Plan to join us for SPCP 2025 in Anaheim, California! Our conference will be hosted at Hotel Lulu. The hotel will host our meetings.  It features an outdoor pool, restaurant, bar, fitness center, in-room refrigerators, and complementary WiFi.

Hotel Lulu is just two blocks from Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney.  Anaheim is also home of the Honda Center, Angel Stadium, many restaurants including ethnic areas such as the Packing District, Little Arabia and nearby Little Saigon.  Learn more about visiting Anaheim, California. 

Call for Proposals

The Society for Police & Criminal Psychology (SPCP) invites proposals for presentations and posters for the 2025 Annual Conference, centered on the theme:

Navigating Transitional Times: Adapting Psychology to Evolving Challenges in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

This year’s conference will explore the dynamic intersection of psychology, law enforcement, and criminal justice, highlighting innovative approaches to address the complex challenges of a rapidly changing world. We welcome a wide range of proposals, including empirical research findings, theoretical discussions, practical applications, and case studies. The conference seeks to foster collaborations across a multidisciplinary audience, including academics, practitioners, law enforcement professionals, and students.

This year’s conference will be organized around two central themes:

1. Integrating Mental Health Services, Technology, and Law Enforcement

2. Understanding Criminal Behavior in a Changing World

Within these themes, we invite proposals for presentations and posters on all topics. Issues of particular interest are listed below.

Submission Deadline: May 1, 2025

Format Options

Presentations: Professionals who have completed their graduate training are eligible to submit proposals for the standard 20-minute presentation. However, experienced Masters-level professionals who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program may be permitted to make presentations. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis; please contact the CEU chair, JoAnne Brewster, brewstja@jmu.edu. Note that if you are allowed to present as a professional, you may not register for the conference at the student rate.

Panel Presentations: Presentations on a common theme may be organized as a panel. To submit a panel, each presentation proposal should be submitted individually, and the organizing presenter should send an e-mail with the panel proposal to Conference Program Chair Dr. Marina Sorochinski at conference@policepsychology.org and copy Dr. JoAnne Brewster at brewstja@jmu.edu. Your e-mail should: (1) provide a title for the overall panel, (2) list the titles of the individual presentations, and (3) provide a brief description of the panel theme. It should be clear from the panel title and description how the presentations complement one another and contribute to the panel's overall theme.

Posters: Students (undergraduate and graduate) and professionals are eligible to present posters.

Notes:

The SPCP conference does not accept self-promotional presentations aimed at marketing products or services.

Presenters are not compensated or reimbursed for their participation; the conference is a platform for sharing research, knowledge, and professional insights.

Students are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the poster session. Awards and honoraria will be presented for outstanding student posters.

Submission Requirements

You do not need to be a current SPCP member to submit a proposal, although you must be an SPCP member to register for the conference. All presentation and poster proposals must be submitted using our online form. To be considered, and to ensure that we can award APA CEU credit to conference participants, all submissions must include:

• Corresponding Author: Name and contact information.
• Author Details: Names, highest degrees, email addresses, and affiliations for all authors.
• Title: Exact title as it should appear in the program.
• Abstract: For inclusion in the program. Maximum 2000 characters.
• Learning Objectives: Three learning objectives.
• Primary Author CV: Attach the CV of the primary author and the presenter (if different). Additional co-author CVs are optional.
• References: Three references supporting the presentation.
• Conflict of Interest: Disclose and briefly describe any potential conflicts.

Decisions, Notification, Membership and Conference Registration

The primary (corresponding) author will be notified by e-mail of the proposal status a few weeks after the submission deadline. Corresponding Authors will be expected to quickly confirm their participation by responding to the acceptance emails and registering for the conference.

Shortly after proposals are accepted, all presenters must register for the conference. Note that you must be a current SPCP member to attend the conference, so first join SPCP or pay your 2025 dues to access the conference registration link. Registration for the 2025 conference will include 2026 membership dues.

2025 Conference Themes & Topics of Particular Interest

We invite presentations and posters on all topics that fit within the two central conference themes. Topics of particular interest are listed, but submissions do not need to be limited to those topics.

Integrating Mental Health Services, Technology, and Law Enforcement

• Management of officer stress, burnout, and resilience-building.
• Evidence-based approaches to trauma-informed policing and supporting officers exposed to critical incidents.
• Preparing for and dealing with the psychological aftermath of mass casualty events.
• Innovations in psychological assessment for pre-employment screening, fitness-for-duty evaluations, and leadership development.
• Enhancing communication and interpersonal skills for de-escalation and conflict resolution.
• Technology applications in psychological interventions, such as telehealth and mobile app-based support for officers.
• The role of psychology in improving officer performance and ethical decision-making.
• Collaborative interventions between mental health professionals and law enforcement.

Understanding Criminal Behavior in a Changing World

• Examining shifts in offender behavior patterns due to technological and societal changes.
• Psychological theories addressing criminal behavior in digital and virtual spaces, such as cybercrime and online radicalization.
• Technology-driven solutions for investigative techniques, such as AI and machine learning applications.
• The role of mental health in offender rehabilitation and recidivism prevention.
• Innovative techniques in criminal profiling, serial crime linkage, and behavioral analysis.
• Evidence-based improvements to investigative information gathering (interviews, interrogations, identifications)
• The influence of local or global crises, such as wildfires, hurricanes, pandemics, or economic instability, on crime rates and criminal behavior.
• Enhancing investigative decision-making and practices through psychological insights
• Cross-cultural perspectives on crime and justice, including comparative analyses of criminal behavior and justice systems.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

Questions? For proposal submission questions please contact Conference Program Chair Dr. Marina Sorochinski at conference@policepsychology.org and cc Dr. JoAnne Brewster at brewstja@jmu.edu.

Award and Honorarium for the Best Student Poster

The Society for Police & Criminal Psychology advocates for the pursuit of academic excellence by encouraging the submission of posters by current students at the undergraduate, masters, or doctoral level.  The Michael Serafino Award is given annually to the best student poster presented at our yearly conference. Posters are judged on scholarship, contribution to the fields of police and public safety psychology or criminal justice, and the quality of the poster presentation.  

Get further information about the Michael Serafino Award

Conference History and Program Archive

The Society sponsors an annual conference held in the fall of each year at varying locations throughout the United States. The conference focuses on the interface between criminal justice and the behavioral sciences. It includes presentations on international perspectives in policing, specialized police procedures and techniques, personnel issues in criminal justice agencies, the law, litigation issues, inmate populations, probation and parole, and other issues affecting individuals in the criminal justice system.

View locations and past presidents list

2024 Conference

Our 2024 conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky, September 25-28, 2024.

Click here to view the program.

2023 Conference

Our 2023 conference was held in Arlington, Texas, September 20-23, 2023.

Click here to view the program.

2022 Conference

Our 2022 conference was held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, September 21-24, 2022.

Click here to view the program.

2021 Conference

Our 2021 conference was held online on Zoom, September 30-October 2, 2021.

Click here to view the program.

2020 Conference

Our 2020 conference was held online on Zoom, November 5-7, 2020.

Click here to view the program.

2019 Conference

Our 2019 conference was held at the Embassy Suites Hilton in Scottsdale, Arizona, September 22 - 25, 2019.

Click here to view the program.

2019 ACCOP Conference in Singapore

More information

2018 Conference

Our 2018 conference was held in Sarasota, Florida, September 30-October 3, 2018 at the Lido Beach Resort.

Click here to view the program.

2017 Conference

Our 2017 conference was held in San Diego, California, September 13-16, 2017 at the Doubletree by Hilton San Diego Downtown. 

Click here to view the program.

2016 Conference

Our 2016 conference was held in Austin, Texas, September 25-28, 2016 at the Marriott Austin South.

Click here to view the program.

2016 ACCOP Conference in Singapore

More information   

2015 Conference

Our 2015 conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, September 30 - October 3, 2015 at the Georgian Terrace.   

Click here to view program.

2014 Conference

2013 Conference

2012 Conference

The 38th Annual Conference of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology was held at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, November 7-10, 2012. The conference program is available here.

2011 Conference

The 37th Annual Conference of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology was held at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago, IL, October, 18-21, 2011. The conference included an International Summit day, with presentations from numerous international police psychologists.  The conference program is available here.

2010 Conference