The California Reserve Peace Officers Association will award Howard Giles, professor of communication at UCSB and a reserve officer with the Santa Barbara Police Department, with the Meritorious Service Award at its annual conference on August 22.
Throughout his career Giles has received a dozen outstanding service awards. He has served for 12 years with the department, earning the rank of reserve lieutenant, on call round-the-clock as part of the Crisis Negotiation Team, and also as police chaplain. The Meritorious Service Award recognizes “service to the department in a duty of great responsibility” and is awarded to officers who have given outstanding performance; extraordinary assistance to the reserve unit, the department, and the community; training or teaching within the department; and longevity of service.
Giles also works as the executive director of the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (ISBER) Center on Police Practices and Community at UCSB. He is currently working on research focusing on attitudes toward law enforcement and police relations with civilians.