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Policing in a multicultural society presents particular challenges both to officers and community residents. This study addresses police officers’ perceptions of multicultural skills, values, and training needed to serve diverse communities better. Of particular interest is whether police supervisors and non-supervisors differ in their attitudes toward multicultural skills, multicultural values, and receptiveness toward diversity training. Results of a web-based survey from over 500 police officers in Rhode Island suggest perceptions of multicultural skills, multicultural values, and training varied by supervisory status and years of experience.

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Jury decision making and the process of deliberation continue to be of interest to criminal justice practitioners and academics. When I received a summons for jury duty, I was told by more than one colleague that the chances of an academic being selected to serve on a jury were slim. I wondered if having a PhD in criminal justice might serve as my "get out of jury duty free" card. When I was ultimately selected to serve as a juror in a criminal case, it was apparent that my degree did not prohibit me from serving, nor was it always obvious who would be dismissed from the panel.My profession aside, my family connections to law enforcement (my father is a retired prosecutor and my grandfather was a New York City police sergeant) seemingly would make me an unlikely candidate for a jury. After being selected to serve on a jury in a felony assault case, I was somewhat intrigued by what was to come, yet at the same time in disbelief that the defense attorney had not struck me from the pool. Ultimately, the judge selected me as the jury foreperson, which allowed me to help guide the deliberation process.To put the experience into context, this paper will first present highlights from the research literature about jury decision making. Second, observations about the jury selection process, along with details of the case, will be shared, including the stories told by the victim and the defendant. These two "down and out" men had similar histories in terms of unemployment, homelessness, and alcoholism. Yet they were perceived in drastically different ways by members of the jury. Finally, I will share what occurred in the