wcaa

Police Training

Our nationally recognized, state-mandated Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance police training program equips members of law enforcement with the knowledge to identify common factors that can lead to wrongful conviction and best practices to avoid them.

Seeking the truth

WCAA educates law enforcement about how wrongful convictions happen and what can be done to decrease the likelihood of convicting innocent people for crimes they did not commit.

Officers learn about factors proven to contribute to wrongful conviction, including false confessions, eyewitness misidentification and official misconduct.

Two exonerees attend each class to share their personal stories of wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Officers say this is the most powerful part of the class.

In their own words

Exoneree Speakers Bureau

Our Speakers Bureau connects exonerees with law enforcement to share raw, transformative stories that humanize the pain and toll of wrongful conviction and imprisonment. These presentations are the emotional core of our police training. Countless officers have told exoneree speakers they will remember them and their stories as they do their own policing work.

Meet some of our speakers

History and evolution

Our police training program started as an elective course at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Police Training Institute, developed over six years in partnership with now-retired PTI Director Mike Schlosser.

In 2023, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board mandated it as required curriculum for all Illinois police academies, marking a national first for ongoing wrongful conviction law enforcement training.

Since its inception, this program has trained nearly 7,000 members of law enforcement, delivering 35 sessions annually.

IN their own words

Exoneree Speakers Bureau

Our Speakers Bureau connects exonerees with audiences to share raw, transformative stories that humanize the toll of wrongful convictions. These presentations are the emotional core of our WCAA training. Countless officers have told exoneree speakers they will remember them and their stories as they do their own policing work.
Herman Williams
Herman Williams was a decorated member of the U.S Navy based at the Naval Station Great Lakes when was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life without parole for the 1993 murder of his ex-wife, Penny. Herman was wrongfully imprisoned nearly 30 years until a judge overturned his conviction based on new evidence, which included advanced DNA testing on key biological evidence that excluded him.

WCAA Training Data

Our WCAA program is training officers
from every police department
in the state of Illinois.
  • At all full- and part-time law enforcement
    training academies in Illinois
  • Nearly 7,000 officers trained, including every
    new recruit and cadet in Illinois since 2023
  • 35 sessions per year

Apply for Assistance

The Illinois Innocence Project does not handle case applications or inquiries by phone or email. All case submissions and follow-up correspondence are handled by mail only.
If you are seeking legal assistance, please read all guidelines for submitting your case.
Guidelines to apply

All cases for consideration should print and complete this form for English or this form for Spanish (PDF) and mail it to:

Illinois Innocence Project‍

University of Illinois Springfield
One University Plaza, PAC 429
Springfield, IL 62703

No other documents should be submitted for initial review.

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