NSU Horizons Fall 2006

8 horizons spotlight dents. The next, I may have students involved in training police hostage negotiators. I consult with the FBI, working on police psychology and related research, or respond to “call- outs” to deal with a critical incident in our community. Serving as a journal editor requires me to keep abreast of the top clinical issues, as well as the research literature in my areas of interest. One of my FBI colleagues once jokingly said to me, “You’re like the Indiana Jones of your profession. You do the academic part, but get to work in the field where the action is, as well.” Horizons : How did you make the move from psychologist to police officer? I never actually made a move. It is more like I “added on.” I’ve been a psychologist for nearly 25 years. I graduated from the police academy about 11 years ago, specifically to make me a more effective police psychologist. However, I learned great respect for law enforcement at an early age. Growing up in New York City, I was able to see, firsthand, the challenges of the job. Also, as a member of the Police Athletic League as a teen, I was able to get to know police officers who were mentors and role models for many of us. After joining the CPS faculty in ’92, I met Detective Sergeant Joe Matthews (now retired from Miami Beach P.D.) and Chief Dan Giustino (Pembroke Pines P.D.) with whom I consulted on a number of police issues and became close colleagues. Both encouraged me to consider the possibility of going to the police academy to get certified. While I had already been consulting with police agencies for some time, I would repeatedly hear, “You can’t really understand this job unless you do it.” With the further encouragement and support of my dean, I took the plunge. Since then, I have worked with Plantation P.D. part-time as a road patrol officer and I now assist them as training coordinator for the Crisis Response Team (CRT). Horizons : What is the Crisis Response Team? The CRT is composed of police officers with advanced training in crisis intervention and hostage negotiation strate- gies and techniques. The primary goal of the CRT is to resolve Vincent Van Hasselt, Ph.D. (left), is a pro- fessor of psychology and director of the Family Violence Program at NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies (CPS). He is also a faculty member at NSU’s Criminal Justice Institute and a certified police officer working part-time with the City of Plantation Police Department. Throughout the years, Van Hasselt has served as a consul- tant, lecturer, and instructor to a number of law enforcement agencies. In particular, he has worked with the FBI’s Behavioral Science and Crisis (Hostage) Negotiation units, Law Enforcement Communication Unit, and its Employee Assistance Program. He is also one of the few mental health experts nationwide asked to serve as a member of the FBI’s Crisis Prevention and Intervention Program, which responds to critical incidents involving law enforcement personnel nationwide. Van Hasselt lectures at the Broward County Police Academy and is an instructor for the Broward County Crisis Intervention Team, which provides specialized mental health training to police officers, enabling them to deal more effectively and safely with the mentally ill. He has published over 200 journal articles, books, and book chapters, and is coeditor-in-chief of Aggression, and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal and coeditor of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse. Horizons : You are a police officer and a professor of psychology. How do you find the time to handle both responsibilities? It has never been that difficult because the work I do in law enforcement directly impacts my work with students, as well as my research. I really enjoy just about everything I do. And because my work is so varied, I can honestly say, I never get bored. One day I’m teaching courses or supervising stu- meet nsu’s Indiana Jones Professor Vincent Van Hasselt brings real-life police work to academics. By Amanda patterson