Consent Form

OFFENDER’S CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN OFFICER SAFETY AWARENESS TRAINING (OSAT) PROGRAM RESEARCH

NAME OF STUDY: UNDER ATTACK: ASSAULTS ON OUR NATION’S LAW ENFORCEMENT

You are being asked to participate in a research study conducted by the OSAT Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. The OSAT Program is part of the Law Enforcement Engagement and Data Sharing Section’s Law Enforcement Engagement Unit. The mission of the OSAT Program is to assist law enforcement managers, trainers, and personnel in the identification of training issues for the purpose of preventing the deaths and/or serious injuries of law enforcement personnel.

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY

The purpose of this study is to examine the circumstances of incidents of serious assaults of law enforcement officers in the United States. This study seeks to gain a more thorough understanding of why these incidents take place and the context surrounding them. The study will include a comprehensive review of the situational context of incidents of serious assaults of police officers and interviews with the officers and offenders involved in the serious assault incidents. Researchers will interview participating officers and offenders and will review available information from law enforcement records, body-worn camera and dashboard camera recordings, and offenders’ criminal history records. This information will assist law enforcement in efforts to prepare for and reduce the occurrence of these events.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL

You are being asked to participate in the study because the crime for which you were convicted involved an event in which a law enforcement officer was seriously assaulted. The FBI understands that all legal proceedings against you for this crime are resolved and you do not have any outstanding appeals or challenges to your conviction. Your participation in this project is voluntary. There are no consequences for not participating. If you do volunteer to participate, you may stop at any time without consequences. You do not waive any legal claims, rights, or remedies by participating in this study.

PROCEDURES

If you volunteer to participate in this study, the OSAT research team will access and review your criminal history record information (CHRI) maintained by the FBI and state and local CHRI repositories. You will then be interviewed by one or more researchers. The interview will discuss your background information (e.g., marital status, education, your involvement in the event(s) where an assault or killing of a law enforcement officer took place, and your personal views and experiences. You may refuse to answer any questions during the interview and still remain a study participant. The interview itself may last approximately 3-6 hours. You will be able to take breaks as necessary. You may end the interview at any time without consequences. The interviewers may stop your participation at any time if they feel it is necessary. With your permission, the interview will be audio and video recorded. If you choose not to be recorded, you can still participate in the study. Researchers will also review information about the incident provided by law enforcement agencies such as reports about the assault and body-camera and dashboard camera footage, if available. You will be asked to consent to the use of your audial and visual depictions in the body-camera and dashboard camera footage for research, educational, training, and operational purposes. If you choose not to consent to the use of the body-camera and dashboard camera footage, you can still participate in the study.

EXPLANATION OF POTENTIAL BENEFITS

You will not be paid if you decide to participate. Participation in the study will not lessen or affect your current sentence in any way. Some interview participants have experienced relief by discussing past events. You may feel positive about yourself by participating. Your participation may aid in the research project, which may benefit others in the law enforcement community. The information gathered will help researchers understand people and situations similar to what you experienced.

EXPLANATION OF POTENTIAL RISKS

Discussing your past activities may cause some anxiety. If you experience discomfort, the interview can be discontinued at your request at any time. If you experience any distress as a result of your participation, counselors at your correctional facility are available to discuss the situation with you at your request, as permitted by prison policy. You may also run the risk of being identified by other inmates as aiding law enforcement authorities. The researchers will do everything within their power to keep the interview as discreet as possible and will not tell other inmates the purpose of the interview. Participation in this research study will not affect your current sentence in any way. If you discuss crimes for which you have not been convicted, or any future crimes you are planning, any information divulged could be used against the subject in any criminal investigation/prosecution, and the researchers will be legally obligated to investigate or report this information. As with any research, a minimal risk to confidentiality exists. As discussed below, the research team will take precautions to ensure confidentiality is maintained. The interpretation of the information you provide as positive or negative cannot be guaranteed. On rare occasions, research records have been subpoenaed by a court or parties involved in pending litigation.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The OSAT team will make every attempt to ensure all identifiable information obtained about you in connection with this study, including any audio or video recordings, will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission or as required by law. Unless you consent to the use of your identifiable information, only the OSAT research team will have access to information identifying you, and the materials will remain locked when not being analyzed. The questionnaire used during your participation, any audio or video recordings, and any other information gathered for the study will be property of the FBI. We may provide selected de-identified data to the United States Department of Justice and to other entities, both inside and outside the federal government, for analysis. Your signature on this form indicates your approval for the FBI to use your de-identified information for research, training, educational, and operational purposes.

Separate sections below request for your permission to use your identifiable information for research, training, educational, and operational purposes. There will be no consequences for not agreeing, and you can still be part of the research study without consenting to the use of identifiable information in these settings. If you consent to the use of your identifiable information, such as your depiction in audio and video recordings, dashboard camera footage, and body-worn camera footage, you understand that the FBI will not maintain your confidentiality for the purposes for which you provide consent for the use of your identifiable information.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have questions or concerns about this research project or would like to withdraw from the study, you may contact the researcher(s) whose name(s) and telephone number(s) appear below. If you experience any side effects or injury related to this research study, you should contact the researcher(s) below. For information regarding your rights as a research subject, or to discuss problems, concerns, or suggestions related to this research, contact the researcher(s) below or the FBI’s Institutional Review Board at [email protected].

Researchers: Name Phone Number

___________________________________, ___________________________

___________________________________, ___________________________

___________________________________, ___________________________

___________________________________, ___________________________

INFORMED CONSENT

By signing below, you acknowledge that you have read the foregoing information about the research study UNDER ATTACK: ASSAULTS ON OUR NATION’S LAW ENFORCEMENT and the information has been explained to you. You acknowledge that you were given the opportunity to ask questions and that you have received satisfactory answers concerning areas you did not understand.

Upon signing this form, you will receive a signed copy of this form.

I willingly consent to the FBI’s access and review of my CHRI and to participate in this research study.

Signature of Participant: Date:

Printed Name:

ADDITIONAL CONSENTS

Audio and Video Recording

As part of this study the FBI would like to audio and video record your interview for research, educational, training, and operational purposes. Using audio/video equipment to record your interview ensures the interview is accurately recorded. The FBI will control access to these recordings. The recordings will only be used for law enforcement research, training, educational, and operational purposes. If you do not consent to the audio and video recording of your interview, you may still participate in the study.

I consent to the audio and video recording of my interview.

__________________________________________________

Participant Signature

I do not consent to the audio and video recording of my interview.

__________________________________________________

Participant Signature

The FBI uses information from this study to develop office safety and awareness training. The FBI would like to use portions of your recorded interview in its training presentations and for other research, training, educational, and operational purposes. Consenting to the use of your recorded interview means that individuals may be able to identify you. If you do not consent to the use of your recorded interview, you may still participate in the study.

I consent to the use of my recorded interview for research, training, educational, and operational purposes.

______________________________________________________

Participant Signature

I do not consent to the use of my recorded interview for research, training, educational, and operational purposes.

______________________________________________________ Participant Signature

Use of Body-Worn Camera and Dashboard Camera Footage

As part of this study, the FBI may receive body-worn camera and/or dashboard camera footage from law enforcement agencies. This body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage may include audial and visual depictions of your involvement in law enforcement assault incidents. With your consent, the FBI may use clips of you from body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage for research, educational, training, and operational purposes.

I consent to the use of audial and visual depictions of me from body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage for research, educational, training, and operational purposes.

___________________________________________

Participant Signature

I do not consent to the use of audial and visual depictions of me from body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage for research, educational, training, and operational purposes.

___________________________________________

Participant Signature

DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE. OFFICE USE ONLY.

The participant has had the opportunity to have questions addressed. The participant willingly agrees to participate in this research study.

Signature of Interviewer/

Co-interviewer: Date:

Printed Name:

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