Police Officer Training And Law Enforcement

This paper will show four different police departments that are currently hiring or recruiting for police officers. There will be a summary on the research found on the process used to recruit police officers. It will also show their current hiring trends and what hiring practices they have that are successful or not successful. The paper will also go over the different methods departments use to train their new officers and their values.

First, there is lack of information and knowledge on the right police training philosophy, learning approach and training program objectives (CALEA, 2010). This lack of knowledge has immense negative effects on police training, especially because it affects not only senior commanders of police departments but also management, police trainers and other staffs. The other ingredient to police training that lacks is community understanding and support for police training programs (Mitrani, 2014). It is found out that the communities that are served by officers do little to support or appreciate post-academy training programs, which have numerous benefits to communities (CALEA, 2010). For instance, post-academy and field training for newly posted officers helps in the utilization of individual and department creativity, stakeholder collaboration, and effective problem-solving skills and techniques that would improve communal safety and

Training is one of the most important roles at a law enforcement agency. It is never-ending as “concepts, theories, philosophies, practices, procedures, and techniques are constantly changing to meet social needs” (Iannone et al, 2009, p. 60). Without training, even the best officer will turn into one that is not respected by his peers or society. Gone are the days when an officer is sent to the training academy and has no more except for yearly inservice. This can be accomplished with field training after the academy, roll call training, inservice, emailed updates from the training staff, and outside the agency training. It does not always have to be expensive. Most think that the effectiveness of training can’t be measured, but successful training can easily be seen through “higher morale, less job stress with its high economic cost, greater esprit de corps, a lessened need for punitive discipline, greater effectiveness, in crime suppression, increased public support and confidence, fewer errors, better

In some small towns, new officers get their training by working with an experienced officer. Inexperienced officers always are accompanied by veteran officers in order for them to learn. In bigger cities, police departments give classroom instructions in laws, accident investigation, city ordinances, and traffic control. Also they give instruction in the handling of firearms, methods of apprehension and arrest, self-defense tactics, and first-aid techniques. Even when you become an officer, you might still have to be trained in order to use new equipment as technology becomes more advanced.

“When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.” (Berry) Recently police brutality has become an alarming issue in society. At the end of 2015, thousands of deaths resulted in accusing victims dying in police custody. Individuals in communities across the state are beginning to lose faith in law enforcement in their ability to properly do their jobs. Providing police officers with extensive and innovative training to give them the adequate length of experience and training will decrease police brutality.

Many people might argue that the lack of training in the police force is more harmful to the officers than the effect it has on society. Leslie Pfeiffer mentions in her article “” that the Federal government devotes a shocking amount of money toward training, yet local police agencies are often left to fend for themselves” (Pfeiffer). Whatsoever the federal government may be doing with the funds should undoubtedly be providing effective programs and necessities to ensure a complete and sufficient training process for officers. Often time’s people forget that although the officer is vulnerable to failure, error, and possible injury, in the event of a possible suspect or wrongfully accused person the lack of knowledge perceived by the officer can cause outcomes such as hostility, hatred, and death. Not only are officers fending for themselves but in

Police Academy and policing are some of the most controversial things in today 's world. This particularly pertains to our society, in which it seems that there is a different incident involving the police every week. It is extremely controversial, the media uses its power of manipulation to “expose” the police often abusing their power. This is leading to a division of our nation. There is a large clash of who 's to blame in this situation, we can even see this in class based on the various opinions of my fellow students.Some of my classmates and many others blame things like police academy, methods of policing, and the cultural separation between police and the community. I interviewed somebody who lived through both. He was in the police force for 21 years and continued on to teach and direct police academy for 25 years.

Each year citizens die in encounters with law enforcement officers. It is reported that “Americans are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist” (Rucke, 2013). Although there is no official data base tracking these occurrences it is estimated that between 500 and a 1,000 people are killed by police officers each year. To put this in greater perspective this number equals approximately 5,000 since the 9/11 terror attack which is roughly the same number as U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq (Rucke, 2013). This statistic is justifiably concerning. The cause of police related killings are multifold and cannot be attributed to only one factor. Many deaths may be unavoidable and perhaps, dependent on the situation, necessary. I contend, however, that many of these deaths may very well be preventable.

In 2015, the COPS budget was cut by nearly $300 million and as a result, new officers received poor training as programs that were considered highly essential to the learning process of rookie cops were exterminated as the programs could no longer receive funding. This has caused poorly trained officers, with lethal weapons, to make poor decisions such as using violence, being neglectful, and directing derogatory terms at minorities and it all comes right back to the fact that cops are only taught how to use a gun properly and arrest a criminal. The physical, mental, and/or communication skills that an officer lacks shouldn’t determine the fate of an individual’s safety or

Over the past several years, there have been several high-profile police-involved shootings, and the justification behind the shooting has been questioned. Several of these shootings have resulted in a subsequent criminal conviction involving some form of a homicide charge for the police officer involved. This has created a great division between those who support and those who oppose the police. Police agencies and community leaders have sought to repair this relationship, and citizen police academies are one potential avenue.

The topic of police in general, and the brutal beatings, shootings, and arrests that have occurred over the past couple of years in the United States has hit the media full force, leaving many wondering what actions should be taken to keep the peace. Many question the system as a whole, and the training police officers receive, as well as their mental health. Across the borders, police are trained differently and follow various policies that may seem ridiculous or foreign, however, when comparing and contrasting two police systems, the similarities may be alarming, and the differences may be great, but knowing the strengths and weakness of each different system, can help towards progressing to have a better system and better training for police officers.

As being a police officer becomes more and more scrutinized by the community and the media, it is difficult to find citizens to fill these positions. When a lot of what officers do day to day currently is continually watched, it makes it hard to please the community and also keep the safety of everyone, so it is ever more excruciating that officers stay safe. With our ever changing world police officers have to keep up as well to learn and adapt to how the world works to keep everyone and themselves safe. The Greeley Police department should provide more extensive training on educating officers to stay safer because it will keep officer safety a priority, create a better understanding as to why they should have body cams and dash cams, and learn to properly deal with mental health patients.

Looking at the training on the local level in relation to that of the training academy in Bristol offers a stark difference in the time to train the local law enforcement. The training guide to law enforcement offers that the average training program for local police is about six weeks of training (Academy, 2008). The levels of training reflects the needs of the law enforcement officer and the occurrences that the officer will likely encounter in the field on his patrol. The training of officers usually consists of a classroom part and a field training part. The sessions of training often provide the officers with a balance for the skills and techniques that the officer will likely employ in the field. Such skills and techniques as firearms training, handcuffing, and paperwork preparation are usually training received at a police academy.

In his article "Lack of Skills Leads to Violence", James J. Fyfe states that with "training...more comparable to that provided social workers, schoolteachers, psychologists and lawyers", police would become more adept at preventing violence. I believe this to be true, yet I think that many police departments confuse quantity with quality, and divert funding to the wrong places in an effort to better themselves. Training needs to be at the forefront of any reform. A police force that is educated and experienced, with knowledge of the community will be much more successful at preventing violence.

     The curriculum that is devised for a police officer is very important to the police officer and his or her success in their chosen career path. An officer’s training is also very important to the community in which they serve and the department in which they work. An officer must receive training in a variety of fields to help them be a well-rounded police officer. Officers receive training in such areas as: law, community relations, firearms, vehicle driving, search and seizure, and cultural awareness. The basic curriculum that is offered to a new recruit is focused on giving the recruit the best overall training that will give him or her the tools necessary to become the