diego in 2023. 56 16 — The ICAT Curriculum How to Preview the ICAT Curriculum The lesson plan and PowerPoint presentation (including embedded videos) for ICAT Module 1 are available on the PERF website at www.policeforum.org/icat. The resources give departments an indication of how ICAT is structured and presented. Agencies interested in reviewing Modules 2-7 should contact PERF Senior Research Associate Jason Cheney at jcheney@policeforum.org or 202-466-7820. There is no charge for law enforcement agencies to adopt the ICAT curriculum. However, to help ensure a successful implementation, agencies are expected to send personnel to a PERF train-the-trainer session where they can learn about the curriculum in detail and receive guidance on how to effectively present the material. 57 Who Is Using ICAT? — 17 Since ICAT was first rolled out in December 2016, hundreds of police agencies across the United States have sent representatives to ICAT information sessions and train-the-trainer classes offered by PERF. Many of these agencies have implemented the training.6 ICAT users include municipal, county, and state police agencies, as well as campus police depart- ments, transit police, and other specialized agencies. New Jersey has mandated that all 500-plus police agencies in the state imple- ment ICAT (see New Jersey Adopts ICAT Statewide, below). As of May 2023, ICAT has been adopted by agencies of all sizes and in all parts of the country, including in 34 states. ICAT agencies include: • Major city police departments, including the Austin; Baltimore; Fairfax County, VA; Louisville, KY; Minneapolis; New York City; and San Antonio police departments, to name just a few. (The Chicago Police Department, DC Metropolitan Police Department, and Kansas City, MO Police Department are among the agencies in the process of implementing ICAT.) • Mid-sized and smaller municipal police agencies, including Alliance, NE; Burlington, NC; Chelsea, MA; Corpus Christi, TX; Janesville, WI; Lansing, MI; and Monterey, CA, among others. • Sheriffs’ offices in Harris County, TX; Volusia County, FL; and Santa Cruz County, CA, among others. (The Los Angeles County Who Is Using ICAT? The 34 states (red) with agencies that have adopted ICAT. 6. Because there has been no requirement for agencies to “register” with PERF to implement ICAT, it is impossible to know exactly how many are using the training. PERF maintains a list of known ICAT agencies on its website at www.policeforum.org/icat-agencies. 58 Wk 18 — Who Is Using ICAT? • New Jersey State Police. • Delta Police Department in British Columbia. Case studies of ICAT implementation in four agencies – Alliance, NE Police Depart- ment; Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office; Monterey, CA Police Department; and Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office – can be found on page 38. Sheriff’s Department is in the process of implementing ICAT.) • Campus police departments, including on the Tennessee, Rutgers, Indiana, Cincinnati, Colorado-Boulder, MIT, and Harvard campuses. • Transit police agencies, including Amtrak, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Metro Transit in Minnesota. Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Police Department. New Jersey Adopts ICAT Statewide In 2020, then-New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal dramatically overhauled the state’s policy and training on use of force, including mandating that all sworn law enforcement officers complete ICAT. As head of the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Attorney General has broad oversight of the state’s legal and law enforcement matters. That includes issuing directives to the more than 500 municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies in New Jersey. The first step was a December 2020 directive revising New Jersey’s use-of-force policy and procedures.7 Developed in conjunction with police executives and union leaders, the policy is based on seven core principles that align closely with PERF’s Guiding Principles on Use of Force and the model policy of the Camden County Police Department. 7. See www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/ag-Directive-2020-13_Use_of_Force_Procedures.pdf. 59 Who Is Using ICAT? — 19 Six months later, in June 2021, the Attorney General issued a second directive updating use-of-force training requirements.8 This directive required all New Jersey law enforcement officers to complete ICAT training by April 2022. In addition, officers are required to complete eight online training modules and the ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) course.9 “One thing we did in New Jersey was ensure our use-of-force policy and training were aligned,” said Chief Kevin Lutz of the Rutgers University-Camden Police Department. “By issuing the new policy first, we gave it some time to percolate and become well known among officers. Agencies were then ready to implement ICAT to support the new policy.” To help ensure consistency and quality in ICAT instruction, the Attorney General’s Office directed each county prosecutor’s office to identify a training coordinator who oversaw delivery of the training in their county. Agency trainers attended ICAT train-the-trainer sessions which were held centrally at the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick. Chief Lutz, who helped to lead ICAT implementation in the Camden County Police Department and is a longtime ICAT instructor, was chosen to manage the statewide train- the-trainer effort, assisted by other experienced trainers. To demonstrate his office’s commitment to ICAT, Attorney General Grewal personally attended some of the training. All agency trainers completed a 12-hour course that included classroom instruction, training tips, and participation in scenario-based exercises. There were approximately 40 trainers per class. These trainers were then tasked with bringing the ICAT curriculum – lectures, video case studies, and scenarios – back to their agencies. Although there has been a change in leadership at the Attorney General’s Office, Chief Lutz said current Attorney General Matthew Platkin strongly supports the reforms put in place by his predecessor. Researchers led by Dr. Gabrielle Isaza of the National Policing Institute are looking to study the impact of ICAT training in New Jersey. For agencies implementing ICAT, Chief Lutz recommends a top-down approach. Chiefs and other command personnel should get the training first, followed by supervisors and then officers. That way, management and supervisory personnel develop buy-in, and they know first-hand what is expected of their officers and how they are being trained. 8. See www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/ag-directive-2021-7_Revising-Law-Enforcement-Training-Requirements-for-2021.pdf. 9. For more information about ABLE, see https://www.law.georgetown.edu/cics/able/. We are committed to making New Jersey a national leader in policing reform, and these actions deliver on that promise. We are building on the important work already underway in the state’s best police departments and establishing a new standard of excellence across the Garden State. These changes are about more than just reducing unnecessary use of force by law enforcement. We are also restoring the public’s trust in the work we do—which, in the long run, makes law enforcement more effective and everyone safer. — Gurbir Grewal Former Attorney General State of New Jersey 60 20 — What the Research Says about ICAT data from the test group (officers who had completed ICAT training) against a control group (officers who had not yet gone through the training). The research design included both pre- and post-training surveys of officers, a separate survey of supervisors, and analysis of use-of-force data. In their final report, the researchers concluded that ICAT had a measurable impact on use of force in the LMPD.11 Specifically, ICAT was associated with: • A 28.1% reduction in use-of-force incidents; • A 26.3% reduction in citizen injuries; and • A 36.0% reduction in officer injuries. The reduction in officer injuries is espe- cially noteworthy. A common criticism of de-escalation policies in general, and ICAT training specifically, has been that they will result in more officers getting injured or even killed by suspects wielding knives or other weapons. The research in Louisville found just the opposite; officer injuries dropped sharply after ICAT training.12 While de-escalation training for police officers has become increasingly popular, until recently there has been a lack of quality research on whether the training works. A 2019 multi-disciplinary review looked at 64 de-escalation training evaluations covering professions such as nursing and psychiatry. However, the researchers were unable to locate any evaluations of de-escalation training in policing or criminal justice.10 That lack of research inspired a team led by Dr. Robin Engel of the University of Cincinnati to undertake a rigorous evaluation of ICAT training in the Louisville, KY Metro Police Department (LMPD). Using a randomized controlled trial – the gold standard of evaluation research – the team set out to test whether ICAT training impacted not only officers’ perceptions and attitudes but, importantly, their behaviors as well. Between February and November 2019, the LMPD trained 1,042 officers in ICAT. Officers were trained together with other members of their patrol divisions, and the nine divisions were divided into three training groups or strata. This allowed researchers to measure What the Research Says about ICAT 10. Engel, Robin et al. Does de-escalation training work? Criminology & Public Policy, 2019. 11. Engel, Robin et al. Examining the Impact of Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) De-escalation Training for the Louisville Metro Police Department: Initial Findings. International Association of Chiefs of Police-University of Cincinnati Center for Police Research and Policy, 2020. www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/Research%20Center/LMPD_ICAT%20Evaluation%20Initial%20Findings%20 Report_FINAL%2009212020.pdf. 12. The ICAT evaluation in Louisville was designed to study the impact of the training on overall use-of-force incidents and injuries to officers and citizens. The researchers did not have data to examine if the uses of force that did take place were “excessive.” They analyzed only reported counts of force by type and found that the number of force incidents declined significantly after officers took the training. 61 What the Research Says about ICAT — 21 The study also found generally positive results on officers’ perceptions and attitudes: • 80% reported positive perceptions of and receptivity to the ICAT training. • The majority (>60-70%) self-reported use of the de-escalation tactics they learned in ICAT. • There were positive changes in officers’ attitudes toward interactions with the public, persons in crisis, and use of force in general. The researchers did find some areas for improvement. For example, there seemed to be some training decay over time; 40% of officers reported the need for refresher training. In addition, there was low participation in supervisory activities to reinforce training. First-line supervisors play a critical role in the implementation of ICAT, and the research shows that agencies need to ensure that their supervisors receive the training and are supporting their officers in implementing it in the field. Sergeant Justin Witt was instrumental in rolling out ICAT training in the Louisville Metro Police Department and in facilitating the groundbreaking study of the training. Impact of ICAT De-escalation Training in Louisville, KY 28.1% Reduction in Use-of-Force Incidents 26.3% Reduction in Citizen Injuries 36.0% Reduction in Officer Injuries Follow-Up Survey Found Most LMPD Officers Self-Reported Using ICAT Skills 0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80% Tactical Pause Strategy Reaction Gap Strategy ICAT Communication Skills Critical Decision-Making Model Any Strategies from ICAT Training 64.3% 35.7% 61.7% 38.2% 68.3% 31.6% 69.0% 31.1% 57.3% 42.7% PERCENT OF OFFICERS Sometimes/Oe n/Frequently Never/Seldom 62 22 — What the Research Says about ICAT • In the Baltimore Police Department, an early adopter of ICAT, total use-of-force incidents declined nearly 55% between 2018 and 2021, according to the Baltimore Consent Decree Monitoring Team.13 While the number of Level 3 (most serious) use- of-force incidents remained fairly constant, the less serious Level 1 and Level 2 incidents have fallen sharply. For example, there were 77 electronic control weapon (ECW) deploy- ments in 2018, but only 17 in 2021. Instances where officers pointed a firearm (down 55%) or pointed or “arced” an ECW (down 62%) also fell dramatically. • In the Burlington, NC Police Department, use-of-force incidents declined in recent years, from 64 in 2015 to 26 in 2022. The department first implemented ICAT in early 2017. When it experienced a jump in use- of-force incidents in 2019, it put the entire department through ICAT retraining, and incidents decreased again. Based on this finding, PERF adjusted the ICAT curriculum to reinforce the key role that first-line supervisors play in helping officers improve their decision making and better manage critical incidents. Each ICAT module now includes a set of “Leadership Snapshots” – tips and techniques for sergeants and other supervisors to use in the field and during discussions with their officers. (For more information about the role of first-line supervisors in ICAT, see page 34) In addition to this formal research, sev- eral agencies that implemented ICAT have reported positive results in their communities: • In the Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office, the number of use-of-force incidents has declined over the past several years, as the agency implemented ICAT in 2017 and then stood up its own training academy four years later. Between 2016 and 2022, total use- of-force incidents involving VCSO deputies dropped by nearly two-thirds, even as the number of calls for service remained fairly steady. Deadly force incidents declined to 0 in 2022. 13. Compliance Review and Outcome Assessment Regarding Use of Force. Baltimore Consent Decree Monitoring Team, 2022. static1.squarespace.com/static/59db8644e45a7c08738ca2f1/t/63a32a64ca07762bafec2a18/1671637605442/. Use-of-Force Incidents Burlington, NC Police Department Use-of-Force Incidents Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office 0 20 40 60 80 20222021202020192018201720162015 NUMBER OF INCIDENTS ICAT Implemented 0 30 60 90 120 150 2022202120202019201820172016 NUMBER OF INCIDENTS ICAT Implemented Non-Deadly Deadly 63 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 23 Now that ICAT has been in the field for several years and been implemented by so many agencies, there is a healthy – and growing – body of knowledge and experience on how to get the most out of the training. A key purpose of the January 2023 ICAT National Conference in San Diego was to bring together a variety of agencies from across the United States to share their experiences and insights. One critical lesson ICAT agencies have learned is the importance of up-front planning and careful, thorough execution. Implementing ICAT requires a considerable investment of time and resources. Experience shows that to get the training right, agencies cannot approach implementation in a piecemeal fashion. Some agencies have attempted to present ICAT one module at a time, spread out over several weeks. Others have tried delivering the training online. Neither of these approaches proved successful. To be effective, ICAT needs to be presented as an in-person class lasting a minimum of 12 continuous hours. The conference in San Diego revealed two other critical issues that agencies face when adopting ICAT: 1. How to roll out the training. How do agencies prioritize who gets the training first? Whom do they select as trainers? How do agencies set up scenario-based exercises, and how do they know if the exercises are effective? How does ICAT fit into the academy curriculum for new recruits? And how do agencies remain true to the overall structure and goals of ICAT? 2. How to sustain ICAT after initial adoption. Do officers need a training “booster?” And if so, what does that training look like? How do agencies incorporate ICAT principles and concepts into other ongoing training? For example, how can decision making and other ICAT principles be included in the regular firearms qualification that officers must complete? This section examines a range of key implementation issues and offers the expe- riences and insights of agencies that have already addressed them. For many of the issues, there may not be a single “right” answer or definitive way to do things. That is the beauty of the growing ICAT community: agencies can learn from one another and make implementation decisions that are right for them, while maintaining fidelity to the ICAT curriculum. Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations 64 24 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations When New Jersey began to implement ICAT statewide, the first step was to update the state’s use-of-force policy based on seven core principles that align with ICAT. Only after the policy had been in place for several months did the state begin its ICAT training. This helped to ensure that officers knew what the policy was (and, therefore, knew what was expected of them), and it helped them under- stand how ICAT fit with the new policy. (See page 18 for more details on New Jersey’s state- wide implementation.) Aligning agency policy with ICAT does not necessarily mean having to rewrite entire poli- cies. The Monterey, CA Police Department took its existing use-of-force policy, which was developed by Lexipol, and updated it to reflect the key elements of ICAT, including by adding a graphic of Monterey’s version of the Critical Decision-Making Model. Operations. Finally, ICAT should align with other parts of the agency’s operations, espe- cially training. ICAT must complement, not contradict, other training courses an agency offers. Ideally, ICAT principles and strategies – especially the CDM – will be incorporated into other training classes, in areas such as fire- arms, pursuits, domestic violence and others. Align Agency Culture, Policy, and Operations with ICAT ICAT cannot be implemented in a vac- uum. It operates within the culture of an agency. To be successful, ICAT must be in alignment with an agency’s culture, policies, and operations, including exist- ing training. Culture. The overall culture of the agency must reinforce a sincere com- mitment to the underlying principles of ICAT – the sanctity of life, de-escalation, patience, and critical decision making, to name a few. If an agency’s culture is solely rooted in a “warrior-like” approach to policing or one that emphasizes speed in resolving every matter, then ICAT is unlikely to take hold and succeed. Implementation Tip: One concrete way agencies can demonstrate the alignment of agency culture and ICAT is through their awards programs. Many ICAT agencies have created awards to recognize successful de-escalation efforts and put them on par with more traditional awards for heroism and bravery. For example, the Burlington, NC Police Department presents its lifesaving awards in a public celebration, in front of the recipients’ peers. This helps to send the message that the department is committed to the principles of ICAT and supports those who follow the training. Policies. An agency’s use-of-force policy may follow a traditional (staircase model) use-of-force continuum that automatically escalates the response when a subject’s behav- ior escalates. But ICAT trains on a different approach – using the Critical Decision-Making Model (CDM) to step back, buy time, and develop a Plan B. In this situation, officers will be confused about what is expected of them, and the training may be counterproductive. Agencies need to ensure they are not sending mixed messages with their use-of-force policy and training. ICAT training in the Harris County, Texas Sheriff’s Office kicks off with a video message from Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, emphasizing how ICAT fits in with the agency’s culture and operations. 65 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 25 In addition, agencies need to ensure their use-of-force investigators and internal affairs personnel are intimately familiar with how officers are being trained in ICAT. This information will help them make informed decisions when use-of-force encounters occur. Implementation Tip: When it was rolling out ICAT, the Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office included personnel from Internal Affairs and other specialized units in the original train- the-trainer sessions. It was unlikely that the IAD members would serve as ICAT instructors, but the agency thought they should thoroughly understand the curriculum and see how deputies were being trained in use of force moving forward. Select the Right Instructors One of the most consequential decisions agencies make when implementing ICAT is identifying the right instructors. Experience shows that quality and consistency among the instructors result in quality and consistency in the delivery of the training. This is especially important with ICAT, which involves the pre- sentation of new concepts and approaches. Experienced ICAT agencies have identified several characteristics that are essential in their ICAT trainers: • “Credible messengers.” ICAT trainers should be highly respected by their peers and have the credibility to deliver the train- ing, which will be new and different to many officers. Being viewed as having recent and relevant experience on the street is often essential. In the Riverside, CA Police Department, the selected ICAT trainers included two members of the SWAT team and the president of the Police Officers Association. • Interest. Instructors have to want the assignment. Agencies should avoid anyone who is “voluntold” to be an ICAT instructor. Some agencies use an interview process that includes a test classroom assignment. • Buy-in. Trainers have to believe in the ICAT curriculum and its underlying principles. • Effective presenters. Like all trainers, ICAT instructors need to be comfortable in front of the classroom and effective in presenting the curriculum, spurring discussion, and deflecting any negative comments. What I’m looking for more than anything are believers. People who are enthusiastic, forward-thinking, progressive … people who are willing to think about different ways to do things and really want to do them. Having people who are credible messengers is very valuable. — Chief John Mueller Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NY) PERF’s lead ICAT instructor Dan Alioto (RIGHT), a retired captain from Maryland, along with Bill Murray, a retired lieutenant from New Jersey. 66 26 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations of the ICAT curriculum they had the most experience with. For example, the modules on Crisis Recognition and Tactical Communications were presented by a trained hostage negotiator. • As it was about to roll out ICAT, leaders of the Cambridge, MA Police Department reached out to street officers and asked them, “Who are the officers you turn to when a first-line supervisor is not available?” Based on those responses, the agency selected its ICAT trainers, all of whom had recent field experience. • In the Riverside, CA Police Department, ICAT trainers start out as role players in scenario-based exercises. Once they have demonstrated proficiency with ICAT concepts in that role, they can move into the classroom, teaching one module at a time at first. Some agencies have found they need to go outside their existing training staff to find the right instructors to present ICAT. Here is how some agencies have gone about selecting their ICAT trainers: • The Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office started by using its academy training staff to serve as ICAT instructors, but soon learned that several did not buy into the program. So the VCSO pivoted and identified five “natural leaders” in the agency and sent them to an ICAT train-the-trainer session. Even before formal training started, these five leaders went out into the field to “do ICAT” and demonstrate that the concepts and strategies work. “Training didn’t start in the classroom; it started on the street,” explained Captain Brian Bosco, who serves as Training Commander for the VCSO. • The Minneapolis Police Department started with a pool of 22 potential trainers who had been involved with another training project. For ICAT, the agency selected five instructors deemed to be the “best of the best.” The group brought a range of experiences and perspectives, including a SWAT officer and a union representative. The police department assigned the trainers to deliver the parts Other experienced ICAT trainers include Raphael Thornton (LEFT), a retired sergeant from the Camden County, New Jersey Police Department, and Lt. Shelly Katkowski, of the Burlington, North Carolina Police Department. They now help PERF with train-the-trainer sessions across the country. 67 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 27 Rolling Out the Training: Who Goes First? When ICAT was first released, most of the early adopters focused initially on training their patrol officers. This approach seemed to make sense: ICAT is geared toward front-line personnel, so why not immerse them in the training first? Over time, however, many agencies have come to recognize the benefit of a more top- down approach to rolling out ICAT. The idea is that for patrol officers to be successful in using ICAT on the street, they need under- standing and support from their first-line supervisors, field training officers, mid-level managers, and especially the agency’s Com- mand staff. Therefore, it is essential that these supervisory and management officials know how officers are being trained and what, pre- cisely, is expected of them. Here are a few examples of how agen- cies have rolled out ICAT to their current personnel: • Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office. The HCSO delivered a four-hour ICAT overview to all Command staff; they sat through class- room lectures and observed (but did not directly participate in) the scenario-based exercises. Next, the agency put all lieuten- ants and sergeants through the training, followed by the Field Training Deputies. Only then did the HCSO train their patrol deputies. It took the agency approximately 18 months to train all these groups. • Louisville, KY Metro Police Department. Similarly, the LMPD sent its upper Com- mand through ICAT first. The message to commanders was, “You need to understand what our patrol officers are being trained in.” At the same time, putting Command staff through the training first sent a power- ful message to front-line officers that the LMPD was serious about ICAT. • The Monterey, CA Police Department hoped to train its sergeants and Field Training Officers first, but in an agency of its size (53 sworn personnel), scheduling proved challenging. Instead, the depart- ment decided to train officers and sergeants together as teams, which provided valuable lessons in how officers and supervisors need to work together. Regardless of whether an agency chooses to train from the top down or the bottom up, it is critical that the agency’s chief executive – chief, sheriff, director, etc. – clearly and publicly expresses their support for ICAT and lays out their expectations of agency members up front. Module 1 of the ICAT curriculum recommends that the chief or sheriff personally stop by the training to deliver this message or, in the case of larger agencies, film a video that can be shown at the beginning of the training. PERF has many examples of effective video messages from chiefs or sheriffs that can be shared with other agencies. Implementation Tip: The Yonkers, NY Police Department believes strongly in training as teams. So when it implemented ICAT, the agency opted to train supervisors, patrol officers, and even dispatchers who normally worked together in the same precinct and on the same shift. The department secured a state grant to cover the costs of providing ICAT training as an overtime assignment. 68 28 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations is that early in their academy experience, recruits may not know enough about the fundamentals of police work to appreciate and absorb ICAT. • In the Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office, ICAT is taught during the first week of the academy, including putting recruits through scenario-based exercises. Then, ICAT principles, especially the Critical Decision- Making Model, are reinforced throughout the recruit curriculum. Agencies that rely on outside academies for recruit training generally have to present ICAT during their post-academy training. The Burlington, NC Police Department runs a six-week post-academy training during which ICAT is presented as both a tactical course and ICAT in the Academy Another challenge agencies face is how best to deliver ICAT training to their new recruits. Agencies that operate their own training academies have the luxury of deciding how – and when – to introduce ICAT in their academy curriculum. Agencies that use regional or statewide academies to train their recruits generally have to rely on their post- academy training to introduce ICAT. Among agencies with their own academies, there are different approaches to presenting ICAT to new recruits: • The Louisville, KY Metro Police Department presents ICAT principles early in its academy and weaves them throughout the recruit curriculum. However, students don’t participate in ICAT scenario-based exercises until after they’ve completed training on less-lethal devices and other de-escalation concepts. • The Baltimore Police Department teaches the Critical Decision-Making Model at the beginning of its academy and reinforces decision making throughout the curriculum. • In the Cambridge, MA Police Department, recruits must complete a number of courses on fundamentals – the law, defensive tactics, etc. – before going through the full day- and-a-half ICAT curriculum. The theory What about Lateral Hires? Lateral hires bring a level of training and experience to an agency, but their backgrounds – and the cultures in which they previously operated – are likely different from the experiences in your agency. That is why most ICAT agencies choose to put their lateral hires through the full ICAT curriculum. This is especially important if officers are moving from smaller, less urban agencies to big-city departments that have different challenges and different tools to address them. Some agencies make a point of trying to take advantage of the lateral hires’ knowledge and experience during classroom discussions of ICAT video case studies and in scenario-based training. Louisville Metro Police Department recruits. 69 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 29 as a reflection of the agency’s culture. Other agencies work to inject ICAT into their outside academies. For example, the Burlington, VT Police Department (one of the initial pilot sites for ICAT) sends agency trainers to the state training academy to teach ICAT not only to their own recruits but also recruits from other departments. Conducting Effective Scenarios Scenario-based training exercises are at the heart of the ICAT curriculum. Scenarios are where officers put into action the concepts and principles they learned in the classroom. It is essential that agencies implementing ICAT devote the time and resources needed to effectively carry out this part of the training. Experienced ICAT agencies have identified several issues that departments need to consider in conducting effective scenarios: • Provide enough time. The basic ICAT curriculum sets aside a minimum of four hours for conducting scenarios. Depending on how many students are in a class and how many scenarios each student will go through, agencies may need to devote additional time to scenarios. The key point is not to rush officers through the scenarios. ICAT is built on the principles of slowing situations down and giving officers time to resolve them without having to use force, if possible. It is important to model that behavior in the ICAT scenarios and give officers time to try out and apply their skills and not feel compelled to bring the situation to a rapid conclusion. Agencies will undermine the value of the scenario-based Integrating ICAT with Field Training For new officers coming out of academy training, it is important for agencies to consider how to integrate ICAT with their field training experience. Some agencies are getting an early start on this challenge. • The Cambridge, MA Police Department brings its Field Training Officers into the academy for the last two weeks of instruction. The FTOs are immersed in the recruits’ scenario-based training, including ICAT. This gives the FTOs a chance to experience what the recruits are learning and to assess their strengths and weaknesses. • Similarly, the Burlington, NC Police Department brings its FTOs into the post-academy training that recruits go through once they complete their initial instruction at the regional training center. FTOs are teamed up with the recruits they will be mentoring, and the pair go through ICAT scenarios together. This allows the FTOs to see what the recruits are learning, and it gives them the opportunity to work together before they hit the streets. • In the Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office, many Deputy Training Officers (DTOs) saw themselves only as evaluators, not coaches. As the VCSO embraced ICAT, it wanted DTOs to take ownership of the training and adopt a new philosophy. Instead of thinking “How many recruits can I fail?,” they are now focused on “I’m here to teach my backup.” The agency put the DTOs through a role player class and made them part-time ICAT instructors, role players, and evaluators. Now, a DTO might spend a full day teaching ICAT; on other days, the DTO might come in off the street, take part in a few scenarios, and go back to the road. This approach not only generated buy-in among the DTOs; it also helped to change their mindsets to emphasize instruction, coaching, and working toward the success of their recruits. 70 30 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations opportunities for officers to practice their skills, learn, and ultimately succeed. It is not helpful for scenarios to have unreasonable surprises or “gotcha” moments. • Mix things up. Although it’s important for officers to be put in winnable situa- tions, ICAT scenarios should not become too predictable. Officers should not think that “ICAT scenarios” are always low-stress encounters where the subject eventually surrenders (just as they shouldn’t think that “firearms scenarios” are always situations where officers fire their weapons). Agen- cies should mix up their scenarios, injecting appropriate levels of stress into their sce- narios and helping officers use the Critical Decision-Making Model to work through situations. • Select the right role players. In addition to picking the right classroom instructors, agencies need to pay close attention to whom they select as role players for their scenario-based training exercises. It is criti- cal that role players understand the goals and cadence of the scenarios, be able to pay close attention to the actions of the officers, respond appropriately to what the officers say and do, and challenge the officers to achieve a successful outcome (without engaging in “gotcha” moments). Role play- ers must also be able to get into and remain in their roles. Given these requirements, most agencies opt to use sworn police officers as their role players. They have the knowledge and expe- rience to know how a subject on the street is likely to respond to an officer’s actions or words, escalating or de-escalating their actions based on what the student does. Officers who serve as role players can also provide impor- tant insights when debriefing the scenarios. Oftentimes, agencies discover they have offi- cers who are “naturals” at the role, including some who may have formal training or experi- ence in acting. training if they put artificial time constraints on how long scenarios can last. • Use appropriate settings. If possible, agencies should try to conduct scenarios in settings that officers are likely to encounter in the field, providing them with plenty of room for the situations to play out. Agencies that have tactical villages in their training academies are at an advantage, but other agencies can get creative with where they conduct their scenarios by using com- munity resources that may be available. Specialized police departments such as cam- pus or transit agencies should set up their scenarios in settings unique to their envi- rons. The new PERF National ICAT Training Center in Decatur, IL provides more than a dozen scenario-based training venues for both police and corrections (see page 46). • Present realistic and winnable situations. While the ICAT curriculum has a number of model scenarios for agencies to use, departments can also customize the scenarios to more closely match the condi- tions and challenges in their communities. Some agencies model their scenarios on actual incidents their officers encountered in the past. Regardless of the particulars of the scenarios, it is essential that they provide Broomfield, Colorado Police Department. 71 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 31 Other agencies, such as the Aurora, CO Police Department, hire trained actors (or even theatre students from local colleges or universities) to serve as role players. While these people may not have policing experi- ence, they can bring more robust and realistic acting skills, and may be able to challenge students in the way fellow officers cannot. Implementation Tip: In small or mid-sized agencies, it is likely that any officers selected to be role players already know and are friendly with the officers going through the scenarios. These close relationships can make it difficult for the role players to stay in their roles and for the students to get the most out of the scenarios. To overcome this challenge, agencies in a region can share their personnel, sending officers to serve as role players in neighboring departments where the officers may not personally know the role players. Stop-and-Discuss or Let-it-Go? 2 Approaches to Debriefing Scenarios There are two basic ways to conduct debriefs and promote learning during scenario-based training: 1. Stop-and-Discuss. In this approach, facilitators stop the action at critical junctures of the scenario and discuss the situation with the student. This can occur when the student makes a questionable decision or takes a debatable (or even counterproductive) action. Or the scenario can be stopped when the student does something outstanding or highly productive. In either case, stopping the action provides an opportunity to probe the student’s thought process and decision making in the moment, while it is still fresh in their minds. 2. Let-It-Go. This approach allows the entire scenario to play out before the facilitators conduct the debrief. The benefit of this method is that it more closely resembles the situations that officers will face on the street and gives the students an opportunity to “think on their feet” as they try to work through the scenario. ICAT agencies report using both approaches; there does not appear to be a clear preference for one method over the other. Agencies might want to test both approaches and see which one works best for them. Implementation Tip: The Camden County, NJ Police Department has used both approaches based on the students participating in ICAT scenarios. The department tends to use Stop-and-Discuss for its recruit officers. This helps to prevent “learning scars” if a recruit gets too far off track and may not be able to easily recover. CCPD trainers keep the stops short – usually around 30 seconds – and facilitators don’t provide students with the “answers.” Rather, it’s more of a quick coaching session. For experienced officers, the department generally lets students complete the entire scenario before debriefing. Experienced officers may be less prone to the types of mistakes that need immediate intervention, and this approach allows them to practice the cadence of a more realistic encounter. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. 72 32 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations • Thoroughly and honestly debrief. After a scenario has concluded, it is important for instructors to conduct an honest, thorough, and helpful debrief with the student. Role players can also provide valuable insights dur- ing the debrief. Many agencies use the Critical Decision-Making Model (see page 12) to structure their debriefs. The CDM helps officers explain their actions and decisions at various points in the scenario, and using the CDM in scenarios gets officers accustomed to using the tool in the field. If multiple officers are involved in a scenario, let each officer take one CDM step and explain their actions. Regard- less of how debriefs are structured, instructors should provide honest and constructive feedback; this should never be a punitive process. Evaluating Scenarios: Four Key Questions to Ask Scenario-based exercises are an essential element of ICAT. But in conducting their debriefs, how can training facilitators evaluate just how well the student did? In assessing student performance during scenario-based training, agencies should consider asking four key questions: 1. Did the officers keep themselves in a winnable tactical position throughout the scenario? Facilitators look at issues such as clearly establishing roles and responsibilities among responding officers, maintaining a reactionary gap, and keeping options open as the incident progresses. 2. Did the officers use effective communications? Here, facilitators look for effective introductions, active listening, providing options, and using empathy as a tactic. 3. Were the officers able to influence behavior? And if so, how? Was behavior change influenced by factors such as communications, providing options, threatening force, etc.? 4. Was there a successful outcome? Why, or why not? Were the classroom training benchmarks met? Were there missed opportunities? How did the officer view the outcome? Although achieving a successful outcome is always the goal, officers can learn a lot from answering all four of these questions following a scenario-based exercise. Santa Cruz County, California Sheriff’s Office. 73 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 33 Implementation Fidelity: Remaining True to the ICAT Curriculum Both experience and research show that it is critically important for agencies imple- menting ICAT to follow the curriculum as developed. This is known as “implementation fidelity.” In a recent white paper she prepared for PERF, Dr. Gabrielle Isaza of the National Policing Institute concluded that following the ICAT training model as designed increases the likelihood of program success. “When implemented as intended, ICAT is more likely to result in improvements in your agency, such as increasing officer skills to safely resolve critical incidents, reducing the need for deadly force, and promoting the sanctity of all human life,” she concluded. Here are some of the essential ICAT training elements that need to be followed: • Length of training. Agencies should devote a minimum of 12 hours to ICAT training over consecutive days: 8 hours in the classroom and at least 4 hours for scenario-based exercises. Some agencies, such as the Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office, have found they need more time for scenarios, so they extended ICAT to a 16-hour course. • Class size. In her research, Dr. Isaza noted that 45 students seems to be the maximum class size to be effective. Most agencies, especially small and mid-sized departments, will have smaller classes. Ideally, classes should have up to three ICAT instructors and up to three experienced role players for scenarios. “These metrics allow for valu- able classroom discussion and skill practice while maintaining the cadence of the course,” Dr. Isaza concluded. • Training elements. ICAT is presented in seven modules (see page 10) and includes a combination of classroom lectures, video case studies and discussions, and scenario- based exercises. It is important that agencies present all three training elements in the order outlined in the training curriculum, and that instructors not skip or ignore material or videos that they don’t like or agree with (as happened in one large police department). What Happens to Students Not Going through Scenarios? ICAT agencies can expect to spend a minimum of four hours – and up to eight hours, in some cases – on scenario-based training. Assuming each scenario includes one to three students at a time, the question arises: “What do you do with the other officers who aren’t engaged in a scenario at the moment?” It is recommended that agencies not permit officers to watch fellow students go through the scenarios, especially if they haven’t had their turn yet. (Some agencies allow officers who have already completed a scenario to watch their colleagues complete the scenario; they can learn from how their peers handled the encounter.) To make the time productive for non-participating officers, some agencies, such as the Monterey, CA Police Department, put officers into discussion groups with instructors serving as moderators. They can further analyze the scenario they’ve just been through or review additional video case studies. If the agency has the resources, it can also set up multiple scenarios that officers go through, thus minimizing the time they are not actively engaged in this part of the ICAT training. 74 34 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations a Critical Response Toolkit for First-Line Supervisors.14 The toolkit provides guidance and resources to help first-line supervisors prepare for a critical incident, manage the situation, and then effectively debrief and learn from the encounter. To ensure first-line supervisors are up to speed on how their officers are being trained in ICAT, many agencies either carve out ICAT training time for sergeants or have sergeants go through the training with their officers. For example, the Burlington, NC Police Department includes a four-hour ICAT block in its training for new sergeants. The class focuses on how to manage critical incidents by securing the people and other resources that are needed, putting officers in winnable situations, and coaching them to success. The Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office follows a similar approach. Its ICAT training for patrol supervisors doesn’t focus on directly handling the person in crisis. Rather, it emphasizes making sure deputies get the resources they need and enabling them to do their jobs. The train- ing encourages supervisors to intervene only if deputies are doing something counterproductive or dangerous. • Customization … within reason. Because local context and conditions are important, the implementation of ICAT may need some level of customization in certain agencies. For example, agencies may want to cus- tomize scenarios to match their operating environment (urban/suburban/rural, uni- versity campus, transit system, etc.) and the tools available to officers (not all agencies equip personnel with electronic control weapons, shields, or other less-lethal tools). However, it is important that the essential elements of the training remain. Implementation Tip: Some agencies have made minor adjustments to their presentation of Module 3: Crisis Recognition. For example, the Riverside, CA Police Department brought in county mental health practitioners to add more depth and local context to the discussion of persons in crisis. The Role of First-Line Supervisors As more agencies implement ICAT, they have come to recognize the critical role that sergeants and other first-line supervisors play in the successful response to critical incidents. To help sergeants manage these types of incidents, PERF developed 14. See www.policeforum.org/critical-response-toolkit-for-first-line-supervisors. Fargo, North Dakota Police Department. 75 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 35 ICAT “Booster Shots”: Providing Ongoing Training Over the years, agencies that implemented ICAT have learned that officers need a refresher course at some point. This finding is backed up by research. The University of Cincinnati study of ICAT implementation in Louisville found that 40% of officers said they could benefit from follow-up instruction 4-6 months after their initial training (see page 21). The key concepts and skills covered in ICAT are perishable if officers don’t get the opportunity to apply (or at least practice) them on a regular basis. Just as agencies require officers to regularly requalify with their service weapons, they should mandate that officers demonstrate proficiency with the skills learned during ICAT training at least once a year. Agencies are taking various approaches to providing follow-up ICAT training. Some agencies are sending officers back into the classroom for more ICAT instruction. • The Louisville, KY Metro Police Department created a four-hour block of ICAT follow-up training. This training does not repeat all of the ICAT modules, but rather focuses on particular issues or concepts that officers in Louisville could benefit from. Scenario-based exercises remain a key element of the follow-up training. • When the Burlington, NC Police Department noticed an uptick in its use-of- force incidents in 2019, the agency decided to put all its officers back through the full ICAT course. The department also found that capturing, analyzing, and publishing use-of-force data helped to reveal training successes, shortcomings, and needs. Uses of force in Burlington declined in the years after the refresher course. • The Monterey, CA Police Department cycles officers who have completed ICAT back through the training. Officers who are farthest out from their original instruction are put in classes with new officers. This approach not only provides veteran officers Leadership Snapshots: A New ICAT Feature To reinforce the key role that first-line supervisors play in successfully managing critical incidents, PERF has added a series of “Leadership Snapshots” to the ICAT curriculum. Each ICAT module includes tips and techniques for sergeants and other supervisors to practice in the field when their officers or deputies are responding to critical incidents. For example, in Module 4: Tactical Communications, the Leadership Snapshot reminds supervisors to carefully monitor and, if necessary, manage the emotions of their officers, to provide officers with specific advice or directions (not “bumper sticker” slogans), to check in with officers after a stressful incident, and to celebrate successful outcomes. Leadership Snapshot • Use the CDM as much as possible –After-action, debrief, report-writing, remedial, etc. • Through assessing and reassessing must be ready and willing to Step Up and Step In; in-person or on the radio • Let your trained officers work these calls for service and do not rush them • Guard against contempt-of-cop 76 36 — Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations with an ICAT refresher, but also allows new officers to learn from their more experienced colleagues. Agencies are also working to integrate ICAT principles and tactics into their in-service training: • The Minneapolis Police Department uses body-worn camera video from its own incidents to include in its in-service training. Recently, for example, officers responded to a woman high on drugs who suddenly picked up a kitchen knife and began slashing at another person. While use of lethal force likely would have been justified, officers assessed the situation and successfully deployed their electronic control weapons. This example is used to show the benefit of quickly “spinning” the Critical Decision-Making Model and developing a plan of action. • Once a year, the Burlington, NC Police Department produces a video of an incident in which officers used ICAT to successfully defuse a critical incident and distributes the video to the entire agency. The videos use body-worn camera footage of the incident and are narrated by the officers involved, who talk about what they did well and what they might have done differently. In addition to reinforcing ICAT concepts and implementation, the videos are a way for the department to publicly celebrate successful outcomes. • The Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office incorporates ICAT principles into the fire- arms training it conducts three times a year. In addition to measuring marksmanship, the VCSO tests officers on their tactical, com- munications, and de-escalation skills. Long Beach, California Police Department. Agencies Need to Stay Up to Date with ICAT Many departments were early adopters of ICAT, meaning that it’s been several years since their officers completed the training. Since then, PERF has made significant upgrades to the curriculum, including the addition of new modules on suicide by cop and “stepping up and stepping in,” which covers officer intervention strategies. There are also several new video case studies, some of which are narrated by the officers who were involved. Because many of their officers were taught ICAT from earlier versions of the curriculum, these agencies should retrain their experienced personnel using the newest version of the curriculum. Not only will this ensure that officers are being trained in the latest ICAT concepts and principles; it will also help standardize ICAT training across the agency. New recruits or recently trained officers will be on the same page as veteran officers who were trained in ICAT years before. In addition, to keep officers’ ICAT skills fresh, PERF recommends that agencies conduct annual ICAT training using the latest curriculum. 77 Making ICAT Work: Key Implementation Issues, Challenges, and Innovations — 37 Reinforcing ICAT through Monday-Morning Quarterbacking The idea of “Monday-morning quarterbacking”—watching film from the last game to identify strengths and areas for improvement—has been a central element of professional and collegiate sports for years. In policing, however, officials have traditionally shied away from the practice, often because they didn’t want to be seen as second guessing the actions of other officers. But as videos of police encounters with the public have become almost ubiquitous, some agencies are incorporating Monday-morning quarterbacking into their culture and training. PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler has written extensively about the importance of police leaders watching and learning from videos from their own agencies and from others.15 In early 2023, Wexler facilitated a series of Monday- morning quarterbacking sessions with departments across the country.16 The Indiana University Police Department (IUPD) in Bloomington, IN has developed a novel way to use Monday-morning quarterbacking to reinforce ICAT with its officers, first, through a custom app that supports the collection and analysis of use-of-force incident information and, second, the production of monthly videos to share the teachable moments with department members. Most of the force-related incidents that IUPD officers are involved in are with persons not affiliated with the university and a large majority of these incidents occur on the fringe of the IUPD’s patrol jurisdiction. Through mutual aid with several other law enforcement agencies in the area, IUPD is often called to respond to incidents involving individuals experiencing a mental crisis not only on the campus environment but in the local community. The IUPD first implemented ICAT in 2018. The department partnered with a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice at IU Bloomington to create its “CDM app.” Each use-of-force incident is captured by officers in the app and, using the Critical Decision-Making Model as a guide, the incident passes through a thorough review process. This process is independent of the involved officers’ supervisors. Next, the incident is brought before a monthly review panel that views the body-worn camera footage and dissects the incident for policy, operational, standards and training implications. Following the review, the IUPD’s training staff create a video that recaps specific incidents and what can be learned from them. The involved officers are given the opportunity to provide narration and their perspective for the final video, which is presented in a podcast-like format and distributed throughout the department. I reflect on when I played football in college. I couldn’t come in on Sunday and tell the coach, ‘I’m not watching the film from yesterday’s game.’ You’ve got to watch the film to get better. Policing is no different, so our department has the Monday-morning quarterbacking discussions that we have to have in order to improve. For us, it’s not an option. — Major Stephen Luce Director for Professional Standards and Education Indiana University Police Department 15. See, for example, the following editions of PERF Trending: www.policeforum.org/trendingaugust29 and www.policeforum.org/ trending4Feb23. 16. See www.policeforum.org/trending25mar23. 78 38 — ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies time, the chief estimated his officers were averaging 40-50 TASER deployments a year. First Step: Revamp Use-of-Force Policy His first step was to totally revamp the APD’s use-of-force policy to emphasize de-escalation and minimize force whenever possible – in the words of the chief, “to do everything in our power to use our words before we deploy a tool.” For the first time, the policy prohib- ited officers from deploying a TASER for verbal non-compliance; it can be used only in response to active aggression.17 Police personnel were given the opportunity to comment on the draft policy before it was implemented, and six months later it was officially adopted. Chief Lukens said he wanted his officers to have time to get comfortable with the new policy and the opportunity to “fail forward” – that is, get experience trying to follow the policy even if there were missteps along the way. Assigning “Skeptics” to Be ICAT Trainers Next, the APD sent two people – a sergeant and an officer – to an ICAT train-the-trainer ses- sion that PERF held in Colorado. In selecting the two trainers, the chief deliberately looked Since 2016, ICAT has been implemented by law enforcement agencies across the country. ICAT users are a diverse group of police departments and sheriffs’ offices of varying sizes with different implementation experiences. Here are short case studies of four ICAT users. Alliance, NE Police Department: A Small Agency Makes Dramatic Changes, and Gives Officers a Chance to “Fail Forward” Alliance is a city of approximately 8,000 people located in the Great Plains region of western Nebraska. The city is the county seat of Box Butte County. The Alliance Police Department (APD) is authorized for 22 sworn officers, plus 12 telecommunications profes- sionals in the Emergency Communications Center, which provides dispatch services for all police departments in the county and fire departments in four counties. Philip Lukens became chief of the APD in December 2020 and immediately recog- nized the department had issues with use of force, particularly with TASER deployments. Although they weren’t being tracked at the ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies 17. This policy is in line with the Electronic Control Weapons Guidelines that PERF published in 2011: https://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/ Free_Online_Documents/Use_of_Force/electronic%20control%20weapon%20guidelines%202011.pdf. 79 ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies — 39 for skeptics within the agency – people who were inclined to say, “this isn’t new – we’re already doing this.” He said these two skeptics came back from the training session as believers, and they proceeded to train the rest of the department. For the scenarios, the department relied on its VirTra simulator. Chief Lukens said that conducting scenarios with live actors would be preferable, but in a small agency like the APD, it is impractical to use existing personnel or try to hire actors. He said the simulator has more than 1,000 scenarios, so it is unlikely officers can memorize them or get the same scenario twice. In addition to ICAT, the APD has imple- mented Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement). Chief Lukens feels that this combination of training is helping officers more effectively deal with verbal non-compli- ance through communication, as opposed to deploying a TASER or other tool as they often did in the past. For new personnel, the APD puts recruits through a six-week “mini-skills” pre-academy before they enter the statewide law enforce- ment academy. In addition to covering APD policy and administrative matters, the pre- academy introduces recruits to the mission, vision, and values of the department, presents the basics of ICAT, and gives recruits a test on APD policy, including the new use-of-force policy. Results: Fewer TASER Deployments, Reduced Officer Injuries The results of ICAT training in Alliance have been dramatic. After averaging 40-50 TASER deployments a year, the APD had two in all of 2022. In addition, officer injuries are down because personnel are using their commu- nications skills more and not getting into as many physical altercations. And the chief is recognizing effective de-escalation through departmental awards and other forms of recognition. Advice for Smaller Departments For other small departments looking to implement ICAT, Chief Lukens has three pieces of advice: 1. Be dramatic in making changes. Officers should “feel the shock” of the changes in policies and training, and not get the impression that ICAT is simply the “latest fad” that the officers can wait out. 2. Get your policy in place and make sure it has been socialized before you start training. Give officers the opportunity to “fail forward” and learn from mistakes. 3. Confront skeptics head on. Chief Lukens took a chance in identifying two initial skeptics to be the APD’s lead ICAT trainers, and it paid off. The department did lose a couple of officers who were not on board with the changes. And while that can hurt a small agency like the APD, Chief Lukens said that losing those officers was better in the long run. Alliance, Nebraska Police Department. 80 40 — ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies classroom lectures. And while the agency experimented with using its VirTra simulator for the scenario-based exercises, it found that officers could not effectively practice their positioning – getting distance and cover – with the simulator. So the agency shifted to using live role players for its scenarios. Establishing an In-House Academy to Train Recruits The bigger challenge the VCSO faced was in training its new recruits – not just in the mechanics of ICAT but also in the philosophy and culture that Sheriff Chitwood was seeking to instill in the agency. At the time, VCSO recruits were being trained at an academy at a local college using a curriculum created by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for recruit officers throughout the state. As Sheriff Chitwood has said, “You have one chance to train somebody correctly – one chance. You have one chance to build the culture of your organization.” So the Sheriff asked the state if the VCSO could set up its own training academy, where recruits could be trained in the culture of the agency and the principles of ICAT from day one. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Training Academy opened in June 2021, and its first class of 20 graduated in late November of that year. ICAT is taught during the first week of the Academy, including putting recruits through scenario-based exercises. Then, ICAT prin- ciples, including the Critical Decision-Making Model, are reinforced throughout the recruit Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office: Embedding ICAT in Academy and In-Service Training Located on the Atlantic coast of Florida, Volusia County covers more than 1,400 square miles and is home to more than half a million people. Each year, the county welcomes mil- lions of tourists to its beaches, state parks, and the Daytona International Speedway. With 450 sworn deputies, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) is the largest law enforcement agency in the county, which includes a dozen municipal police departments. Identifying Informal Leaders to Head Up ICAT Training The VCSO was an early adopter of ICAT, begin- ning shortly after Mike Chitwood was elected sheriff in 2016. The agency started by getting its Command staff and middle managers on board through a customized ICAT class. Next, the VCSO focused on identifying informal leaders in the agency and making them the lead ICAT trainers. In general, these were hard-working, highly respected street per- sonnel who presented ICAT not only in the classroom but also in the field, by modeling ICAT principles and approaches in real-world situations. Initially, the VCSO tried to present the ICAT curriculum in just four hours, but soon realized that it required a full eight-hour presentation, plus scenarios. Where possible, the VCSO used video case studies from its own agency – good and bad – to support the For us, ICAT is not a class – eight hours and you’re done. We insert ICAT throughout our training, and we mix things up. During firearms training, we have scenarios where you don’t shoot. And there are some ICAT scenarios where students have to use force. — Captain Brian Bosco Training Commander Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office 81 ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies — 41 curriculum. The VCSO makes extensive use of scenario-based exercises for all its training topics; recruits are likely to complete a sce- nario just about every day of the academy. Recognizing Successful De-escalation and Decision Making To reinforce ICAT, the VCSO created an ICAT refresher course, and it continues to empha- size ICAT in all its annual in-service training. In addition, the agency expanded its awards program to recognize outstanding de-escalation and decision making in critical incidents, through its Lifesaving Award and Sheriffs Award. Looking to the future, the VCSO is working on a dedicated ICAT training program for supervisors and another one for dispatchers. Advice for Other Agencies Captain Brian Bosco, VCSO’s Training Commander, offers the following advice for agencies looking to implement ICAT: 1. Bring the Command staff and supervisors on board right away. 2. Identify informal leaders and get these key people in place to help with implementa- tion. These include highly respected street personnel, SWAT and other specialized units, training staff, and others. Use your top performers to help influence and guide the rest of the department, most of whom will be open to change. 3. ICAT is not a 12-hour class. It has to be a philosophy that is embedded in everything you do, in training and field operations. How ICAT Principles Are Helping to Improve Investigations in Volusia County Captain Brian Bosco says there has been one unexpected byproduct of the adoption of ICAT in the Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office: improved investigations. The agency is currently clearing about 55% of its serious crimes, a rate that Captain Bosco credits to a variety of factors, including Compstat, a Real Time Crime Center, and ICAT. He explains the ICAT connection this way: Part of de-escalation and ICAT is slowing things down and bringing in more resources that may be needed. We drill that into our supervisors. We’ve also taken the emphasis off quantity – “How many arrests have you made?,” most of which were for less serious crimes. We’ve moved the emphasis to quality – “How many crimes are you solving?” Slowing down on crisis calls has led us to slow down on all types of calls. We’re getting our deputies to spend the time canvassing the neighborhood, getting fingerprints, developing leads, and the like. We want them to focus on helping to solve the crimes that have the greatest impact – the serious crimes. And when we do solve those cases, their efforts are celebrated through awards or other recognition. Volusia County, Florida Sheriff’s Office. 82 42 — ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies Getting the Right Instructors and Role Players For instructors, Monterey Police started with Assistant Chief Clark and Lt. Pinkas (both had attended the initial orientation session). However, the department soon discovered that having the Assistant Chief in the room was stifling open discussions among the officers. So the agency pivoted. It had Assistant Chief Clark (or Chief Hober) speak to the class at the beginning, to show their support and set expectations, and then leave the classroom. The department also brought in a lieutenant from the tactical team and a union leader to round out the training team. For role players, the department started by using its unarmed community service offi- cers. ICAT trainers met with them ahead of time, went through scripts, and coached the CSOs on how to act. They also set up a system using text messages to guide the role players through the scenarios in real time. To supple- ment the CSOs, the department identified officers who performed well in the field and during scenarios and recruited them to be role players. The officers sat in on a class as a refresher, then jumped into their role playing. The department also used one ICAT instructor to play the role of a dispatcher during scenarios. If officers go on the radio to ask for additional information or resources, the “dispatcher” facilitates the request. This helps to get officers into the habit of making requests during critical incidents. Monterey, CA Police Department: Driving Home the Critical Decision-Making Model The Monterey, CA Police Department has 53 sworn personnel serving a resident popula- tion of about 30,000 people, which balloons to 100,000 on many days with tourists and other visitors. In 2016, the department’s leadership committed to revamping how it trained officers on use of force. When PERF announced an ICAT information session in Los Angeles, Chief Dave Hober, Assistant Chief Bill Clark, and Lieutenant Jake Pinkas attended. They came back to Monterey and immediately implemented the training. Training as Teams The department wanted to start by training its sergeants and Field Training Officers, but in an agency of its size, scheduling proved chal- lenging. Instead, the department decided to train officers and sergeants together as teams. Lt. Pinkas said this approach worked out well. During scenarios, if an officer needed to call a supervisor, it was their actual supervisor who showed up. It took the department three classes to train its officers. Monterey Police devote 16 hours to each ICAT class: one day in the classroom and a full day of scenarios. The agency used four of the recommended scenarios included in the PERF curriculum and adjusted them to better match their community. The department has worked to mix up its scenarios. Lt. Pinkas said they didn’t want the ICAT scenarios to always involve officers being able to talk the knife out of someone’s hand. In some instances, officers may need to use some force to achieve a successful outcome. Monterey, California Police Department. 83 ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies — 43 Reinforcing the CDM To reinforce the training, Monterey Police plaster the Critical Decision-Making Model all over the department. Every department member is issued a 3x5 card that contains the CDM, and the image is included in its use-of-force policy. In addition, Lt. Pinkas said the department emphasizes slowing things down and making good decisions in all responses, so rookie officers are introduced to ICAT concepts from the start. Advice for Mid-Sized Agencies Lt. Pinkas offers the following advice to other mid-sized agencies implementing ICAT: 1. Buy-in and support from the top are critical. Leaders need to send the message that it’s okay for officers to take their time on calls. Agency leaders should also provide personnel with the tools they need to succeed. As part of ICAT implementation, the Monterey Police Department acquired 40 mm. less-lethal launchers, shields, rope- ties, and other tools. 2. Identify and empower informal leaders who can help “sell” ICAT to the rest of the agency. Find those members who are respected by their peers and know how to teach to serve as instructors in the classroom and champions in the field. 3. Get comfortable with the idea of reviewing and discussing videos of other officers. Explain to your personnel that the purpose of the video case studies is not to criticize or second-guess other cops, but to learn from their experiences and figure out how our agency can do better. “Left of Bang”: Using ICAT to Limit Disruptions When Responding to Any Incident The Monterey Police Department has incorporated the book Left of Bang, written by two Marine Corps veterans, into their presentation of ICAT. The premise of the book is that, regardless of the incident (in this case, a call for police service) or how simple or complex it may be, there is usually going to be some type of impact or explosion – a “bang.” Up-front preparation is critical to minimizing the magnitude and impact of the bang that will inevitably occur. Monterey Police present this concept during ICAT Module 1: Introduction. They show how just about any type of call for service – from a traffic stop to an arrest for domestic violence – can produce some level of “bang.” They emphasize how the ICAT principles of slowing down, collecting information, and using the Critical Decision-Making Model can help officers better manage calls and minimize the bang that will likely occur. 84 44 — ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies of experience came in handy as the HCSO was developing its scenarios for ICAT. The trainers were asked to think about the most challenging de-escalation situations they had experienced and to write down what happened and how the deputies and subjects responded. These real-world encounters become the basis for the ICAT scenarios. A Top-Down Approach to Training The HCSO adopted a top-down approach to rolling out ICAT: • HCSO Command staff were given a four- hour block of instruction on ICAT to familiarize them with the training and to reinforce the underlying principles of ICAT. From the beginning, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez set the tone by expressing his full support for ICAT; he recorded a video that is played at the start of each ICAT class. • The department decided to train its first- line supervisors first – both sergeants and lieutenants. The supervisors went through the full ICAT course, including scenarios. The curriculum was customized to focus on the supervisors’ role in managing critical incidents and supporting their officers. It took the HCSO approximately three months to train all first-line supervisors. Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office: An Agency-Wide Commitment to ICAT Serving the Houston metropolitan area, the Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) is one of the largest full-service sheriff’s offices in the nation, with patrol, detention, and dispatch responsibilities. The agency has approximately 5,000 employees, including about 2,300 sworn deputies and 1,000 detention staff who work in the Harris County Jail. The HCSO has made an agency- wide commitment to training its personnel in ICAT. Texas law requires that all law enforcement agencies in the state conduct a minimum of eight hours of “de-escalation” training, but it doesn’t specify the exact content of the training. The HCSO decided to go beyond the minimum training requirements and adopt the full ICAT curriculum, including classroom instruction and scenario-based exercises. As with all ICAT agencies, among the early decisions the HCSO had to make were, Who would be the ICAT instructors?, and Which personnel would be trained first? A Diverse Group of ICAT Instructors The agency sought a diverse mix of person- nel to serve as ICAT trainers, based on their education, experience, and assignment. The HCSO selected 11 members to go through an ICAT train-the-trainer session taught by PERF. The group included both tactical personnel and members from specialized units such as Internal Affairs. The latter were included in the train-the-trainer session not because they would likely end up being ICAT instruc- tors, but because the agency thought it was important for them to learn what deputies were being taught on use of force, according to Sergeant Jose “Rico” Gomez, the HCSO’s ICAT Coordinator. The agency ended up with a core of 4-5 dedicated ICAT trainers, who had experience in both patrol and detention. This range Harris County, Texas Sheriff’s Office 85 ICAT in Action: Four Implementation Case Studies — 45 • Next, the agency began training its Field Training Deputies (FTDs). This curriculum focused on their roles in mentoring and coaching their deputies during field training. The training stressed how backup officers (who are frequently FTDs in the field) have certain key responsibilities, such as assessing the situation, marshalling resources, and the like. • After all these groups were trained, the HCSO began training its field deputies, a process that took approximately one year. Sgt. Gomez said some veteran officers complained at the start of the training that they had already been through de-escalation training during their careers. “The scenario- based training in ICAT was a real wake-up call for some officers – and a welcome one at that,” Sgt. Gomez said. “The scenarios were key to showing that ICAT was different.” • More recently, the HCSO has begun developing a customized ICAT curriculum for its detention officers. New patrol deputy hires go through the full ICAT curriculum in the HCSO Academy. This includes deputies laterally hired from other agencies, even if they have already gone through the state-mandated de-escalation training. The agency feels it is important for them to see how the HCSO looks at use of force and for all personnel to be on the same page. New cadets get ICAT about 4-5 months into their 6-month academy training, with the training reinforced during their 3-month field training period. Reinforcing ICAT through Ongoing Training The HCSO emphasizes the Critical Decision- Making Model not just in ICAT training but in broader agency operations. Posters with the CDM are hung throughout agency facilities, including district stations and detention cen- ters. In addition, the HCSO has incorporated the CDM into other training courses, including its Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training. To further reinforce ICAT, the HCSO has included ICAT in its rotation of in-service training courses. The ICAT training team works closely with personnel involved in behavioral health training. When there are critical incidents that have a nexus of mental health and de-escalation, the agency will draft and distribute a training bulletin that debriefs the incident, often using the CDM. Advice for Large Agencies For large agencies implementing ICAT, Sgt. Gomez offers the following advice: 1. Make sure the agency leadership, including the CEO, is on board. In the HCSO, Sheriff Gonzalez and Chief Deputy Mike Lee set the tone – early and very publicly – which then trickles down through the ranks. The Sheriff’s video message at the beginning of the training made a big difference in helping to overcome any initial resistance to ICAT. 2. Focus on first-line supervisors and field training personnel first. For street deputies or officers to effectively implement ICAT in the field, they need the support of these two groups. So it is critical that supervisors and FTOs fully understand and embrace ICAT. 3. For agencies that are training their correctional personnel, make sure the curriculum is customized to fit their needs and challenges and that the trainers themselves have some experience in a correctional setting. (PERF is developing an ICAT in Jails curriculum – see page 47.) 86 46 — What’s Next for ICAT? PERF National ICAT Training Center While some larger police agencies have modern training facilities that feature state- of-the-art classrooms, technology, and tactical villages for scenario-based training, the vast majority of departments lack such amenities. A new PERF National ICAT Training Center is helping to close that gap by making contem- porary training facilities geared toward the delivery of ICAT available to more agencies. Funded by a generous donation from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the PERF National ICAT Training Center will allow PERF to conduct both train-the-trainer sessions and ICAT instruction for interested agencies ICAT has always been a dynamic training program. Since it was first introduced in 2016, ICAT has undergone several upgrades that have drawn on the experiences of ICAT agencies and addressed emerging use-of-force topics and challenges. Among other enhancements, PERF has added new modules on suicide by cop and “stepping up and stepping in” (intervention strategies), expanded the library of video case studies, and in several videos had officers provide first-hand narration of the incidents and their decision making. The future development of ICAT will be guided by this same spirit of evolution and innovation. Here are some examples. What’s Next for ICAT? Scenario-based training venues at the PERF National ICAT Training Center. 87 What’s Next for ICAT? — 47 from across the country. It will also serve as an innovation hub for developing and testing new features of ICAT, such as a customized course for jail personnel. Located on 52 acres in Decatur, IL, the Training Facility includes 50,000 square feet of classroom space, scenario-based training venues, and administrative offices. Features include: • An auditorium with stadium-style seating for 144 students. The auditorium has industry-leading technology, including live streaming over 16 screens. • A 108-seat classroom also equipped with industry-leading technology, including three 98-inch flat screens and the ability to live-stream from the auditorium and other locations. • Eleven different scenario-based training venues spread over 22,500 square feet. These include a convenience store, fast food restaurant, hardware store, hospital emergency room, mobile home, place of worship, residential apartment, retail store, school classroom, tavern, and warehouse. Each scenario-based venue is uniquely constructed and includes catwalks that allow instructors to monitor the scenarios from above. • A mock railroad station with an Amtrak train car. • A separate venue that mirrors a correctional facility, including prisoner intake, day room and recreation area, and eight prisoner cells. This venue will be used to support the ICAT in Jails curriculum. • On-site virtual training capabilities, including VirTra simulators. • Administrative offices, including a boardroom with state-of-the-art technology for meetings. The PERF National ICAT Training Center will be operated by the Public Safety Training Foundation, in partnership with PERF. Retired Macon County, IL Sheriff Tom Schneider will oversee the Facility’s operations. ICAT in Jails The original ICAT curriculum was designed to help patrol officers who are the first to arrive at the scene of a critical incident. As sheriffs’ offices began implementing ICAT for their patrol deputies, many recognized that the personnel in their jails could benefit from this type of training as well. Corrections officers often face the same types of challenges as officers on the street: individuals who are in a behavioral or mental health crisis, who are unarmed or armed with an edged weapon or other dangerous device, and who are acting erratically or even The auditorium (LEFT) and classroom at the PERF National ICAT Training Center. 88 48 — What’s Next for ICAT? More Curriculum Enhancements PERF continuously monitors national trends in use of force in general, as well as the ICAT curriculum specifically. Staff regularly gather and analyze feedback from instructors and students. This information is crucial to the development of new modules, the refinement of existing material, and the identification of new training tools such as video case studies. In addition, based on feedback from exist- ing ICAT users, PERF will be researching and developing a model follow-up (or booster) training for officers who have completed the full curriculum. PERF also recommends that, to keep their officers’ de-escalation skills fresh, agencies should conduct annual ICAT training using the latest curriculum. violently. But jail personnel generally do not have the full range of lethal and less-lethal tools that officers on the street do. They have to rely heavily on their communications skills, tactical positioning, teamwork, and decision making to defuse tense encounters. PERF is creating an ICAT in Jails guide that will help correctional officers hone these skills in dynamic situations. Like the original ICAT training, this course will use the Critical Decision-Making Model to help jail personnel work through challenging incidents, and it will focus on both officer safety and the safety of others. The scenario-based training facility for corrections at the new PERF National ICAT Training Center will serve as a laboratory for designing and testing the training as well as a centralized location where sheriffs’ offices and other correctional agencies can come to take part in the training. PERF Is Looking for Videos to Use in ICAT PERF continuously updates the ICAT curriculum to keep it fresh and relevant to the challenges officers face today. That includes finding new videos that illustrate the key elements of ICAT and can be used in the classroom as case studies. If your agency has videos that you would like PERF to consider for the ICAT curriculum, please contact PERF Senior Research Associate Jason Cheney at jcheney@policeforum.org or 202-466-7820. Prior to using any video, PERF will get appropriate permissions from the agency and its leadership. ICAT instructors conduct scenario-based training in the new PERF National ICAT Training Center. 89 Other Information and Resources — 49 Agencies looking for more information about ICAT, including options for training, should contact: Jason Cheney PERF Senior Research Associate jcheney@policeforum.org 202-466-7820 In addition, agencies can refer to the following resources: ICAT Website www.policeforum.org/icat The website provides a variety of information, including a sample lesson plan and PowerPoint deck for Module 1. Agencies interested in previewing the entire curriculum should contact PERF directly. ICAT Training Guide Report www.policeforum.org/assets/icattrainingguide.pdf This 2016 publication details how ICAT was developed, the underlying philosophy and principles of the training, and the original curriculum. Guiding Principles on Use of Force www.policeforum.org/assets/ guidingprinciples1.pdf This 2016 report lays out PERF’s 30 guiding principles for reforming use-of-force policies and practices. It is the policy foundation of ICAT. Re-Engineering Training on Police Use of Force https://www.policeforum.org/assets/ reengineeringtraining1.pdf This 2015 report details PERF’s research on how police agencies have traditionally trained their officers on use of force and presents a blueprint for enhancing that training. Examining the Impact of Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) De-escalation Training for the Louisville Metro Police Department www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/Research%20 Center/LMPD_ICAT%20Evaluation%20Initial%20 Findings%20Report_FINAL%2009212020.pdf This 2020 publication presents the findings of the independent study of ICAT’s impact in the Louisville, KY Metro Police Department. Completed by a team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati, the study found ICAT was associated with substantial reductions in uses of force and officer and citizen injuries. Suicide by Cop: Protocol and Training Guide https://www.policeforum.org/assets/ SBCTrainingGuide.pdf This 2019 report presents practical guidance on how to recognize and respond to potential suicide-by-cop encounters. It forms the basis for ICAT Module 5: Suicide by Cop. Other Information and Resources 90 50 — Other Information and Resources Transforming Police Recruit Training: 40 Guiding Principles https://www.policeforum.org/assets/ TransformingRecruitTraining.pdf This 2022 report presents guiding principles for re-engineering recruit training in five key areas: 1) academy organization, operation, and philosophy; 2) curriculum; 3) academy leadership and instructors; 4) technology and physical facilities; and 5) continuity between academy and field training. Critical Response Toolkit for First-Line Supervisors https://www.policeforum.org/ critical-response-toolkit-for-first-line-supervisors This online toolkit provides sergeants and other supervisors with guidance and resources to help them manage critical incidents. Given the important role that sergeants play in implementing ICAT, the toolkit reinforces many of the steps that supervisors should take to help their officers successfully defuse these incidents. 91 About the Police Executive Research Forum — 51 The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is an independent research organization that focuses on critical issues in policing. Since its founding in 1976, PERF has identified best practices on fundamental issues such as reducing police use of force; developing community policing and problem- oriented policing; using technologies to deliver police services to the community; and developing and assessing crime reduction strategies. PERF strives to advance professionalism in policing and to improve the delivery of police services through the exercise of strong national leadership; public debate of police and criminal justice issues; and research and policy development. The nature of PERF’s work can be seen in the reports PERF has published over the years. Most of these reports are available without charge online at http://www.policeforum.org/ free-online-documents. In addition to conducting research and publishing reports on our findings, PERF conducts management studies of individual law enforcement agencies; educates hundreds of police officials each year in the Senior Management Institute for Police, a three-week executive development program; and provides executive search services to governments that wish to conduct national searches for their next police chief. All of PERF’s work benefits from PERF’s status as a membership organization of police officials, who share information and open their agencies to research and study. PERF members also include academics, federal government leaders, and others with an interest in policing and criminal justice. All PERF members must have a four- year college degree and must subscribe to a set of founding principles, emphasizing the importance of research and public debate in policing, adherence to the Constitution and the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and accountability to the communities that police agencies serve. PERF is governed by a member-elected President and Board of Directors and a Board- appointed Executive Director. About the Police Executive Research Forum To learn more about PERF, visit www.policeforum.org. 92 93 1120 Connecticut Avenue,NW,suite 930 Washington,DC 20036 202-466-7820 www.PoliceForum.org PERF ICAT Training Facility:3120 S.Business Route 51 Decatur,IL 62522 For more information (or if your agency is interested in a customized, on-site training for all agency personnel):Contact Jason Cheney at jcheney@policeforum.org or 202-454-8331. www.policeforum.org/lCAT FOUNDATION THE HO WARD G .BUFFETT PERF is grateful to the Howard 6.Buffett Foundation for its support of the ICAT training program,including the production of this report. Agenda Item No:4. City Commission Agenda Item Report Meeting Date: December 10, 2024 Submitted by: John Barzola Submitting Department: Police Department Item Type: Resolution Agenda Section: Subject: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING AND APPROVING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) SAFER OUTCOMES GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATING COMMUNICATIONS, ASSESSMENT, AND TACTICS (ICAT) TRAINING PROGRAM; APPROVING THE PROPOSAL OF THE POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM (PERF) AND AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $39,950 FOR ICAT TRAINING FACILITATOR SERVICES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE GRANT AND ANY NECESSARY AGREEMENTS FOR THE ICAT TRAINING FACILITATOR SERVICES; PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION, CORRECTIONS, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (CITY MANAGER-POLICE DEPT.) Suggested Action: The South Miami Police Department recommends the City Commission: 1.Approve the acceptance of the $40,000 DOJ Safer Outcomes Grant Award. 2.Authorize the use of funds to engage the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) for the ICAT training program for a total cost of $39,950. Attachments: ICAT_PERF_Training_Resolution_Memo (2).docx 4A40052-Resolution Accepting DOJ Grant & Authorize PERF for ICAT Training CAv2.DOCX Exhibit A- Award_Package_FAW-186161.pdf Exhibit B-South Miami ICAT proposal.pdf PERF sole source letter.pdf ICAT Implementation & Training Guide.pdf 1 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO:The Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Members of the City Commission FROM:Genaro “Chip” Iglesias,City Manager DATE:December 10, 2024 SUBJECT:Acceptance of Department of Justice Grant and Authorization to Engage the Police Executive Research Forum for ICAT Training RECOMMENDATION:Approve the acceptance of the $40,000 DOJ Safer Outcomes Grant Award and authorize the use of funds to engage the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) for the ICAT training program for a total cost of $39,950. BACKGROUND:The South Miami Police Department has been awarded the FY24 Safer Outcomes Grant through the Department of Justice under Award No. 15JCOPS-24-GG-05394-DETU. The funding will support critical de- escalation and crisis response training for law enforcement personnel. PERF, a nationally recognized organization specializing in evidence-based law enforcement training and policy development, will facilitate the ICAT program. ICAT is an innovative training program designed to improve officer decision-making and crisis management, ultimately reducing reliance on force in volatile situations. The training is built around the Critical Decision-Making Model (CDM), a structured framework that enhances officers’ ability to assess complex situations and take safe, effective actions. Over 80% of our department's officers are already trained in Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) protocols. ICAT training will further enhance their skills by incorporating: Scenario-Based Training:Realistic exercises that prepare officers for high-pressure situations. De-Escalation Techniques:Strategies to safely manage encounters with individuals experiencing mental health crises or other critical incidents. Integrated Tactics:Practical skills that combine communication and physical safety measures. 2 &South ’Miami THE CITY OF PLEASANT LIVING CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM PERF's ICAT program is widely regarded as the gold standard for law enforcement training and has been endorsed by FEMA and the Center for Domestic Preparedness. This training aligns with the City's commitment to community-oriented policing and the adoption of best practices to ensure public safety and officer preparedness. FUNDING: Department of Justice Grant Award # 15jCOPS-24-GG-05394-DETU and account to be determined later. The grant provides $40,000 in funding, which will cover: 1.Training facilitation by PERF. 2.Necessary materials and logistical support for implementing the ICAT curriculum. 3.Administrative costs associated with organizing and documenting the training program. A specific account will be created to manage these funds and ensure compliance with grant conditions. ATTACHMENTS: Resolution Exhibit A-DOJ FY24 Safer Outcomes Grant Award Exhibit B- PERF Proposal ICAT Implementation & Training Guide PERF Sole Source Letter 3 South 'Miami THE CITY OF PLEASANT LIVING