Introduction
Law enforcement fatalities have increased over the years leading to public dissatisfaction with the police service. Mental health issues in the police service have also been on the rise resulting in conditions, such as depression and suicide. Therefore, the police department has to improve the wellness and safety of police officers by providing an enhanced training program. The existing education and training programs need to be evaluated and modified to meet the current safety and welfare requirements. The present generation differs from the previous groups due to the availability of technology, which creates a need for technological awareness within law enforcement. Providing all-around education to the officers requires the services of competent trainers who are well versed with the current needs and understand the distinct features of the contemporary generation.
Education and training within the law enforcement department is a critical foundation for police officers. The presence of advanced technology and improved techniques provide an opportunity for the trainees to acquire the right knowledge and skills, thus enhancing their skillsets as they maintain law and order. Some of the techniques move from the traditional instructor-led classroom to a more dynamic training environment. The development of new technologies, such as body-worn cameras and automatic aerial systems, changes in the workforce, and social media, have created a need to enhance the police training program. Some solutions revolve around including videos to the education program, offering bite-sized learning, online training programs, resilience training for mental wellbeing, and a hands-on approach. Also, law enforcement agencies must have a communications and accountability system in place to ensure that officers are held accountable for their actions. Some of the important methods required to enhance police training are discussed below.
Understanding the Millennials
A change in the workforce is necessitated by the fact that millennials are now forming a large part of the law enforcement workforce. The corresponding education styles, as well as training greatly differ from the previous generation. Millennials often prefer informal learning environments, which significantly differ from the traditional instruction and preparation environment. Since the exercise entails seeing and doing instead of hearing, the trainers have to ensure that they diversify the existing training procedures to meet their needs. Some of the suitable instruction mechanisms include embracing a hands-on experience, incorporating videos in the training program, and offering bite-sized programs. Complementing the lectures with these enhancing approaches will lead to the development of competent law enforcement officers.
Use of Videos
The inclusion of videos as part of the training program can improve the efficiency of law enforcement practices. It is straightforward to comprehend the information from videos and to apply it to real-life scenarios. Videos offer an opportunity for agencies with limited educational funding to maximize available resources. They can be watched with the department supervisor during a scheduled session or availed on the agency’s digital platforms for the officers to watch at their convenience. After accessing the materials, joint sessions can be held with the trainees to evaluate the key takeaways.
Some of the instruction categories may include brief videos of up to fifteen minutes that should be uploaded regularly, such as weekly to the online training management platforms from where the officers can access the material. Another option is relevant movies illustrating the various issues surrounding enforcement, such as ethical practices. Once the officer has viewed the audiovisual resources at their discretion within a stipulated timeframe, they are signed off within the training platform, which forms part of the overall grading. Access to the instructional audiovisual materials will form part of the successful training program.
Offering bite-sized training
Bite-sized learning is a slight deviation from the traditional classroom environment. A significant number of agencies are reducing the amount of time spent in the classrooms. Previously, training in the classroom was conducted in the form of lectures for several hours, a whole day, or sessions. On the other hand, bite-sized training is conducted within a shorter period within a condensed duration. The learning improves the transition from the classroom to the field, hence enhancing officers’ outcomes as they conduct their duties and responsibilities. The learning style also reduces the expenses incurred by administrative personnel while conducting intensive training sessions. It ensures that law enforcement officers spend valuable time performing their responsibilities instead of several pieces of training. In the process, the officers remain engaged in their work and updated since they understand the emerging technological trends and policies.
Online Training Programs
Offering online training courses will assist law enforcement agencies in maximizing the available financial resources and improving the training program efficiency. The online courses are customized to meet specific needs and can be completed at one’s convenience. Online training programs take less time compared to the traditional classroom model because the officers complete the work within their schedules; hence fewer distractions. In a situation where the officers are already employed, they can continue with their daily duties without being inconvenienced or necessitated to set aside specific days, as is the case in the classroom training method. The online training utilizes less administrative personnel time, giving the administration extra time to conduct other crucial tasks within the law enforcement agency. Online learning provides more time for hands-on training, where officers acquire relevant knowledge and skills required for their practice.
Resilience Training for the Officers’ Wellbeing
The type of training offered directly impacts law enforcement officers’ mental wellness and health. An increase in mental health issues, such as anxiety-related conditions, post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout depression, and suicide among law enforcement officers has created a need for the agencies to include resilience training as part of the officers’ education and training. The Valor program’s inculcation assists the officers in addressing their mental health needs by providing several programs to defuse challenging encounters, cope with dangerous situations, and solutions to create a culture of safety.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness is another useful resource for combating mental health issues. It provides a comprehensive guide for law enforcement officers on dealing with mass casualties and approaches to resolve the trauma they experience. In the event of a terrorist attack, earthquakes, or a fire, the law enforcement officers are usually on the forefront to rescue survivors and victims, as well as reassure family and friends. The swell of emotions and first-hand encounter with injured victims can trigger a devastating mental response, which, if left unchecked, may lead to unhealthy habits, such as addiction to drugs and alcoholism (Andersen et al., 2015). Proper psychological preparation before such incidents improves officers’ response to traumatizing incidents.
Inculcating a Hands-on Approach as Part of the Training
Hands-on training is crucial to assisting the officers in acquiring a first-hand grasp of real situations. The officers are taught a wide range of material to help them understand the critical scenarios that are common in practice, such as integrating videos that depict real-life scenarios. The officers are exposed to an active shooter scene captured in videos from which learn how to respond to similar incidents through the application of the takeaways into a tactical response. This mechanism is opposed to a theoretical lesson where learners have to imagine scenarios and the reason for the response or actions to the problem.
The content will be crucial in preparing the enforcement officers with a proper mentality while demonstrating that an actual incident is chaotic, traumatizing, stressful, and a perfect plan to deal with such situations is unavailable. A hands-on approach boosts the officers’ memory muscles and helps them understand the appropriate responses when actively involved in a gunfire situation. Other similar approaches include the use of advanced technologies to simulate real-life scenarios, hence helping the officers acquire quick decision-making skills and fast tactical response time.
Establishing Accountability and Communication Systems
Advancement in technology reduces the gap between the occurrence of a security-related incident and the broadcasting time. Formerly, the television and newspaper, as well as other media took considerable before reaching the incident scene. Today, information is shared in real-time by witnesses through video streaming on social media sites, such as Facebook. As a result, law enforcement’s presence, as well as involvement in resolving the apparent challenges, has tremendously increased in the public domain, thus adding more pressure on their duties since their training is put to the test. Therefore, various law enforcement agencies are held accountable for their training practices, especially when they do not meet public expectations. As a result, the agencies have to ensure that their officers are aware of new and changing policies and train them properly to handle crises based on the circumstances.
Previously, agencies used paper to track the officers’ training practices. The policemen would have to manually sign against the various procedures and policies in place. There were various risks associated with the process, such as the destruction of the hand copy files, including poor handling, destruction of facilities by rains and fires, and theft. Additionally, people had to be physically present to append their signatures on the documents. However, the advancement of technology has led to a new form of disseminating information within the law enforcement department. Modern mechanisms to utilize technology, such as digital register and video training, as well as the use of electronic management processes, have improved the officers’ accountability and compliance. The electronic management system facilitates timely updates and dissemination of policies, procedures, and training videos. In the process, the agencies save valuable time and financial resources.
In cases of crisis response, the officers can have automatic devices to capture their response techniques, as well as the dynamics of the incident. The information collected is shared with other agencies on a real-time basis, providing an accountability mechanism since the measures taken by each officer are apparent. Wrong moves are visible and unjustified orders are recorded and addressed ensuring mistakes are avoided in the future. Real-life scenarios are incorporated for the officers to learn appropriate and diverse response strategies by examining the successful approaches. Other agencies can also learn favorable techniques to adopt and disregard ineffective practices.
Conclusion
A clear correlation exists between proper training, safety, and effective law enforcement practices. To determine the best type of training, the enforcement agencies have to consider the community that the officers are supposed to serve, as well as the required competencies. However, the agencies should have a well-trained officer who can comfortably handle the dynamic operational duties. Further training should be offered in light of incidents, which reveal the existing gaps in the enforcement processes and practices. The agencies have to ensure that the officers are well-prepared to counteract threats and attacks in the shortest time while employing appropriate tools. Adoption of the relevant tools and guidelines significantly enhances the police training program, as well as improves the department’s effectiveness.
Understanding the requirements for the millennial workforce, incorporating videos into the training program, offering bite-sized, providing online courses, and developing a hands-on approach will contribute to the officers’ improved efficiency in their daily duties. Additionally, online courses help the officers to obtain knowledge as they attend education sessions in their free time. A combination of these practices ensures that the administrative personnel saves their time and resources to formulating other necessary programs within the police force. Having a well-established communication and accountability system will also facilitate the dissemination of information since each officer will have necessary updates on time. The information can be shared with various agencies and used in the officers’ training to facilitate the acquisition of operation skillsets required to address the various on-site challenges, including threats and response approaches. Enforcement agencies should adopt the practices to enhance the overall police training program hence producing competent law enforcement officers.
Reference
Andersen, J., Papazoglou, K., Nyman, M., Koskelainen, M., Clin, D., & Gustafsberg, H. (2015). Fostering resilience among police. Journal of Law Enforcement, 5(1), 1-13.