Saybrook University is pleased to announce our first appointee to the Saybrook University Presidential Fellows Program, Dr. Ginger Charles, Ph.D., Executive Director, Research Psychologist, Consultant, and Police Sergeant (ret.).
Dr. Charles is a retired police sergeant, having served 27 years as a police officer in Colorado. Her experience in the police culture gives her a unique, boots on the ground, approach in the law enforcement world. Ginger has served in patrol, administration, and investigations.
In 2005, Dr. Charles received her doctorate from Saybrook University in Health Psychology, focusing on Health Risk Factors in the police community, specifically in the area of health and spirituality. Ginger recently retired in 2013 after living in the “petri dish” and relocated to Northern California to continue research, writing, and consultancy in the law enforcement culture. She recently authored the book, Police Pursuit of the Common Good (2016, Balboa Press), in which she “…examines the current issues facing law enforcement and marginalized communities. She presents reasons why our police communities appear to be in constant conflict with marginalized communities for the last several years. In the book, she explores the behaviors in the police culture from a social psychological perspective, illustrating the importance of understanding police behaviors in order to change the culture of conflict. It is her experience as a police officer that provides the reader with a unique understanding from inside the police community and as an observer of that community. Dr. Charles concludes with potential solutions to reform and restore the police culture, as well as heal the divide between our communities and the police.”
As a result of her work, she is beginning to lead a variety of training sessions with police departments in the Bay Area. For the most up-to-date information on Dr. Charles’ work, please go to SpiritualityandPolicing.com.
We welcome Dr. Charles to the Saybrook University community as our first Presidential Fellow and look forward to the great work she will be doing over the coming year.