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Field Training Program

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Most of us are aware that today’s policing and community strategies are a blend of traditional reactive policing and newer proactive methods of solving identified social problems. About ten years ago the administration realized a need to improve the training of officers. The San Jose Model Field Training Program was selected to accomplish this. Using problem solving as a major tool of community policing and law enforcement training in general, serves as an enhancement to capitalize on the officer’s reason for entering law enforcement in the first place, which is to help others. The Field Training Program has been designed to improve the overall quality of police officers for the City of Evansville by providing a method of evaluation and training to new officers.

In tailoring the Field Training Program to our department, we considered management responsibilities by weighing the legal issues raised by the courts. Court decisions regarding the negligent appointment/retention of employees and vicarious liability of the department mandates that management makes every effort to hire and retain only qualified personnel. To this end, the Evansville Police Department has developed a valid job-related Field Training Program using Standard Evaluation Guidelines (SEGs) and the assignment of 498 random reference numbers that better describe the performance of that particular task. The SEGs are a numbered, written description of a student officer’s action in a specific job-related category. All field-training officers refer to these numbers so that the ratings are standardized and fair for all officers. The anchors and numbers provide better reference for reviews months later. The use of random reference numbers in the SEGs overcomes the normal shortcomings such as failure of the Field Training Officer to use the guidelines each time or inability to remember why a particular rating was given at a later time. It also allows the students to relate the rating to the guidelines and supports a narrative for each related task.

The newly assigned officers receive additional training in the field where they can learn from officers who have already gained a great deal of practical experience. The Field Training Officer process introduces a newly assigned officer to the internal operation of the department including policies and procedures. It provides for the initial formal and informal training specific to day-to-day police operations. Our Field Training Officers are experienced, motivated officers who are selected and trained as instructors during a 40-hour Field Training Officer Instructors Course.

After being hired, new officers receive three weeks of firearms training in Evansville. The new officers then attend the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Indiana for twelve weeks of state certified training. Topics include basic Indiana law, defensive tactics, community policing, emergency vehicle operation, and firearms training.

After returning from the police academy, the student receives 240 hours of classroom instruction and scenario training in the Officer Training School. Next, there are five field rotations each lasting from three to five weeks. Rotation of shifts, sectors, field instructors, and training briefs are included in the training. Each new student receives the best environment to succeed over the next 24 weeks. After the academy, officer training school, and rotations, the new officer has completed almost one year of training.

The program has been devised to assist student officers in making the transition from what they have learned during scholastic studies and the police academy, to performing general law enforcement duties and handling quality of life issues competently in the field. Field Training officers thoroughly review field-training material with the new officer and demonstrate proper procedure.

Student Officers are required to perform various law enforcement duties under the guidance and supervision of their assigned Field Training Officer, and the Field Training Coordinator or Field Training Managers. Our Field Training Unit observes the student and Field Training Officer relationship during unannounced ride-a-longs each rotation (unique to the Evansville Program). The student's performance is evaluated daily by the Field Training Officer and monitored by the program staff. This one-on-one style of training, and the fact the instructor/teacher must guide the training in law enforcement situations, sets it apart from any prior academic endeavor.

To assure the success of this task, the Field Training Unit has a training philosophy that ensures every student is given the maximum opportunity to show that he or she can succeed. In order to accomplish this, the program creates a positive environment in which learning is maximized, and a new officer is encouraged to perform to the best of his or her ability. The approach is fair, firm, friendly, and above all professional in that it recognizes not everyone has the capability to perform the complex and demanding tasks required of a police officer. Our responsibility requires us to train and retain only the most competent officers.

Over the last twelve years 93% of the officers that entered the Field Training Program have satisfactorily completed the program. Approximately 40% of the officers who completed the program have encountered problems during the training, which required additional training. This training is designed and documented by counseling and the development of a training plan with the student officer and FTO to assist in the remedial learning process. In the event the student does not meet the acceptable standards, despite the field training staff's efforts, the department will have the documentation required for termination.

After the department and their field training staff have fully carried out their responsibilities, the results can be measured in improved report writing, more complete and detailed field investigations, officers who work better as teams, and who have fewer and less serious vehicle accidents.

Our Field Training Staff has the monumental responsibility of building the future of the department through the officers we train. The Field Training Unit has a significant impact on the individual student and the Field Training Officer in terms of imprinting attitudes, style, values, and ethics in carrying out the duties of police work. Consequently, the Field Training Unit is probably the most effective influence on the direction of our department. The Chief and the Field Training staff are certain that the program not only develops the necessary technical skills, but also reflects the policing philosophy of the department and the community that we serve.

By virtue of the improved education and training, today’s new officers start their careers better prepared than their predecessors did. Highly motivated Field Training Officers, willing to use their experience in police community relations, have molded new public servants to a higher standard of responsiveness to the citizens of Evansville. Many other agencies over the years have found our program can be adjusted to fit their needs and have sent officers and deputies to our nationally known 40-hour Field Training Instructor Course. The success of the Evansville Police Department Field Training Program is validated by the fact that it follows nationally recognized standards and has not been successfully challenged in court in its twelve-year history. This has resulted in the improved quality of our officers as well.