Law Enforcement Organization
and Administration
Chapter 13
TRAINING
• Historical Perspective
– Prior to turn of the 20th
Century training for police
was generally not done.
Officers were given a gun
and badge and worked
the street with a tenured
officer
– First police training
programs were set up
around 1915
Recruit Training Today
• On average police
recruits today are
required to complete
760 hours of classroom
training and 180 hours
of field training.
Virginia Recruit Training
• Prince William County
Criminal Justice
Academy – 932 hours of
training. Provides
training for Prince
William County Police
and Sheriff and
Dumfries Town Police
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• Northern Virginia Criminal
Justice Academy – 776
hours of basic training.
Provides training for
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Arlington County Police and Sheriff
George Mason University
Loudoun County Sheriff
Alexandria City Police and Sheriff
Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority Police
Fairfax City Police
Northern Virginia Community College Police
Falls Church Police
Leesburg Police
Middleburg Police
Purcellville Police
Manassas City Police
Manassas Park Police
• Fairfax Count Criminal
Justice Academy
– Provides training for
Fairfax County Police and
Sheriff, the Herndon
Town Police Department
and the Vienna Town
Police
• Basic training generally takes place after the
officer is hired. In some states they allow
civilians to attend a pre service academy and
then apply for a police position. This helps
the localities save money.
• Virginia requires all academy faculty to be
trained and certified as instructors
• In Virginia, the individual is hired and goes
through the academy and is sworn in as a
police officer upon graduation from the
academy.
• In Florida, the college system is set up so the
individual gets the law enforcement
certification upon successful completion of a
college program at the community college
level and pass a certification test.
• Upon certification the individual will seek
Field Training for Police Officers
• Recruit is pared with a field training officer
(FTO) for a period of time
• FTO does daily and weekly evaluations
• It is important for departments to have a
formal field training program
Field Training
• Chief Executives should view field training as a normal
part of the process
• Administrative control should be in the patrol division
• Programs should have written policies and clear
guidelines
• Use standard evaluations for all and be evaluations
should be given every day
• FTOs should be trained in how to train
• FTOs should be compensated
• Field training programs should be evaluated annually
• Police managers have to be confident that
officers know how to do their jobs, make split
second decisions, and carry out the mission of
the department
Common Deficiencies in
Training Programs
• Program Content – Does not fully cover all the aspects
of being a police officer
• Quality Instructors – Many are not trained on how to
be an instructor
• Poor facilities and equipment
• Lack of formal field-training program
• Outdated teaching methods
• Allowing untrained officers to perform police duties
• Field training deficiencies
• Teaching methods
Historical Recommendations
• In 1973 the National Advisory Commission on
Criminal Justice Standards published
curriculum recommendations for police
training.
– Intro to the criminal justice system
– Law
– Human values and problems
– Patrol and investigation procedures
– Police proficiency
– Administration
8%
10%
22%
33%
18%
9%
• Commission also
recommended
departments have
in-service training
programs for up to
40 hours per year
• This is mandated in
Virginia
Training Curriculum at Present
• Nationally most programs can be divided into
the following areas:
– Administrative procedures
– Administration of justice
– Basic law
– Police procedures
– Police proficiency
– Community relations
• Performance Outcomes, Training Objectives,
Criteria mandated by the state of Virginia are:
– Legal issues
– Communication
– Patrol
– Investigations
– Defensive tactics/use of force
– Weapons Use
– Driver training
– Physical training
– Field training
Terrorism and Emergency
Management
• As a result of 9/11,
police departments
recognize the need for
training in terrorism
and emergency
management
Training in Terrorism and
Emergency Management
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Terrorist group identification
Intelligence gathering and reporting
Community threat analysis
Response to incidents involving weapons of mass
destruction (WMD)
Ethical issues related to post 9/11 policing
Security of critical facilities
Legal issues related to counter terrorism
Document fraud
Traumatic stress caused by WMD incidents
AIDS and Blood-borne Pathogens
• Because police can
come in contact with
blood and other body
fluids, agencies need
control plans to limit
direct exposure and to
administer vaccine for
hepatitis B to affected
employees.
Domestic Violence
• In the 1990’s many departments
and states changed regulations/laws
regarding police response to
incidents of domestic violence. The
laws require police to make an
arrest.
• Police training on this issue
increased to include protecting the
officer from injury, listening skills,
domestic violence report writing,
and arrest procedures.
Use of Force and Deadly Force
• Key to this training is
scenario and simulation
training. This training
can include role playing,
case study review, and
computer generated
training.
Less Lethal Training
• Less lethal weapons
include a wide range of
devices that will in most
case not cause
immediate death if used
properly. Purpose is to
cause pain and create
compliance of a
combative subject.
Cultural Diversity Training
• Defined as: having
empathy toward other
cultures and ways of life
in order to explain why
people feel the way
they do. Cultural
diversity training
prepares officers to deal
with various ethnic
communities
Virginia mandates that all sworn
officers receive cultural diversity
training at least once every 24
months.
Hate Crimes
• Hate crimes or bias
crimes is defined as
offenses motivated by
hatred based on his or
her race, religion, sexual
orientation, handicap or
national origin.
Virginia Hate Crime Law
• Va Code
• § 52-8.5. Reporting hate crimes.
• A. The Superintendent shall establish and
maintain within the Department of State Police a
central repository for the collection and analysis
of information regarding hate crimes and groups
and individuals carrying out such acts.
• B. State, county and municipal law-enforcement
agencies shall report to the Department all hate
crimes occurring in their jurisdictions in a form,
time and manner prescribed by the
Superintendent. Such reports shall not be open
to public inspection except insofar as the
Superintendent shall permit
• C. For purposes of this section, "hate crime" means (i) a
criminal act committed against a person or his property with
the specific intent of instilling fear or intimidation in the
individual against whom the act is perpetrated because of
race, religion or ethnic origin or that is committed for the
purpose of restraining that person from exercising his rights
under the Constitution or laws of this Commonwealth or of
the United States, (ii) any illegal act directed against any
persons or their property because of those persons' race,
religion or national origin, and (iii) all other incidents, as
determined by law-enforcement authorities, intended to
intimidate or harass any individual or group because of race,
religion or national origin.
• **Note-Va. Hate Crime law does not include sexual
orientation
Specialist Training
• Officers assigned to specialized units such as
investigations, vice, accident investigations
and sex crimes, should have specialized
training in their areas of responsibility.
Supervisory Training
• Officers promoted to sergeant enter into the
supervisory training phase. As soon as
practical they should be enrolled in a
supervisory development course.
• If it is known that an officer will be promoted
in the coming months, he/she should receive
supervisory training prior to being promoted.
First Line Supervisor Training Topics
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Role of supervisor and leadership skills
Wellness program
Supervisor communications
Civil Liability
Evaluation, counseling and discipline
Intermediate law
Crime Prevention and community relations
Stress Management
Critical Incident Management
Personnel Issues
Use of deadly force
Report review
Supervisor as a trainer
Management Training
• Once promoted to the management ranks, the
individual should attend senior management
training. There are a variety of programs
around the United States. These programs
are college level studies, some which offer
Master Degree credits. They range from three
months in length to a few weeks.
Senior Management Training
FBI National Academy
Southern Police Institute
Southwestern Law Enforcement Institute
Senior Management Institute for Police
Senior Executive Leadership Forum
Civil Liability
• Civil Liability exist in the failure to train police
officers or training in a negligent fashion.