The Bylaws of the Police and Public Safety Section

1. The name of this organization shall be the "Police and Public Safety Section" of the Division of Psychologist in Public Service (Division 18) of the American Psychological Association. The organization shall hereafter be referred to as the "Section."

2. The members of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service are principally involved in public service through their common responsibilities to carry out programs that are publicly legislated, publicly funded, and accountable to the  public. The members of the Section demonstrate their involvement by providing services to police and public safety personnel and the agencies they serve.

a. As Psychologists, we share these missions common to all organized groups of Psychologists to:

1. provide a forum for psychological information exchange,

2. develop psychological knowledge through research,

3. communicate psychological knowledge through education andtraining,

4. apply psychological knowledge through services to the public

5. develop and maintain standards, and

6. advance psychology and Psychologists in the public interest.

b. As Psychologists in public service in police and public safety settings, we have specific additional missions to:

1. promote the ability of Psychologists to serve the needs of police and public safety personnel and agencies, and the public they serve,

2. expand and distribute research to better understand police and public safety personnel and thus improve the services we provide,

3. communicate with the APA about professional issues and programs in police and public safety settings that impact agencies and personnel directly, and through them, the public they serve,

4. use psychological knowledge to develop and implement public policies in the best interest of personnel and agencies in police and public safety settings at all levels where public policy are set,

5. serve as advocates for police and public safety personnel by assisting agencies to making decisions that are more responsive to and supportive of their personnel.

1. Introduction

Membership in the Section shall be limited to persons who, at the time of application for membership, are actively interested in the application or study of psychology in police and public safety settings. Voting membership of the Section shall consist of four classes: Fellows, Members, Associates, and Affiliates. The Section shall also accept Student members of the American Psychological Association (APA) as a category of non-voting member.

a. Members, associates, affiliate, and students must meet the minimum standards prescribed by APA.

b. New Members and Associates of the Division, who are elected by a majority vote of the Division Board of Directors upon nomination by the Division Membership Committee, shall automatically be Members and Associates of the Police and Public Safety Section, upon self-declaration and according to the rules and procedures of Division 18.

c. New non-voting Student members of the Division, who are elected by a majority vote of the Division Board of Directors upon nomination by the Division Membership Committee, shall automatically be non-voting Student members of the Police and Public Safety Section, upon self-declaration and according to the rules and procedures of Division 18.

d. New non-voting Affiliate members of the Division, who are elected by a majority vote of the Division Board of Directors upon nomination by the Division Membership Committee, shall automatically be non-voting Affiliate members of the Police and Public Safety Section, upon self-declaration and according to the rules and procedures of Division 18. Affiliates shall pay the same Division and Section dues as Section Members and Associates, but cannot vote on Division issues or hold Division offices.

2. Fellows

a. Fellows shall be characterized by outstanding contribution or performance in the field of public service and must meet the minimum standards prescribed for Fellows of the APA.

b. The Section Board of Directors, acting by itself or on behalf of any voting member of the section shall have the responsibility of reviewing nominated candidates for Fellow generated from within the Section.

i. Members with at least one year's membership in both the Division of Psychologists in Public Service and in the Section of Police and Public Safety are eligible for nomination as Fellows of the APA in the Police and Public Safety Section of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service.

ii. In accordance with APA requirements, the Section Board shall forward the names of persons recommended for Fellow status to the Division Fellowship Committee for approval and forwarding to APA for consideration. Upon notification to the Division of election by the APA, successful applicants submitted by the Section will become Fellows of the APA in the Division of Psychologists in Public Service and recognized in the Section as "Fellows of the APA in the Police and Public Safety Section of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service."

iii. Existing Fellows within Division 18, with at least one year's membership in the Section, will be recognized in the Section as "Fellows of the APA in the Police and Public Safety Section of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service" by the Section Board of Directors, after a majority vote.

1. The officers of the Police and Safety Section shall be Section Chair, Chair Elect, Past Section Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and up to three (3) Members-at-Large. There will be an additional position of Student Representative, which will be a non-voting position.

a. Terms of office for Section Chair, Chair Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer shall be two (2) years. Term of office for Past Section Chair, Members-at- Large, and Student Representative shall be one (1) year.

b. It shall be the duty of the Section Chair to serve as Chairperson of the Police and Public Safety Section, to preside at all meetings, to exercise supervision over the affairs of the Section with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Section (Board), and to perform such other duties as are incident to the office or as may properly be required by vote of the Board or it's membership. In addition, the Section Chair shall serve as liaison between the Section and the Division and to serve as a member of the Division's Board of Directors as specified in the Division of Psychologists in Public Service Bylaws.

c. It shall be the duty of the Chair Elect to serve as a member of the Board of Directors and to assume the duties of the Chair in case of the latter's inability to do so. The Chair Elect shall also serve as a chair of committees at the direction of the Chair and shall be responsible for the Section's report and contribution to the Division's Newsletter. The Chair Elect will also serve as a member of the section Membership Committee.

d. It shall be the duty of the Past Chair to serve as serve as a member of the Board of Directors and serve as a chair of committees at the direction of the Chair.

e. It shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer to keep records of all meetings of the Section; to issue calls and notices of the meetings and nominations of officers; or to arrange with the Central Office of the APA of the issuing of such announcements, and to cooperate with the Executive Officer of the APA. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also serve as a member of the Board and serve as a chair of committees at the direction of the Chair.

f. The Members-at-Large are appointed by the Section Chair. It shall be the duty of the Members-at-Large to serve as a member of the Board and to serve as a chair of committees at the direction of the Chair. Replacements for Members-at-Large shall be selected by the Section Chair or shall be left vacant at his or her discretion.

g. In the case of death, incapacity, or resignation of any of these officers, the Board shall by majority vote elect a Fellow, Member, or Affiliate to hold office until a successor is elected by the Section per the election procedures specified in Article 5.

1. There shall be a Board of Directors of the Section (Board) consisting of the Section Chair, Chair Elect, Past Section Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Members-at-Large. There will be an additional position of Student Representative, which shall be an ex officio member of the Board without vote.

2. The Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Section, performing the duties and abiding by the limitations specified in these Bylaws. All actions of the Board are subject to approval by majority vote of the voting members of the Section at its annual meeting or by special mail or e-mail/on line ballot. Special ballot measures require a good faith petition, which explains the concern being raised and which is endorsed by at least 10% of the membership.

3. The Section Chair shall be presiding officer at all meetings of the Board and the Secretary-Treasurer shall be Secretary of the Board.

1. The present Secretary-Treasurer shall solicit nominations for Chair Elect and Secretary-Treasurer during the month of May in a year when candidate’s are to be elected. Individuals shall be nominated by phone, mail or e-mail. The nominations may be made by providing the nominated name and the nominator's APA membership number. The membership number will be compared to a database to verify that it is a valid membership number. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare the final list of at least two nominees for the office of Secretary- Treasurer.

2. Ballots will be sent to all eligible members (by mail/e-mail or web posting). Voting for the new Chair Elect and Secretary-Treasurer will occur during June. The new Chair Elect and Secretary-Treasurer will be announced at the Annual Convention.

3. Should the Chair Elect notify the Board that he or she will be unable to continue, the nomination and election process will be expanded to include the specified position.

1. The annual meeting of the Section shall take place during the annual convention of the APA, and in the same locality, for the transaction of business, the presentation of scientific papers, and the discussion of professional matters in the field of psychology.

1. The committees of the Section shall consist of such standing committees as may be provided for by these Bylaws and such special committees as may be established by vote of the voting members of the Board of Directors.

2. The Section Chair shall appoint committee chairpersons with the concurrence of the Board.

3. There shall be a Membership Committee whose duty it is to encourage Psychologists interested in police and public safety service to apply for membership and to nurture and encourage interested students in learning about the field of police and public safety psychology.

4. There shall be an Education Committee whose duty is to facilitate the sharing of recent innovations in the field of police and public safety psychology and to plan informal mini-trainings or conferences to allow for the exchange of information between professionals and with students. The Education Committee will make every attempt to obtain CEU credit for all scheduled training opportunities.

1. Consideration for dissolution of the Police and Public Safety Section by the Section Board of Directors will be undertaken:

a. when its membership falls below 50; or

b. upon decision of a majority of those Section members voting in a ballot; or

c. upon recommendation of the Board of Directors and a two-thirds vote of those members of the Division voting in a ballot.

1. Amendments may be proposed by the Board or by a petition signed by 10% of the Section.

2. Proposed amendments to the Bylaws must be mailed (or e-mailed/put on line if that is the member's preference) to the membership of the Section at least 45 days prior to the closing date for receipt of ballots.

3. Proposed amendments must be supported by a two-thirds vote of those Section members voting by mail or e-mail ballot to be adopted and an amendment made to the bylaws.