Archive for Training
External Training Classes
Posted by: | CommentsOver the years, I’ve had the good fortune to attend a number of advanced and specialized training classes away from my agency. While you might say that such training is a “vacation” from real work, I have always found that they increase my productivity and appreciation for my own department.
External training courses have three benefits:
- instruction on new information and skills;
- a different perspective on skills and information already possessed; and
- networking with other law enforcement professionals.
SWAT Magazine and Rob Pincus Launch New Training TV Show
Posted by: | CommentsS.W.A.T. Magazine is launching a new television show on the Outdoor Channel. Due out in January 2010, S.W.A.T. Magazine TV will feature Rob Pincus of I.C.E. Training and a host of other training guests. Check out the press release below. Also, read Pincus’ blog entry on the new show, and see the trailer for the show here.
From the press release:
S.W.A.T. Magazine, the source readers trust for the information about the training and gear they need to survive, and prevail, in the real world, today announced the launch of its new television show, S.W.A.T. Magazine TV on the Outdoor Channel premiering in January 2010 every Wednesday at 7:30pm EST. Read More→
High Times
Posted by: | Comments
New officers don’t always have the “street knowledge” they need to make good drug cases. Street knowledge is something that often takes years to build before an officer can recognize common drugs and activities surrounding their use and sale.
Training is not a substitute for experience, but it does give the officer additional information to use while on the street to hasten their learning. However, drug training is often not available to new officers. Read More→
K9Trooper.com: Training for K9, Criminal Interdiction, and Drug Interdiction Work
Posted by: | CommentsI meant to post this a while back, but if you have any need for police K-9 training, or training in drug and criminal interdiction, check our K9Trooper.com. They list training classes throughout a lot of the US that relate to drug interdiction and canine handlers.
Terrorists Targeting Our Children: More Facts for Police Officers
Posted by: | CommentsI wrote an article about how terrorists have targeted schools and killed hundreds of children in Beslan. In this article I tried to explain how important it is for us, as police officers, to prepare now to respond to the planned attacks against our children.
I got a few emails that ranged from dismissive disbelief to outright denial, claiming that I was an alarmist. Frankly, I hope they are right. Because if I am right, and everything I have read on the subject from credible sources, such as Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and US-CENTCOM, is even remotely accurate, we will face a horror unlike anything this country could be prepared to deal with.
So, here are a few more facts that you may have heard, but just not pieced together yet. This compilation comes from the article “Imagining the Unimaginable” written by Brad Thor in the October 2007 issue of Fusion magazine.
- 2005 - Al Qaeda documents are intercepted that discuss the merits of attacking soft targets, specifically schools.
- In Afghanistan, U.S. forces capture an Al Qaeda training camp where videos were recovered showing terrorists staging takeovers of schools. The terrorists gave orders in English, violence was extreme, and childrens’ bodies were flung from the roofs for a greater media effect.
- In Iraq, U.S. forces capture blueprints and floorplans to United States schools in Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
- February 2006 - The Department of Homeland Security is reported to have started a training program for school bus drivers, in which the drivers would learn to watch for terrorists who were casing the bus routes.
- May 2006 - Two Saudi men board a school bus in Tampa, FL, in a possible “dry run.”
- June 2006 - 17 members of an Islamic terrorist cell are arrested in connection to a mass bombing plot. One of the 17 is a school bus driver.
- August 2006 - Three unidentified middle eastern men entered the United States from Canada and attempted to purchase multiple school buses.
- March 2007 - The Associated Press reported that the FBI sent out a bulletin to law enforcement agencies warning officers that terrorists were attempting to obtain driver’s licenses that would enable them to drive school buses.
- August 2007 - 17 school buses go missing in the Houston, TX area. Authorities state that this is a “homeland security concern.” Note that Texas is one of the states from which school floorplans were found in Iraq.
Look at the mass killings that happened last week in India. Terrorists attacked Mumbai, India and killed more than 180 people. Can you imagine the horror of a similar attack here in the United States? Only instead of targeting hotels and the like, the terrorists targeted schools and our children…
Pay attention to the schools in your beat. Offer suggestions to school and department administrators to improve student safety and increase police training for terrorist response. And should the worst happen, act decisively with overwhelming firepower to drop the bastards and keep them from killing our kids.
Stay safe!
The Backup Training Corporation: CD Course Price Increases
Posted by: | CommentsLast year, I wrote about The Backup Corporation: a CD-based, law enforcement training provider that offered free courses that could also earn you college credit.
Unfortunately, the grant funding for The Backup Corporation has run out. As of September 1, 2008, a fee of $15 will be charged for each course you wish to take. I feel the fee is reasonable for the training you receive, however, it will no longer be the incredible steal it once was!
So, if you are considering taking some of their courses, you might want to sign up before the price increase hits.
Stay safe!
