Police Field Training

Extensive training is required for a law enforcement officer before one is out independently patrolling the streets of the community. Some departments may require you to complete their in-house training before you can attend a police academy however, once an agency hires an individual, they are typically sent to a police academy for initial training. (IACP, 2017). New law enforcement officers attending the police academy are introduced to the formal training of legal concepts and police procedure. The police academy is designed to have new officers perform their best mentally and physically. Modeled after many military programs, there is high involvement and requirement of physical fitness and performance. States have different entrance …show more content…
For newly academy graduated law enforcement officers, field training programs provide additional training beyond the classroom. Field training allows for a more realistic application of the skills learned, which is needed for the new law enforcement officer to flourish (Walker, 2005). The new law enforcement officer is assigned to an experienced officer, often referred to as a field training officer, for a period lasting approximately four to twenty weeks (Walker, 2005). In the transitionary role of field training, the new law enforcement officer will learn by following the example of a designated field training officer, who will also monitor the new officer’s progress during the training program (Walker, 2005). The examples displayed during field training will play a key role on how a law enforcement officer will work, or even act, during their career (Sloan, 1992). The usual field training program calls for the new law enforcement officer to be assigned to various patrol shifts with multiple different training officers, which allows the new officer to be exposed to different styles of policing and different types of incidents that could occur (Walker, 2005). A typical training day could consist of things such as simply operating the police vehicle to maintaining compliance at the scene of a domestic disturbance to a murder (Walker, 2005). Other important issues to cover during training would be: officer safety, department procedure and timely paperwork completion. Not only does field training allow the new officer to apply what he has learned in the classroom to the real world, it allows the new law enforcement officer to learn what is and isn’t appropriate behavior (Sloan, 1992). The field training officer helps influence the new officer into his or her role and likewise, field training has an immense impact on the entire department (Sloan, 1992). The skills of