Training Police Social Workers: A Neglected Area of Social Work Education

Abstract

This article begins with a discussion of the vital need for collaboration between social work and law enforcement professionals, with particular emphasis on the need for comprehensive training programs combining criminal justice and social work knowledge. It then documents several historical recommendations for training police social workers that are relevant today, and suggests that social work education programs of the future include provisions for transmitting social work knowledge to police officers. Similarly, social workers planning to practice in criminal justice settings need to have training in the administration of justice.