It is the field training program that serves as the most important step in indoctrinating the rookie with the concepts of public service, officer safety, ethics, justice and discretion. It is also the best chance the department has at evaluating the new officer to determine if he or she is fit to serve.

Set Department Expectations

Department expectations are defined in the standard operating procedures (SOP), but the recruit will only adhere to them if he or she sees the FTO following them. The FTO cannot ever take the “do as I say, not as I do” approach.

If the FTO lives by the SOPs, the recruit will intuitively understand their importance and will be much more receptive to learning them.

Set the Tone

The FTO must set the correct tone early with the rookie. The recruit should understand that the field training officer is his or her instructor and first line supervisor. The FTO cannot be seen as a “friend” or “equal” because they are not.

Likewise, the FTO should strive to develop the trust of the recruit so the new officer is willing to ask difficult questions and learn the skills they absolutely must have. The FTO should never discuss the recruit’s mistakes or other problems outside of the program. Doing so would violate the recruit’s trust, and hinder all future learning.

The ideal FTO would be seen as firm, but fair.

Provide Standardized Evaluation

Standardized evaluation guidelines (SEGs) are designed to provide a consistent frame of reference for the recruit officer, the FTO and the department. Training officers who deviate from the SEGs will frustrate the recruit and invalidate the evaluation process.

Carry the SEGs with you, and reference them frequently when writing your daily observation reports.

Stress Officer Safety

There are jobs other than law enforcement where more workers are killed. However, I don’t know of any where there are more assaults on the employees.

The harsh fact of the matter is every police officer that goes to work carries a gun and wears body armor for a reason. That reason is because it is the police officer’s function to seek out the worst criminals and predators in society and confront them head on.

As an FTO, it is your responsibility to ensure that the recruit officer learns and properly uses the skills they will need to save their own life.

I’ve terminated officers who I really liked, but who could not develop the required officer safety skills. I cannot allow an officer to be released for duty if they are a danger to themselves or others. I’ve been to too many funerals, and I refuse to release an officer who we would just have to bury later.

Teach the Constitution

As law enforcement officers, we are required to know and understand all of the laws related to our job function. The sad reality is the schools don’t teach the Constitution, and many academies don’t have the time to fully explore the sections applicable to law enforcement.

This may seem a bit crude, but as an FTO I explain to every recruit the US Constitution effectively says that we, as members of the government, aren’t allowed to screw with the public. I also explain that there are some mighty stiff penalties if we do harass, intimidate, detain or otherwise screw with the public.

Only then do I start to discuss state criminal law. I explain to the new officer that criminal law is a set of things that the public has determined no one is allowed to do, and that they have hired us to seek out those people who have committed those crimes.

From that perspective, I find that the rookie officers are much more willing to study and understand case law surrounding topics like search & seizure and Miranda.

With Whom Do You Want to Work?

At the end of the day, the field training officer is teaching the officer that will back him or her up on hot calls. If an FTO takes that view, he or she will most likely train up a recruit to be an ethical, hard-working go-getter.

As I explained to another officer recently, I take the viewpoint of would I want this recruit responding to handle a call at my parents’ house? If not, then I’ve got more work to do.

Non-NAFTO members are eligible to register, though membership does get you a discount.

A complete schedule of events is available here.  It looks like there are some good presentations being made for both the FTO and the administrator.  If you are involved in your department’s training, you definitely want to consider this event.

Stay safe!

Richard is a police officer with a medium sized, central Florida department, and previously worked for a Metro-Atlanta agency.  He has served as a field training officer, court officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, watch commander, commander of a field training and evaluation program, and general pain in the butt to management-types looking to cut training hours.

A group of first time FTO’s was recently released to train and several of them ended up on my squad.  Over the next week or so, I had the pleasure of talking with some of them and hear about both their excitement and trepidation before having that first recruit in their car.

One of the new FTO’s asked me for some tips.  If I had to offer up some things I thought were important for a first time FTO I think it would be these:

• You are not their friend; you are their trainer.
• Be careful to whom you expose them.  They are sponges.
• Know when they are overloaded.  They’ve stopped learning.
• Trust, only when appropriate.
• Today’s recruit is tomorrow’s partner.
• Turn up the pressure when necessary.
• Write objective Daily Observation Reports.
• Have patience.  Remember when you were a “boot.”
• You are the Gate Keeper to your Agency and this Profession.

I was happy to see a great group of officers who wanted to pass on their knowledge and experience to their recruits.  I think they are going to do just fine.

Randall is a twenty-three year sworn police officer in a mid-sized Florida police department.  He has been an FTO, K9 Handler, Detective and SWAT Team Leader.  He is currently a Midnight Shift Sergeant and SWAT Coordinator.

The often overlooked benefit of a quality FTEP program is the high morale displayed by the FTOs will rub off on the recruit. Believe it or not, recruits who are exposed to positive, motivated FTOs, are more likely to stay with that agency for their career.

So what happens if the recruit officer is paired with FTOs that have low morale? Recruit officers normally emulate the behaviors displayed by their mentors and FTOs. The recruit wants to fit in and be part of the team. If everyone else is complaining, they are likely to pick up that attitude. A poor attitude translates to an officer who makes bad cases, gets more internal affairs complaints, and is more likely to leave for another agency.

I’ve seen the real benefits of a positive FTEP. Unfortunately, I have also seen the results of a FTEP with bad morale. It ain’t purty, fellas.

There can be a lot of different reasons why FTOs can develop poor morale and bad attitudes. It can come from administrative issues, improper selection of FTOs, or poor leadership in the FTEP itself. However, one issue I have seen time and time again –that never seems to be addressed– is plain old burn-out.

Sometimes a department is hiring so many new officers that an FTO always has a recruit in the car. A lot of times, the best FTOs get the worst recruits. The same FTOs often get recruits that are in remedial training; recruits that need extra help to do the job or find the door.

All FTOs can get burned-out. The best FTOs tend to be abused and do get burned-out.

With burn-out comes poor attitude and low morale. From there, the quality of training declines sharply, and suddenly the best FTOs are providing sub-standard training. All FTOs deserve down-time. Field training officers need time without recruits to clear their heads and re-focus their own police skills.

My own department is having some morale problems in the field training program. Some of it is a leadership issue. However, most of it is they are just plain tired. Most of the FTOs have been hammered for 18+ months with no significant down time between recruits. Most of the training officers are still in the program only because of the extra pay, not because they still want to do it.

If you are having morale problems in your FTEP, take a look at your FTOs. Are they just burned-out? Would a rest let some of them recharge?

To give FTOs a quality rest between recruits, the program may have to increase the number of officers that are assigned to it.  I know some police administrators will claim they cannot afford to expand the training program.  But, knowing the benefits a quality program can provide, can they afford not to expand the program?

Stay safe!

Stay safe!

A standardized process benefits the department in two ways:

1. by ensuring the best candidates are selected, and
2. by enhancing morale as every officer interested in the position can apply, and know the selection process is fair.

Each department must find the process that works for its needs. Many agencies use a process like the one described in this article.

Post the Announcement – A written announcement of the opening of a field training officer position should be posted in the common areas of the department. The use of e-mail to disseminate the announcement is good, but I suggest only supplemental to an actual printed announcement hung in the roll-call room, break rooms, etc.

The announcement should state the job description, eligibility requirements, and compensation. The announcement should require an interested officer to submit an application or letter of interest to the appropriate administrator by a specific date.

Initial Review of Applicants – An initial review of the applications should be made to ensure that every police officer making application for the position meets the minimum requirements. Additionally, information such as prior disciplinary actions against the officer should be noted.

Written Testing – Few departments require a written test for appointment to the field training program. However, a written test can be a valuable tool in identifying which officers have stayed current in case law, department policies, search and seizure, use of force etc. A well written test is also objective, and does not rely on interpretation by evaluators.

Oral Board – An oral interview of the applicants should be done in using a panel or board of evaluators. Use a standard number, and use pre-formatted questions. Each of the evaluators should have a copy of the questions, and instructions on how to score answers.

Glenn F. Kaminsky, in the book The Field Training Concept in Criminal Justice Agencies states that their are three types of questions that should be presented to the candidates during the oral board.

• Questions to determine job knowledge.
• Questions to determine attitude, decision making skills, and communication skills.
• Questions to ascertain the applicant’s reactions to scenarios designed to emulate possible situations a FTO may encounter.

In his book, Kaminsky offers several excellent scenarios to use in an oral board.

Formulation of the Final List – Based on each of the prior steps, each candidate’s application should be scored. The scoring system is largely irrelevant, as long as it is standardized so everyone knows the process beforehand, and all of the applicants are evaluated based on their performance.

Once the scoring is complete, the applicants should be ranked, and the top applicants sent to the appropriate administrator for selection.

This is, of course, just a general outline. If your department does something different, let me hear about it!

Stay safe!

The burden of training these recruits, and instilling the values of the department in them, falls of the field training officer. So, what qualities should a police officer have that will make him or her a good field training officer? The following is a list of qualities that a good field training officer will have.

• Professional demeanor
• Positive attitude
• Excellent communication skills
• Self-motivated
• Role model for other officers
• Flexible

Being a professional incorporates most of the traits I consider to be essential for a field training officer. A professional police officer makes sound, ethical decisions with a need for only minimal supervision. A professional police officer has a high level of self initiated activity, and are often seen as a leader. Professional officers also stay current on new laws and case law as it develops. A professional also seeks advanced training to enhance their ability to do the job.

An established track record with the department is also necessary. Many departments require three years of experience prior to assignment as a field training officer. Three years is normally enough time for the department to spot officers with poor attitudes, bad decision making skills, or are discipline problems.

For more information on selecting a field training officer, visit the National Association of Field Training Officers. Also, the book written by Glenn F. Kaminsky, The Field Training Concept in Criminal Justice Agencies, is a must-read for any police officer or administrator connected to a field training program.

Stay safe!

Fundamentally, the “job” is the same wherever you may work. The hardest thing to teach a rookie police officer is how to deal with people in a professional and safe manner. Many programs are geared to push the new officer into a lot of contact situations in an effort to develop these skills.

However, most lateral transfers already know how to interact with people. Generally, a lateral police officer’s safety skills and ability to establish rapport or to spot deception are good. Certainly they should be better than a rookie officer fresh out of the academy.

So, are the traditional field training systems doing a disservice to the lateral officer and his or her department? Perhaps.

For an officer with more than two years of experience, perhaps the training should focus on the policies and procedures. The officer is having to overcome all of the procedures that have been second nature to him or her for years. So, instead of working with a clean slate, the FTO will have to erase the old stuff, and then teach the new.

An experienced officer may be unlikely to ask a lot of questions about the new departments procedures for fear of developing a poor reputation. Therefore, the FTO must probe for the officer’s weaknesses and make sure the appropriate training is done.

This does not mean that the program should ignore training and evaluating the officer in areas such as officer safety and investigative skills. We have all known an officer that would do more harm than good when they show up on your call. The last thing you want to do is hire “that guy” and not catch it in the field training when they can still be retrained or weeded out. But, I believe these types of officers will be readily apparent and the focus of the program should be on the policies and procedures.

David Lemmer of the Deerfield, IL Police Department wrote an excellent article on his agency’s experience with field training lateral entry officers.

Overall, Lemmer writes that his department’s experiences were positive but they did discover several pitfalls. For example, Lemmer notes that lateral hires are often resistant to changing to new policies and procedures. He states that the resistance to change is proportional to the number of years of experience the lateral hire has.

Lemmer also said that hiring an officer with more experience than the FTOs can also present a problem. While, ultimately, the extensive experience of the new officer will benefit the department, it can make an odd dynamic in the FTO-trainee relationship. This may hinder the FTO from adequately instructing or evaluating the new hire.

As Lemmer indicates in his work, lateral hires are a valuable resource for departments. They offer an upfront savings in training money and time. More importantly, they bring “instant experience” to the department and can immediately begin to contribute at the same level it might normally take a recruit several years to reach.