It’s possible the author meant departments rather than officers, but officers is what he said. In any event it would seem strange either way given the liabilities and other factors involved. In my observations, and as mentioned, there is a significant difference between getting through an academy and succeeding in getting through an agency’s probationary period—regardless of the level of field training after hiring.

In fact, the turnover among LEOs in general is somewhat surprising to me. Some of that is due to my experience with civilian agencies being limited to small, rural agencies that don’t pay well and suffer from other disadvantages, but not all. I’m reminded of an observation by author Dick Couch about why some SEAL candidates quit BUD/S after the worst parts are over. A lawyer acquaintance said that many people want to be lawyers, but don’t want to practice law. I get the impression that many people want to be LEOs, but don’t want to do what LEOs do, and they don’t find that out until after they’re hired at an agency.

Thanks for the comments.

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
The thing to keep in mind is that there are thousands of 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, etc. officer departments, particularly in rural areas that are less likely to have formal field training. They pump up the number of total agencies but cover a relatively small part of the population.

I have had many instances where a university, ISD or one of our worse (more political) constable departments calls to dump an active scene on us because they don’t know how to handle it.

When it’s a traffic crash, you just shake your head.

I know of a bunch of small agencies whose field training is practically non existent. We get lateral hires sometimes where you just have to start over. Unfortunately, many of these kids are good guys and it isn’t their fault. They want to be a police, someone hires them, sends them to a community college academy and they never knew that they had no idea what they were doing when at work.

On the agency I retired from, only sworn did the background checks on applicants. It was time consuming, requiring weeks for each applicant with personal visits and phone calls to verify previous work history, interview the applicant and references, etc. Then the justifying reports followed.

A lounge lizard decided that civilians could do the backgrounds instead. That academy class had almost 30 cadets, one of the most highly educated group ever to go through the academy. All being paid a salary, benefits and issued equipment. Within three years, about 30% were gone. They were educated but had no discipline. LE was only a temporary job to them.

Yes, I’d say it’s accurate.

Remember, in KY there are about 400 LE agencies. The average size is less than 10 officers with a majority of them having 5 or so. Most are dirt poor with little budget money for training. Most do not have the “formal” PTO programs that the larger agencies do. Most are a rather informal “ride along” program where knowledge is handed down in an almost generational fashion.

These agencies get caught in a vicious cycle. The good officers, well, they most often get plucked by larger agencies within a couple of years. The not so good officers are the trainers in a few years. The cycle continues. We have 3-5 year officers that come to our job and tell us that they trained and shot more on PTO than they did total in the previous 3-5 years total.

Our PTO program is formal. But, they get training packages that get them up to speed and pistol and rifle, taser certification or recert, OC and DT, and active shooter. Plus all the normal new guy stuff.

Funny sidenote...I’ve worked for two nationally accredited departments that had 17 or 18 week field training programs.

Somehow I managed to get where I am with only four weeks of formal sworn field training between the two of them. Long story, but true.

My department has 20 sworn, we've got a formal FTO program. I get double duty as the program coordinator and one of the main FTO's.

Our 3 phase program runs a minimum of 12 weeks for a new hire with no experience. A new officer with experience has an abbreviated program of 8 weeks.

My Department has a full 6 month FTO program following their 6 month Academy.
During this entire 1 year period they can be fired if they are not responding to training.

So I called one of the guys I used to work with and it was 64 training days...days actually worked, not just days on a calendar. Works out to four months and a few days Before the rookie is given a car by himself Nd answering calls

quote:

Force Science Institute: “[T]wo-thirds of American officers do not participate in any formal field training programs.”

It depends on wha they specifically mean by that.

Most officers hired to a department aren’t fresh out of the academy. They are laterals from other departments.

When I joined my current department I had about 5 years total law enforcement experience.

The department had existed for 1 month. The chief and sergeant, and the two other officers hired before me, rode with the county sheriff for a few weeks, but didn’t participate in a formal FTO program. I rode with a neighboring agency for two weeks, but again no formal FTO program.

The two officers hired after me, one had 5-6 years of experience, he had an abbreviated FTO. The other was essentially straight out of the academy, and endured an extensive FTO program.

The new chief and two sergeants recently hired, again no FTO program.

However, at my previous department I had a 12 week FTO. So, by their count did I have an FTO program, or not?

Everyone else hired by the department had at least 4 years of experience, except the one recent graduate, and had been thru at least 1 FTO program somewhere. Did they count as having gone thru an FTO program or not, by that article’s count?