Let’s Return to Embracing the Soft Skills as Criminal Justice Professionals
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Training Description
As criminal justice professionals, we place a great deal of emphasis on the “hard skills,” which are quantifiable, measurable, task-specific skills needed to perform the basic responsibilities of the job such as defensive tactics, critical incident response techniques, and threat analysis. The “hard skills” require specific knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that can be measured through a multitude of quantifiable assessments. However, of equal importance are the “soft skills.” Unfortunately, soft skills are largely lacking and overlooked within the criminal justice profession, particularly within law enforcement and corrections. Soft skills encompass personal characteristics such as interpersonal communication skills and personality traits. They are the intangible skills, which are challenging to quantify and measure. Soft skills are not intended to replace or mitigate the value of hard skills, but rather to enhance and improve the quality and performance of our job responsibilities and duties. They provide the balance that we want to see in our criminal justice professionals and have been shown to assist with conflict resolution.
Trainer Biography
Dr. Michael Pittaro is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice with American Military University and an adjunct professor of criminal justice with East Stroudsburg University and Northampton Community College. Before pursuing a career in higher education, Dr. Pittaro worked in corrections administration; has served as the Executive Director of an outpatient drug and alcohol facility; and as Executive Director of a drug and alcohol prevention agency. He has been teaching for the past 18 years while also serving internationally as an author, editor, and subject matter expert. Dr. Pittaro holds a BS in Criminal Justice (Who’s Who Among University Students – 1989); an MPA in Public Administration (Summa Cum Laude); and a PhD in criminal justice (Summa Cum Laude). He is a single father who resides in Nazareth, Pennsylvania with his two sons (Dakota and Darrian).
He can be reached at: [email protected]
Learning Objectives
At the end of this training you will be able to…
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- Differentiate between hard skills and soft skills
- Explain the advantages of soft skills for criminal justice professionals
- Describe Emotional Intelligence
- Apply soft skills to improve job performance
- Create a workable plan for the “work / life” balance dichotomy
- Understand how the soft skills can reduce unnecessary physical force complaints
