1st Edition

Police Social Work Social Work Practice in Law Enforcement Agencies

By George T. Patterson Copyright 2022
    250 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    250 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Grounded in contemporary social work practice approaches such as trauma-informed practice, cultural competency, and systems theory, this book provides a model for developing, implementing, and evaluating police social work and social service collaboration within the context of contemporary policing strategies.

    The practice of professional social work in law enforcement agencies is increasingly becoming an important area of practice. Police social work, as it is known, benefits community residents and assists law enforcement agencies with accomplishing community policing and other problem-solving initiatives. Throughout 13 chapters, this book covers:

    • The practice of professional social work within law enforcement agencies
    • The types of social problems addressed and characteristics of police social work collaborations
    • Ethical and other practice issues that arise when collaborating with law enforcement agencies and required practice skills to address these issues
    • An examination of collaborations formed between law enforcement agencies and social services agencies in which the service providers are not professional social workers
    • A model for developing police social work collaborations and investigating collaboration effectiveness
    • Expanded roles for police social work practice such as consultation, officer selection, training recruits and police officers, and assisting their families

    Police Social Work provides a wealth of case studies and other reference material to prepare students for police social work practice, as well as serving as a resource for police officers, recruits, and students majoring in policing.

    Chapter 1 - An Overview of Law Enforcement Agencies

    Chapter 2 - The Service Law Enforcement Function

    Chapter 3 - Police Social Work

    Chapter 4 - Critical Issues in Police Social Work

    Chapter 5 - Specialist Police Social Work Practice

    Chapter 6 - POLICE: A Model for the Development, Implementation and Evaluation of Police Social Work Collaboration

    Chapter 7 - Child Maltreatment

    Chapter 8 - Domestic Violence

    Chapter 9 - Victims of Crime

    Chapter 10 - Mental Health

    Chapter 11 - Juveniles

    Chapter 12 - International Police and Social Work, and Police and Social Service Collaborations

    Chapter 13 - The Future of Police Social Work

    Biography

    George T. Patterson is Associate Professor in the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York. A certified police instructor and police social worker, Dr. Patterson has served as a visiting professor and curriculum advisor in several law enforcement training academies, trained police officers and recruits, and teaches criminal justice courses to social work students. He has published on the topics of police social work, the stress of police work, and coping among police officers and recruits. His written testimony is included in the May 2015 Final Report of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing established by President Barack Obama, and his research results are included in An Evidence-Assessment of the Recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.