Failure to immediately identify and support children exposed to violence (CEV) places them at great risk for traumatic dysregulation and long-term mental health difficulties. Police officers are in a unique position to identify and assist CEV in the immediate aftermath of exposure. Yet, law enforcement professionals do not typically receive training tailored towards effectively identifying and responding to the emotional needs of CEV. Protecting and Serving is a police training curriculum based on over two decades of successful mental health and law enforcement collaboration. The current study examined 152 police officers’ perceptions of, attitudes toward, and understanding of the training delivered at six police departments. Pre- and post-training surveys assessed the current state of practice and the effectiveness of the program presentation in three content areas: knowledge, practice, and attitude. McNemar’s test was used to evaluate pre- to post-change, chi-square analyses and one-way ANOVAs were used to assess variation associated with demographic variables, and qualitative analysis was conducted by two independent judges. Findings reflect strong officer motivation, coupled with specific gaps in knowledge and practices. Post-training results demonstrate significant gains in all three content areas. Findings underscore the need and potential utility for specialized training designed to better equip officers to respond effectively to CEV.

无法立即识别和支持遭受暴力（CEV）的儿童，使他们极有可能遭受精神失调和长期精神健康困难。警务人员处于独特的位置，可以在暴露后立即识别并协助CEV。但是，执法专业人员通常不会接受专门针对有效识别和响应CEV情感需求而量身定制的培训。保护与服务是基于二十多年成功的心理健康和执法合作而制定的警察培训课程。本研究调查了152名警官对六个警察局提供的培训的看法，态度和理解。培训前和培训后的调查在三个内容领域：知识，实践和态度中评估了实践的现状和计划介绍的有效性。McNemar的检验用于评估变更前至变更后，卡方分析，单向方差分析用于评估与人口统计学变量相关的变异，定性分析由两名独立的法官进行。调查结果反映了高级官员的积极性，以及在知识和实践上的特定差距。培训后的结果表明，在所有三个内容领域都取得了显著成就。调查结果强调了专门培训的需求和潜在用途，这些培训旨在使军官更好地装备以对CEV做出有效反应。