A lot of departmental use of force training is one size fits all.
Uniform training
It generally will consist of basic firearms training and defensive tactics training in the academy along with some decision making training which will include shoot/don’t shoot scenarios.
After they graduate from the academy, departments provide in-service training such as firearm qualifications once or twice a year and a defensive tactics recertification once every year or once every few years.
In recent years, more progressive departments have added active shooter training and some force on force training with Simunition F/X cartridges.
The problem with uniform training
Officers that attend these classes go through the same level of training and scenarios regardless of their knowledge and ability level. An officer assigned to CID that hasn’t been in a physical struggle with a suspect for a decade does the same things as a patrol officer that is a team leader in the SWAT team.
So why provide training this way?
Training is conducted this way because it is administratively friendly. When a suspect files a lawsuit, the department is able to provide evidence that they were not negligent, and that the officer received training in a particular area that is under scrutiny. Whether the officer learned anything or applied it correctly is not usually evaluated. Just having a class on the books will resolve the negligence issue.
Although this method is good logistically, it is not as effective. Categorizing officers’ use of force ability and working within the characteristics of each group will raise the overall use of force ability of the department.
How do you categorize an officer?
I generally categorize officers in three groups:
- Great or Spartan Cop
- Average or Joe Cop
- Poor or Slug Cop
This is more art than science. Some officers will not fit neatly into one group.
Spartan Cops
Spartan Cops are those officers that do a great job handling use of force. Just like the warriors at Thermopylae they are knowledgeable and skilled on techniques of applying force and when to use force. They are self-motivated to learn and have some of these characteristics:
- They have a strong personal interest in the subject and spend their own time and resources pursuing skills and knowledge. Examples: martial artists and competitive shooters.
- They have a strong internal drive for excellence as an officer and work on use of force skills and abilities because they are core job functions. Examples: SWAT officers, 5%er officers
- They want to teach in the training division, which drives them to increase their skills to be an attractive candidate.
Joe Cops
Joe Cops are typical officers when it comes to use of force skills and decision-making. They do a fair job but have room for improvement. These officers have these characteristics:
- The level of ability they have is generally a result of department training from the academy and in-service.
- They want to do a decent job and will respond to training.
Slug Cops
Slug Cops do a poor job with use of force situations. Many times they don’t get into these situations because they avoid circumstances that lead to forceful confrontations. Occasionally they accidently fall into them and the results of those encounters are poor. Slug Cops often have these characteristics:
- They are disgruntled or not motivated to improve. They used to be in one of the first two groups but have deteriorated to this level. Examples: retired on dutys, malcontents, and officers burnt out by the frustrations of the job.
- They have no ability. They may not be able to shoot straight, fight effectively, or keep control of a volatile situation. The department has made an effort to improve their skills and abilities but they are not responding to training despite honest attempts by the officer.
Using the strengths of Spartan Cops
These officers are often near the cutting edge in tactics and have above average skills so uniform training can make them bored and frustrated.
Engage them by:
- Allowing them to teach a class on a subject they specialize in.
- Have them mentor 3 to 5 Joe Cops that they work with. They can work one on one with these officers making the use of force training more relevant. It also allows them to work with each of them during down time and in between calls instead of always using structured classes.
- Ask them to take on a Slug Cop as a project. Challenge them to bring that officer up to a Joe Cop or even a Spartan Cop.
Often these experiences will improve their ability more than sending them to another school.
Invest training in your Joe Cops
Investing some training in these officers will bring the largest return of any of the three groups so if resources are scarce put your effort into this group. Spartan Cops are already at a high level and the Slug Cops need a lot of effort to move them much so both will show minimal improvement in a one day or two day class compared to the Joe Cops.
Continue using traditional training methods because they work well with this group.
Encourage each of them to take a training class in something they are interested in to move them into or closer to the Spartan Cop group.
Have them pick a Spartan Cop they get along with to mentor them.
Reclaim your Slug Cops or fire them
These officers need a heavy investment to reclaim them or they need to have their deficiencies documented and be fired.
To reclaim them:
- Be up front about their lack of ability or attitude.
- Explain to them that you want to help them get back to an acceptable level.
- Ask them what they need from you to do that. Sometimes they just need evidence that you are watching and they will correct themselves.
- If their request is reasonable then provide those resources along with a reasonable plan and timeline both of you agree on for them to be at an acceptable level of proficiency.
Give them personal attention by assigning them a Spartan Cop (preferable one they get along well with) to help them, and track and document their progress. Reward both of them for success. Allowing them to go to a training seminar of their choice is often a good reward and will reinforce their progress.
The officers that don’t have ability can possibly be reclaimed by a large amount of training over a long period of time but some thought should go into whether that effort is really worth it. Would a new prospect be better than someone who would be marginal at best?
If a Slug Cop doesn’t improve to a proficient level in a reasonable time period, fire them and start over with a new recruit. It is not fair to the other officers to have an unsafe officer working the streets.
Recap
Officers are not at the same ability level when it comes to use of force. They have different backgrounds, experience levels, and motivation levels so uniform training that lumps them all together, while logistically easy, is not very effective for many of them.
Mentally putting them in groups and working within each groups characteristics will raise their abilities and the department’s overall standard.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great article and explains the value possessing a positive attitude and in continually learning-unlearning and relearning our craft. Preparation, survival and winning the conflicts we are involved in takes walking the talk with strength of character and individual initiative combined with leadership that understands this job and what it takes to do it effectively and become the Spartan Cops the article speaks of. We need to have more 5% mindsets out there on the streets.
To paraphrase the great Spartan King Leonidas who when told by the Persians to put down your weapons. Leonidas responded; “Come and get them!” He backed the words with will-skill and training. Critical lessons for those truly interested in being COPS!
Great article guys
Fred
I understand the premise of the post.
My question is how do you establish standards? How do you insure that the decentralized training you are suggesting is inline with the department UOF policies?
I would also say that there is a big difference between being a good “operator” and a being a good “trainer”. Just because your super cop can do it doesn’t mean that he can teach it, or that the slug-cop can learn it.
Another problem is that the orthodoxy of a department are not always receptive to change. I know highly trained officers that have had to claw their way into the training department only to be told that they are to teach things the old, stupid way - despite the continued poor performance of the trainees.
Establishing standards usually begins at the state level with licensing requirements and laws that establish the bottom level. Departments can raise that level by instituting departmental standards. An example is qualifying with your duty pistol. Many states require you qualify once a year with a basic marksmanship course. Many departments go one step further by instituting a department standard that requires officers qualify twice a year.
Most departments don’t have many UOF standards. Qualifying is one of the few. How many departments take an officer out of service if they don’t qualify? Most just let them shoot over and over again until they finally make it. Then they are good for the next 6 to 12 months until the process repeats itself. Is that really a standard or is it just a show?
To make sure that decentralized training follows departmental Use of Force policies, the instructors have to submit lesson plans to a training coordinator ahead of time. The training coordinator makes sure that the lesson plans adhere to the UOF policy. He can always drop in on the class to make sure the instructor is following the lesson plans.
Many in control of training don’t just want classes to adhere to policy, they want it to adhere to their personal beliefs (ie traditional beliefs). If they kill new instructors, they kill the innovation and creativity that fuel improvement within their departments and within our industry. That is one reason I think some latitude should be given so officers can teach classes they are interested in and passionate about. There needs to be a balance between control (enough to follow policy) and creativity (enough to foster innovation and improvement).
Your point that being a good operator or cop does not make you a good trainer and vice versa is a valid one that I have seen several times too. To overcome it take a graduated approach with those that you fear are weak instructors. Let them assist someone else to build his teaching skills until he can handle a class on his own. If he never reaches that level then keep him as an assistant. The all or nothing approach that many departments take causes unnecessary frustration for the better officers in the department and turns them into disgruntled officers.
Your last point is one that personally makes me beat my head against a brick wall and one reason that me and Matt created this site because it happens to us constantly. When tradition beats results and logic, change comes slowly. You have to keep the faith and stay in the fight. I still believe that over time the better way will ultimately prevail.
Thanks for the questions.
There is a lot of truth to the statement “If the minimum wasn’t good enough it wouldn’t be the minimum.” It doesn’t inspire personal growth, but it does set the standards.
Administrators tend to focus more on the minimum, with the overall goal of providing sufficient law enforcement for the jurisdiction while reducing the liability of the department. Liability is the driving force in law enforcement training.
A smart training coordinator is going to have to evaluate non-standard training in terms of liability before it can be evaluated for effectiveness or utility.