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As police budgets grow tighter with each job loss that provides just a little less tax money for a city, funds earmarked for training may be the first to get shelved. Many agencies will likely forgo sending officers to outside classes or they will limit access to free training only. Other may do more in-house instruction or simply limit the training to state mandated courses such as the annual firearms qualifications course. What every agency should try to do regardless of their financial strength or weakness is find ways to provide more inexpensive training for their personnel.
But what must be emphasized is that cheaper training doesn’t have to mean less quality. Because police trainers may find themselves particularly innovative and resourceful when forced to do so, the value of the training may actually result in better returns than those received from more expensive academy or company based programs.
Part of this may result from the trainers applying cultural aspects specific to their department or municipality. And depending on staffing strength or strategic adjustments in scheduling, overtime can be limited more effectively or not used at all. Three of the biggest areas of importance for police departments are their officers’ applications for arrest, use of force, and emergency operations of a police cruiser.
Agencies have an obligation to train their officers to understand the rights afforded by the Constitution as well as specific laws that they are to enforce. A police officer’s understanding of when and why he or she can lawfully detain or arrest someone is vital to an agency’s success.
Claims of false arrest can be costly for an agency in not only lost money defending these cases but more importantly in how citizens perceive us. And if cases get settled in court, it will be the officer who is the face of the agency as she or he testifies on his or her actions and the reasons why.
Being able to provide a professional and respectful presentation of the facts should be part of a department’s legal training.
Another good idea is having officers submit legal questions to a prosecutor for a legal update. There are many circumstances that officers encounter that can be particularly gray and the input of a prosecutor would have been useful.
And there are also things that an officer may just be curious about. By having them submit these questions, a department head or trainer can send ones that would have significant impact on the agency.
The prosecutor can then answer them with respect to not only their legality but also address the common sense applications of a certain law.
Tom Wetzel is a lieutenant in Northeast Ohio. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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