Learning Manual for Training and Evaluating Police Trainees · (NV) Police Department, Savannah...

pto:an overview and introduction

A Problem-Based

Learning Manual

for Training and Evaluating

Police Trainees

A Problem-Based Learning Manualfor Training and Evaluating Police Trainees

This document is intended as an agency guide to the new

Police Training Officer program and its implementation.

It is a companion to these other training materials in the

Police Training Officer Series:

PTO Manual

Trainee Manual

Training Standard

This project was supported by grant #2001-

CK-WX-KO38, awarded by the Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S.

Department of Justice. Points of view or

opinions contained within this document are

those of the authors and do not necessarily

represent the official position or policies of

the U.S. Department of Justice or members

of the Police Executive Research Forum.

acknowledgementsThe COPS Office would like to thank the Reno Police Department and the

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) for helping to develop this

model Police Training Officer (PTO) Program. The model presents an

alternative to current field training officer programs. It is designed for

training new officers and incorporates contemporary adult educational

methods and a version of problem-based learning (PBL) adapted for

police. The model is based on community policing and collaborative

problem-solving principles. It addresses the traditional duties of policing,

but in the context of specific neighborhood problems. This new model

challenges recruits to think creatively and to use community resources to

respond to crime and disorder.

Particular thanks go to the members of the core team that developed the

program, which include Jerry Hoover, Chief of Police, Reno Police

Department; Ronald Glensor, Ph.D., Deputy Chief, Reno Police

Department; Gregory Saville, Research Professor, University of New

Haven; Gerry Cleveland, Police Training Consultant; Lisa Carroll, former

Research Associate with PERF; Steve Pitts, Commander, Reno Police

Department; Dave Ponte, Officer, Reno Police Department; and Jim

Burack, Chief of Police, Milliken (CO) Police Department (formerly with

PERF). We also extend our thanks to Ellen Scrivner, Ph.D., former

Deputy Director for Community Policing Development at the COPS

Office, for her support and guidance in developing this program, as well

as all of the training officers who participated—particularly those in the

Reno Police Department—for their valuable assistance.

In addition to the Reno Police Department, we also extend our thanks to

the following five agencies that participated in the field-testing phase of

the PTO Training Curriculum. Their input and ideas helped shape the con-

tent of this model program. They include the Savannah (GA) Police

Department; the Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department; the Lowell

(MA) Police Department; the Richmond (CA) Police Department; and the

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Department.

table of contents

pto: an overview and introduction

the PTO program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

case studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

lessons learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

implementation resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

programthe pto

programthe pto

the pto program


introduction

Community-oriented policing and problem solving (COPPS) hasquickly become the philosophy and daily practice of progressivepolice agencies around the country. Police1 administrators have

come to recognize the ineffectiveness of incident-driven policing as wellas the economic costliness of random patrol,rapid response, and post-crime investigation.Officers racing from call to call may haveappeal on television, but it does not provideeffective policing.

In their implementation of COPPS, policeexecutives have voiced a common concern abouttraining, especially post-academy field training for newofficers. Post-academy field training has not emphasizedor promoted COPPS concepts and behaviors. To addressthis deficiency, the U.S. Department of Justice Office ofCommunity Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funded the developmentof an alternative national model for field training that would incorporatecommunity policing and problem-solving principles. To accomplish theobjective, the Reno, Nevada, Police Department partnered with thePolice Executive Research Forum (PERF). The result of their collabora-tion is a new training program called the Police Training Officer (PTO)program. It incorporates contemporary methods in adult education anda version of the problem-based learning (PBL) method of teachingadapted for police. Most importantly, it serves to ensure that academygraduates’ first exposure to the real world is one that reflects policing inthe 21st century.

1 The term “police” is meant to refer to all law enforcement practitioners at municipal, county and state agencies.

2

Following are the members of the core teamthat developed the PTO program:

Dr. Ellen Scrivner, former Deputy Directorat the COPS Office;

Jerry Hoover, Chief of Police, Reno PoliceDepartment;

Dr. Ronald Glensor, Deputy Chief, RenoPolice Department;

Gregory Saville, Professor, University ofNew Haven;

Gerry Cleveland, Education Expert;

Lisa Carroll, former Research Associatewith PERF;

Jim Burack, Chief of Police, Milliken (CO)Police Department (formerly withPERF);

Michael Scott, Director, Center forProblem-Oriented Policing, Inc.;

Steve Pitts, Commander, Reno PoliceDepartment; and

Dave Ponte, Officer, Reno PoliceDepartment.

the pto program


OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

The main objectives of the PTO program are as

follows:

• To formulate learning opportunities for new offi-

cers that meet or exceed the training needs of the

policing agency and the expectations of the com-

munity;

• To have trainees apply their academy learning to

the community environment by giving them real-

life problem-solving activities;

• To foster the trainee’s growing independence from

the Police Training Officer (PTO) over the course

of the program;

• To produce graduates of the training program

who are capable of providing responsible, com-

munity-focused police services;

• To prepare trainees to use a problem-solving

approach throughout their careers by employing

problem-based learning (PBL) methods;

• To design fair and consistent evaluations that

address a trainee’s skills, knowledge, and ability

to problem solve effectively.

3

the pto program

4 pto: an overview and introduction

This new approach to training provides a foundation for life-long learningthat prepares new officers for the complexities of policing today and inthe future. It is focused on developing each officer’s learning capacity,leadership abilities, and problem-solving skills. This is very different fromtraditional police training methods that over-emphasize mechanical skillsand rote memory capabilities. While static skills are a necessity in policework and are integral to any training program, they constitute only oneset of skills needed in contemporary policing.

During the research for this project, policeadministrators and training practitioners raisedmany issues about field training programs. Twocommon concerns stood out: traditional fieldtraining programs have not changed significant-ly over the past 30 years, and protectionagainst liability. This model speaks to bothconcerns, incorporating contemporary COPPSconcepts and guarding against liability throughan emphasis on effective training. Moreover,the program can be tailored to each agency’s

unique needs. Because of its flexibility, future changes in policing can beeasily incorporated into the program.

adoption considerations

Why read this report?Police executives across the nation have been looking for apost-academy training program that stresses community polic-

ing and problem solving. This report describes such a program.Numerous attempts have been made over the years to modify the tradi-tional “field training” model so that it could facilitate the learning ofCOPPS concepts. Those modifications were not successful. The PTOprogram reflects a new design and not a modification of a pre-existingtraining program. Police executives who want to innovate their trainingprograms and institutionalize community policing and problem solving intheir agencies should read this overview of the PTO program and sum-mary of the implementation experience of six agencies.

the pto program

5pto: an overview and introduction

What conditions must be present to implement the PTO program?Because of its flexibility, the PTO program can be successfully imple-mented by any agency. However, the program is designed to functionunder the umbrella of community policing and problem solving. Toimplement the program, an agency needs to designate a PTOCoordinator and PTO Supervisors, and will develop a Board ofEvaluators (BOE). These positions are described in the PTO Manual—one of the implementation resources described at the end of this docu-ment that is available to agencies.

What are the costs of implementing the PTO program? The costs ofimplementing the PTO program resemble the costs of implementing tra-ditional field training programs. The costs are related to the training ofofficers, the writing of manuals, and the creation of forms.

What are the immediate and long-term benefits of the PTO program? The immediate benefits of the PTO program are many: patrolofficers who understand and engage in problem solving; increased inter-est and involvement in community-oriented policing and problem solving(COPPS) on the part of new and experienced officers; greater traineeself-awareness; and a sense of area responsibility by new officers. An important long-term benefit to the agency is the further institutional-ization of community policing and problem solving.

What was the outcome of testing the PTO program? As noted earlier,the PTO program was piloted by six agencies. The common outcomefor these agencies, as the case studies in the next section make clear,was the development of a PTO program that improved the learningcapacity of new officers. Agencies reported that the PBL methodimproved new officers’ ability to handle basic policing tasks and respon-sibilities. Further, trainees learned to perform their duties more efficiently,effectively, and equitably and in a manner that reflects the principles ofCOPPS. The PTO program is designed to achieve the same results inany progressive police agency and the community it serves.

their duties in a more efficient,“trainees learn to perform

”effective, and equitable manner

the pto program


implementation of the program

To implement the PTO program, agencies will need to

• Philosophically support and educate trainees and PTOs in community-oriented policing and problem solving;

• Familiarize command staff and supervisors with this alternative nationalmodel for field training before they implement the PTO program;

• Educate trainees and Police Training Officers in the principles of problem-based learning;

• Introduce trainees to the model before they enter the PTO program;

• Train the PTO supervisors and PTOs in the new model. Further,because the program is based on problem-based learning, instructorsshould have a mastery of fundamental problem-based learning (PBL)and teaching principles. Resources that are available for agencieswishing to implement the PTO Program are described at the end ofthis document. These include PTO and PBL training manuals.

what this document provides

In addition to introducing the reader to the PTO program, this docu-ment summarizes the valuable experiences and lessons learned fromthe six agencies selected to participate in the PTO pilot project—Reno

(NV) Police Department, Savannah (GA) Police Department, Lowell (MA)Police Department, Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department,Richmond (CA) Police Department, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC)Police Department. These agencies agreed to implement the developing

model so that it could be tested in real-worldconditions and improved based on their inputand experiences. The summary of their experi-ences provides an honest and candid assess-ment of benefits and challenges that police exec-utives, training officers, and trainees confrontedduring implementation of the PTO program.

the pto program


The following sections of this introduction describe the history of post-academy training programs, the problem-based learning method, andthe PTO program’s content, phases, and evaluation process. The nextsection, entitled “Case Studies,” describes the specific experiences ofthe six police agencies that participated in the process of developing thePTO program. The section on “Lessons Learned” presents agency-iden-tified ingredients for success and the final section describes theresources that are available to agencies that are interested in implement-ing the PTO Program.

post-academy training: old and newThe Beginning

Police academies have been around in one form or another sincethe early twentieth century. However, post-academy trainingprograms, often referred to as Field Training Officer (FTO) pro-

grams, were not implemented in the United States until the 1970s. Thefirst FTO program was developed in San Jose, California.

The “San Jose Model,” as the first field training model has becomeknown, helped trainees transition from the police academy to single-offi-cer assignments in the patrol division. Academy graduates were placedon the streets with experienced officers. Standard evaluation guidelines(SEGs) were developed that described the actions and behaviorsexpected of the trainees. These guidelines then became the basis for asystem to evaluate each trainee’s performance. Trainees were evaluatedevery day in 29 categories; the evaluators used checklists and Likertnumerical scales. The overall learning strategy of the San Jose Modelwas loosely based on Skinner’s Behavior Modification method.

7

in real-world conditions.“six agencies tested the pto program

”This is their story.

the pto program

pto: an overview and introduction8

The San Jose Model became a mainstay in police training. It is reported-ly used today by approximately 4,000 agencies. The original behavioralanchors written for the model were increased from 29 categories to 31categories in 1981. Other than some peripheral changes, the San JoseModel has remained relatively unchanged since then. With little success,several attempts were made to modify the model so that it would reflectcontemporary community-oriented policing.

A New ModelAs previously mentioned, in 1999 the COPSOffice funded a project to design, implement,and test a training model that would serve asan alternative to the San Jose Model. Severalfocus groups were convened, and more than400 police and sheriffs’ departments weresurveyed to identify what agencies wanted inmodern field training. After almost two yearsof design, the Reno Police Department wasthe first agency to apply the PTO model. Fiveother agencies subsequently adopted thedeveloping “Reno Model” and lessonslearned from implementation in all agencieswere incorporated into the final model thatappears here.

the pto program


a problem-solving training model

T he PTO program relies on adult learning strategies, in particularthe problem-based learning (PBL) method. PBL is a learner-cen-tered teaching method that uses problem

solving as the vehicle for learning. Underthe traditional field training model, a teacheror trainer (the content expert) deliveredinformation to the learner or trainee. PBLdeparts from this traditional method of learning. It beginswith presentation of a real-life problem that thetrainee must attempt to solve. The trainee fol-lows a pattern of discovery whereby he or she expresses ideasabout solving the problem, lists known facts,decides what information to use to solve the prob-lem (including naming sources for that learning), anddevelops an action plan to solve the problem. Several evaluation meth-ods determine whether the action plan succeeded or failed.

PBL is the engine that drives the PTO program. The trainees learn tolook at problems in a broad community context. The most tangiblebenefit of the new model lies in its application to street situations thathave neither easy answers nor obvious solutions. It encourages traineesto explore, analyze, and think systemically. The PBL method encouragestrainees to collaborate with peers, develop resources, and communicateeffectively with the community. These are the hallmarks of good police work.

the pto program


This section details the important features of the PTO program—features that distinguish it from traditional field training programs.

Substantive Topics and Core Competencies The PTO program covers two primary training areas: SubstantiveTopics (the most common activities in policing) and CoreCompetencies. The four Substantive Topics, that define the keyphases of the training, are

• Non-Emergency Incident Response • Emergency Incident Response • Patrol Activities • Criminal Investigation

Core Competencies are the common activities in which officers engageand the skills they use during the daily performance of their duties.There are 15 Core Competencies:

• Police Vehicle Operations• Conflict Resolution• Use of Force• Local Procedures, Policies, Laws and Organizational Philosophies• Report Writing• Leadership• Problem-Solving Skills• Community Specific Problems• Cultural Diversity & Special Needs Groups• Legal Authority• Individual Rights• Officer Safety• Communication Skills• Ethics• Lifestyle Stressors/Self-Awareness/Self-Regulation

the program: content, phases, and evaluation process

10

the pto program


The Substantive Topics and Core Competencies are brought together toform a “Learning Matrix” the content of which represents the proce-dures, policies, laws, and philosophies that the trainee will learn duringtraining (described in detail in the PTO Manual). The matrix serves as aguideline for learners and trainers during the training period and demon-strates the interrelationships between Core Competencies and dailypolice activities. It helps determine what trainees have learned and whatthey need to learn, and guides the Police Training Officer (PTO) evalua-tion of the trainee.

CELL A1Non-Emergency Incident Response

Police Vehicle Operations

• Defensive driving

• Proper vehicle stops, positioning of vehicles

• Awareness of surroundings and conditions

• Other issues that may apply

Learning Matrix

”“the substantive topics and core

competencies are brought togetherto form a learning matrix

the pto program


Program PhasesEach phase of the PTO program is briefly explained below. Note thatfour of the phases are content-related or programmatic phases: Phase Aon Non-Emergency Incident Response, Phase B on Emergency IncidentResponse, Phase C on Patrol Activities, and Phase D on CriminalInvestigation. Additionally, the program calls for Orientation andIntegration Phases and evaluation periods.

Orientation Phase: Many agencies have found that trainees gradu-ating from the academy, especially from a regional academy, requireadditional training in agency-specific skills or information. The orien-tation phase is intended to provide this necessary training and infor-mation. Examples of this type of agency-specific training includecomputer literacy, specialized firearms training, defensive tactics,and policy and procedures. Orientation can also include traineefamiliarization with the agency’s PTO program. This “orientation”training must be completed before the Integration phase can begin.The length of or decision to include the Orientation Phase dependsupon the needs of the agency.

Integration Phase (1 week): The Integration phase is designed toteach the trainee how to report for duty prepared. This is a period oftime for the trainee to acclimate to a new environment while underthe PTO’s supervision. Areas of instruction include how to acquirenecessary equipment, and familiarization with the department, othergovernment organizations, administrative procedures, and the PTOproblem-based learning processes, including evaluations. Thetrainee does not receive an evaluation during the Integration phase.

Phase A (3 weeks): Phase A is the initial training and learning expe-rience for the trainee; it emphasizes Non-Emergency IncidentResponses.

Phase B (3 weeks): Phase B, the second training and learning expe-rience for the trainee, emphasizes Emergency Incident Responses.

the pto program


Mid-Term Evaluation (1 week): Following Phases A and B of thelearning experience, the trainee transfers to a Police Training Evaluator(PTE) and participates in a Mid-Term Evaluation. Switching from thePTO to a PTE for evaluation ensures that the training officer is notconstantly changing roles from trainer to evaluator. The roles of train-er and evaluator overlap somewhat even in the PTO program, but notto the point of interference as has been the case in some traditionalFTO programs. The PTE will use the Learning Matrix as an evaluationtool to assess the trainee’s performance during the course of thatweek’s activities. In the event the trainee is experiencing difficultiesand does not successfully complete the Mid-Term Evaluation, he orshe may need to return to a prior phase of the training program orotherwise receive remedial training.

Phase C (3 weeks): The third training and learning experience forthe trainee, Phase C, emphasizes Patrol Activities.

Phase D (3 weeks): This final phase of training and learning empha-sizes Criminal Investigation.

Final Evaluation (1 week): During the Final Evaluation, the traineeagain transfers to a PTE. The PTE will use the Learning Matrix as anevaluation tool to assess the trainee’s performance during the courseof the evaluation period. If the trainee experiences difficulties anddoes not successfully complete the Final Evaluation, he or she mayrepeat a previous phase of training or receive other remedial trainingthat focuses on the trainee’s deficiencies.

If a trainee does not respond to training and is recommended for ter-mination, the coordinator forwards all material, including recommen-dations, to the Board of Evaluators. The BOE conducts a review ofthe trainee’s performance before providing a written recommendationto the Program Coordinator.

the pto program


Coaching and Evaluation Process One of the major concerns about traditional field training programs is theeffort spent on evaluation. In traditional programs, trainees are evaluatedon 31 categories every day of a 14-week program. Those eval-uations, commonly based on a one through seven numeri-cal scale, often focus on the trainee’s failure to performcertain tasks. Trainees become intimidated at theprospect of a failing score and are reluctant toextend themselves during training.

Although evaluation is a component of the PTO pro-gram, the program as a whole exists to support thetraining of new officers rather than the termination of the marginal few.The documentation used in the PTO program is extensive and adequatefor use in the termination process, if necessary, but that is not its mainpurpose. The PTO evaluation process is meant to focus on success. Ifthe trainee does perform poorly, and each does at some time, then theconcept of “failing forward” is stressed. Trainees learn from their mis-takes and are guided and coached through the training process. ThePTO program encourages training officers to make the evaluationprocess a positive one. This approach can have a tremendously benefi-cial impact on the success of the trainees.

The evaluation process is not based on daily checklists, but it is fairlyextensive nevertheless. Evaluation of trainees takes place in the follow-ing ways:

• Coaching and Training Reports (CTRs) at the end of each week:Reflections on a trainee response to a selected call for service per-taining to the theme of the current training phase (for instance,Emergency Incident Response, Criminal Investigation) and basedon the fifteen Core Competencies reflected in the Learning Matrix.

• Problem-Based Learning Exercises (PBLEs) in each of the four pro-gram phases: Problem-solving exercises that apply the problem-based learning method to situations the trainee will confront in eachphase of training.

• Neighborhood Portfolio Exercise (NPE) developed during all fourphases: A detailed, trainee-developed overview of the area wherehe or she works, including the identification of key communitystakeholders, a characterization of the social and cultural aspects ofthe area, and a description of key crime and disorder issues.

the pto program


• Week-long Mid-Term Evaluation: Following the completion ofPhases A and B, the PTO turns the trainee over to a Police TrainingEvaluator (PTE) who assesses the trainee’s progress using as aguide the Learning Matrix described above.

• Week-long Final Evaluation: Same process as above occurring atthe end of the training.

• If the department chooses, an assessment of the trainee by theBoard of Evaluators.

conclusion

T he PTO program is the first new post-academy field trainingprogram for law enforcement agencies in more than 30 years. Itsoriginal design makes it one of the strongest training innovations in

decades. The program, first tested at the Reno Police Department andsubsequently tested by five other agencies, has produced outstandingresults. New officers enter the field with problem-solving skills that arerarely seen at that career level. New officers also display remarkableleadership and a willingness to work as partners with the local communi-ty to fight crime and disorder. The PTO program is producing officerswho have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude for today’s lawenforcement environment.

casestudies

Reno (NV) Police Department

Savannah (GA) Police Department

Lowell (MA) Police Department

Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department

Richmond (CA) Police Department

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Department


Reno, a city of approximately 70square miles, is located on the north-eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada

mountains in Nevada. It has a residentpopulation of about 187,000 and an averagetourist population of 35,000 visitors per day.The gaming industry represents the majorsource of revenue for the City of Reno, andit generates a 24-hour culture for communityand business services.

The Reno Police Department, with 340sworn members and 520 civilian employees,has policing jurisdiction over the entire Cityof Reno, which is primarily urban with somerural areas. The police department’s servic-es are divided into three geographic areas ofcommand: North, Central, and South. Eacharea of command is organized into severalbeats. Departmental command is adminis-tratively and procedurally centralized. Thedepartment is headed by a Chief of Policewho is supported by an Assistant Chief and

five Deputy Chiefs of Police. Other rankswithin the Reno PD include Commander,Lieutenant, Sergeant, and Police Officer.

The Reno PD ascribes to community-orient-ed policing and problem solving as its corepolicing philosophy. Department-widetraining in COPPS began in 1986, and Renore-certifies officers annually. The depart-ment requires officers to practice communi-ty-oriented policing in daily activities, and ituses the COPPS philosophy as a primaryevaluation measure. Internally, the depart-ment employs problem solving as amanagement resource, and the Reno citygovernment has adopted the problem-solving method to deal with larger issuesaffecting the whole community.

Prior to implementing the Police TrainingOfficer (PTO) program, the Reno PD used aField Training Officer (FTO) program that wasbased on a modified version of the San Jose

case studies

455 East 2nd StreetReno, NV 89523

Chief of Police: Jerry Hoover

Key Contact: Commander Steve Pitts 775.326.6327 [email protected]

the reno (nv) police department

18

The Reno PD was the first to test the PTO program. Five additional agencies were chosen aspilot sites, bringing the total to six. The selection of these agencies produced diversity acrosssites in terms of geography, size, command structure, and policing environment. Importantly,each agency was interested in improving its field training.

This pilot implementation in six sites was very important to the development of the PTO pro-gram. Feedback from each agency about its experiences helped the project team produce thehigh-quality PTO program that is now ready to be implemented in agencies nationwide.

reno pd


Model described above. The department’sFTO program relied on Daily ObservationReports of a trainee’s performance on morethan 30 standardized performance guide-lines. A trainee’s performance was meas-ured on a Likert scale of one through seven.To accommodate its policing philosophy, thedepartment modified the FTO program toinclude the components of community-ori-ented policing and problem solving asappended performance guidelines.

The department discovered that encom-passing COPPS in FTO training in the formof additional performance guidelines wasnot effective: new officers were not per-suaded to practice the philosophy. Insteadof being considered the foundation of polic-ing, community-oriented policing and prob-lem solving were considered by trainees tobe merely two elements in the long list ofstandardized performance guidelines.Changing the task-driven orientation of offi-

cers in Reno to a problem-based orientationwas essential because of Reno’s burgeoningpopulation and the attendant new policingchallenges. Immigration and city expansionas a result of annexation created a morediverse population and a higher volume ofcalls for service. Reno’s greater size anddiversity made it all the more important thatnew officers be able to identify interrelatedcommunity problems. The increase in callsfor service made the Reno PD’s formerincident-driven response burdensome andsuggested the need for proactive problemsolving. The traditional field training modelformerly in use was not preparing Reno offi-cers to handle the pace of change in thecommunity.

The Reno PD was the beta site for the PTOprogram.

Academy Structure and Training

• Two academies per year are given at theRegional Training Center for Public Safety.Each academy graduates 10 to 15 officersper cycle for the Reno PD.

• Officers receive 12 initial hours of class-room training in community policing, prob-lem-oriented policing, and problem-basedlearning.

• Recruits reinforce this training throughpractice during the 15-week continuousacademy.

PTO Program

Selection

• The Reno PD evaluated any interestedpersonnel–including those who had servedas Field Training Officers–according to theprinciples of learning, education, and lead-ership found in the PTO program.

Reno Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• Three years of service in law enforcement

• Prior training experience

• Demonstrated COPPS abilities

• Knowledge of adult-learning principles

Reno Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• Make a department-wide announcement

• Request a letter of intent and resume from eachcandidate

• Convene candidate assessment board

• Review personnel file, resume

• Evaluate professional training history

• Evaluate leadership ability

• Conduct a suitability review of the candidate

19

case studies


• Of the 32 officers selected to becomePolice Training Officers, approximately 75percent had prior experience as Reno PDField Training Officers and 25 percent werenew to field training.

• Selected PTOs had all received the stan-dard, department-wide COPPS training.

Incentives

• By contract, PTOs are entitled to a 10 per-cent annual pay incentive, which is notdependent on whether the PTO is activelytraining.

• PTOs are given preferential access totraining opportunities and pre-authorizedovertime while training.

PTO Training

• Training was delivered over 40 hours in afive-day period.

• Thirty-one officers were trained as PTOs,and five Sergeants were trained as PoliceTraining Supervisors (PTSs). The Chiefand two Deputy Chiefs of Police alsoattended the training.

• After that training, 20 officers and 5 super-visors were ultimately selected to serve asPTOs and PTSs.

Program Structure

• The agency-specific trainee orientation(Orientation Phase) prior to the programlasted two weeks and included instructionon problem-based learning and anintroduction to the PTO model. Traineesalso engaged in a one-week IntegrationPhase to familiarize themselves with theReno PD.

• Reno, as the beta site, began the trainingphases with PTO-trainee teams in theEmergency Incident Response Phase, fol-lowed by the phases Non-EmergencyIncident Response, Patrol Activities, andCriminal Investigation.

• PTOs and their trainees were assigned toboth day and swing shifts. This gave thetraining teams maximum exposure toresources such as crime analysis, detec-tives, neighborhood meetings, and govern-mental services.

• Trainees were assigned to one of the threegeographic areas of command, and theyremained in that area for the duration ofthe training.

• Upon completion of the training, traineesmay be re-assigned to serve in a differentgeographic area of command, but theytake with them the ability to learn a geo-graphic patrol district and its dynamics.

Command Structure

• Location – Patrol Division

• Command Responsibility – Division Commander

• Program Management – One full-timepolice officer as Program Coordinator

• Personnel Structure – 20 PTOs reportto 5 Police Training Supervisors (PTSs)who hold the rank of Sergeant

• Board of Evaluators – 2 to 3 activePTOs, PTO Supervisor, ProgramCoordinator, Program Commander

reno pd


Evaluation Structure

• The Mid-Term and Final Evaluation phaseseach lasted one-week and were based onproficiency in the 15 Core Competencies inthe Coaching and Training Reports (CTRs).

• The Board of Evaluators was used to eval-uate the trainers and the overall programoperation. The BOE also was used at therequest of PTO staff to evaluate certaintrainees and recommend remedial trainingmeasures.

Implementation Experiences

• Early involvement at all levels throughoutthe department enhanced cooperation andbuy-in:

• Officers in the Reno PD began receiv-ing information about the PTO pro-gram one year prior to implementation.

• Command staff was familiarized withthe program at all stages.

• All lieutenants and sergeants weregiven an orientation and executivesummary.

• Prior to their 40-hour training, PTOsattended workshops to engage themin decisions regarding the specificimplementation of the program inReno.

• A committee of PTOs planned andimplemented the program.

• PTOs were encouraged to take time toexplain the program to anyone in thedepartment with questions.

• Including teaching abilities as one of thecriteria for PTO selection proved valuablebecause of the program’s intense empha-sis on coaching.

• Bi-weekly PTO meetings kept the groupcohesive and enabled participants to sharetraining ideas and work through programimplementation obstacles. Weekly teammeetings of trainers and PTSs identifiedthe immediate training needs of eachtrainee.

• Daily journal writing, when introduced inthe PTO course, was a new concept initial-ly resisted by trainers. It proved, however,to be one of the most important and usefultools for PTOs and trainees in the field.

• In the initial design of the program, PTOsand trainees were required to completetwo CTRs per week – a workload thatproved burdensome. Reducing the CTRsto one per week improved the quality ofthe reports, reduced the time burden onthe training team, and did not negativelyaffect the training.

• PTOs recommended shifting theEmergency Incident Response phase fromthe beginning of the program to one of thelater phases. Neither trainer nor traineewas comfortable initiating the program andits active learning philosophy under emer-gency incident circumstances.

case studies


T he City of Savannah lies midwayalong Georgia’s Atlantic coast andcontains one of the nation’s largest

historic districts. The city covers 70 squaremiles and is home to 142,000 residents.Serviced by an international airport,Savannah welcomes over six million visitorsper year. Tourism, one of the city’s mainindustries, is increasing, and crime duringthe past decade has slowly increased aswell. The Savannah Police Department facesthe challenge of protecting the city’s citizensand historic properties, as well as projectingan image of safety to prospective visitors.

A force of 425 sworn members police thelargely urban area of the City of Savannah.The Savannah PD includes the ranks ofPatrol Officer, Advanced Patrol Officer,Corporal, Star Corporal, Sergeant,Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Chief. Thedepartment is divided into four districts anda headquarters. Daily operations can varyslightly between districts. For example,some districts operate three shifts per day;other districts work on a “4-10” shift sched-ule. The department chose to implementthe PTO program across all districts.

Community policing is incorporated in thedepartment’s mission statement, andproblem solving is expected of everyofficer. Its application in the field is notuniform: some officers implement formal

“projects” and others practice community-oriented policing and problem solving(COPPS) less formally.

Prior to the Savannah PD’s participation as apilot site for the Police Training Officer (PTO)program, the department trained its newofficers using a modified version of the SanJose Model. This model involved daily andweekly observation reports that measuredtrainee performance on a seven-point Likertscale. The Savannah PD had not formallymodified its field-training model to incorpo-rate COPPS, but many individual FieldTraining Officers (FTOs) had informallymodified their training practices to includeproblem solving.

Savannah PD personnel felt that their fieldtraining system lacked department-wide uni-formity, with training tailored to the abilitiesand inclinations of a particular trainer. Therewas a lack of uniform application of certainelements at specific times or phases. Inorder to instill in PD personnel needed confi-dence in new trainees, trainers decided toensure that all trainees were covering criticalmaterial. Further, trainers felt that observa-tion reports didn’t reflect accurately the abili-ties of trainees or provide for accurate evalu-ation. Extremely high or low scores onobservation reports were seldom given sincethese scores required additional paperworkon the part of the trainer.

201 Habersham StreetSavannah, GA 31401

Chief of Police: Dan Flynn

Key contact: Sergeant Bobby Gardner [email protected]

the savannah (ga) police department

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savannah pd

Incentives

• Trainers are given extra overtime allowancewhile training.

PTO Training

• To accommodate the department’s size,Savannah trained two classes of PTOsover two five-day periods.

• The department trained 39 officers asPTOs, as well as 9 Sergeants and oneLieutenant. Senior staff at the ranks ofCaptain and Major demonstrated interestby attending segments of the training.

Program Structure

• A one-week agency-specific OrientationPhase was part of the program.

• Trainees were assigned to PTOs in the dis-trict in which they would be stationed, buteach training team rotated between beatsin that district, covering a different beat ineach three-week phase.

• An effort was made to assign PTO-traineeteams to daytime shifts, but due to shiftrotation some PTOs were only available onmidnight shifts.

• Precincts tried different variations of PTO-trainee assignment, with some assigning adifferent PTO for each of the four programphases and others switching PTOs at theMid-Term point.

• The first group of training teams madePatrol Activities the focus of the first phase,but subsequent teams became most com-fortable with executing the program phasesin the following order: Non-EmergencyIncident Response, Emergency IncidentResponse, Patrol Activities, and CriminalInvestigation. This sequence enabledtrainees to begin with the phases thatinvolve more calls for service.



• Five to six 10-week academies per year ata regional academy graduate 6 to 13Savannah PD officers per academy.

• Community policing is taught for 8 hoursin the academy, with a portion of that timedevoted to problem solving.

• Academy graduates receive five weeks ofadditional department-specific trainingafter the regional academy, including 12hours of COPPS training.

• All officers who graduated from the acade-my before COPPS was an instruction topicreceived 40-hours of in-service training.

PTO Program Selection

• Selection of PTOs was informal, with eachprecinct taking its own approach.

• Forty-nine officers were selected for PTOtraining. Almost all of the participants inthe first class of 25 were experiencedFTOs, while the second class of PTOs wassplit evenly between experienced FTOsand officers who had not previously beenfield trainers.

• Selected PTOs had all received eitherCOPPS training in the academy or a five-week in-service training.

Savannah Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• Past performance on the force

• Shift assignment, to ensure even distribution

Savannah Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• Sergeants submit candidate recommendations

• For the second class, some precincts hadcandidates submit applications

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the pto program



• One-week Mid-Term Evaluation and, initial-ly, a two-week Final Evaluation. FinalEvaluation was later reduced to one week.

• Phase repetition was used as a remedialmeasure for trainees experiencing problems.

• The Board of Evaluators was used to eval-uate the program, to evaluate the effec-tiveness of trainers, and occasionally todiscuss remedial measures for trainees.


• Using shift and precinct assignment oftrainees as part of the PTO selection crite-ria ensured even distribution of personnel,but it necessitated training some PTOswith lower experience levels.

• PTOs enjoyed the flexibility of allowingtrainees time to return to the station tocomplete program assignments while thePTO still answered calls for service.

• The department developed a two-hourinformational session about the programfor Lieutenants and Sergeants who did notattend the PTO trainings, so they wouldunderstand why some trainees were offthe street and in the squad room.

• PTOs found their own journal entries veryhelpful for reflection when passing thetrainee to the next training officer. Thenature and depth of trainees’ journalentries varied, reflecting the varied empha-sis placed on journal writing by each PTO.

• Shift schedules made communication andcohesion between PTOs and precincts dif-ficult. PTOs were unable to meet regularly,and while some PTOs met together infor-mally to share experiences and ideas, vari-ations in program application were experi-enced across the four districts.

• Trainers need consensus to pass recruits.The PTO, Sergeant, Lieutenant, andCaptain all sign off in the process. Underthe previous system, trainers were reluctantto be responsible for giving the failing gradethat held a trainee back. Now trainers musttake responsibility for the passing grade.

• Savannah tailored the Problem-BasedLearning Exercises (PBLEs) to reflectunique precinct problems. As a result, onetrainee solved an eight-year-old crimeproblem while field training.

• Evaluators felt they had an accurate pic-ture of whether trainees and trainers wereperforming well.

• Trainees are asking more questions, theyare learning faster, and they are becomingmore involved in the community. Their skillsin problem solving also are improving.

• Officers’ confidence in new recruits isimproved.

Command Structure

• Location – Police Precinct

• Command Responsibility – Precinct Captain

• Program Management – One full-timeLieutenant serves as Program Coordinator.

• Personnel Structure – Precinct PTOsreport to two Sergeants in each precinct.

• Board of Evaluators – The membershiprotates, but the Board always includes aCaptain and a Lieutenant from eachprecinct and three Sergeants.

24

lowell pd


T he Lowell Police Department’s 119civilian personnel and 256 sworn offi-cers, police a Massachusetts city of

approximately 106,000 residents. The Cityof Lowell, 30 miles North of Boston, beganas a textile-producing community. Sinceweathering an economic downturn, Lowell isrestoring warehouses and experiencing aninflux of new industry. It has an expandingSoutheast Asian population.

The Lowell PD divides the city’s 14 squaremiles into the three geographic sectors ofNorth, East, and West. These sectors housethe department’s seven satellite precinctsand centralized command. TheSuperintendent of the PD is supported bythe ranks of Patrol Officer, Sergeant,Lieutenant, Captain, and Deputy Chief.

Community-oriented policing is the opera-tional philosophy of the department. Oncethe function of one unit, it is now expectedof all officers. In the academy, recruits areprepared with a curriculum that is based oncommunity-oriented policing and problemsolving (COPPS), and they must complete aproblem-solving project before graduation.The department wanted to move toward apost-academy training model that reinforcedits policing model. Training was being con-ducted using the San Jose Model. Thismodel had not been modified to incorporate

community policing concepts. The tradition-al Field Training Officers (FTO) program hadlost the confidence of officers, who conse-quently were reluctant to become trainersthemselves. One of the early obstaclesovercome by the Lowell PD in switchingfrom the FTO program to the Police TrainingOfficer (PTO) program was convincingpotential trainers that the new programwould turn out competent, capable problemsolvers.


• The regional academy is annual and runsfor 25 weeks.

• The Lowell PD graduates approximatelynine officers per academy class.

• The academy curriculum is structuredaround COPPS, with recruits actively prac-ticing problem solving.

PTO Program

Selection

• Selection of PTOs was difficult for thedepartment, largely because of trainers’dissatisfaction with the previous trainingmodel.

• Officers were asked to volunteer for thetraining positions.

• Half of those chosen had been FTOs; halfhad never been trainers.

50 Arcand DriveLowell, MA 01852

Police Superintendent:Edward Davis III

Key contact: Lieutenant Paul [email protected]

the lowell (ma) police department

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case studies


• All those attending the training had receivedthe academy COPPS training or, if they hadattended the academy prior to the inclusionof COPPS in the curriculum, had received40 hours of in-service training.

Incentives

• The department offered the same incen-tives (listed below) that it had under theprevious training program.

• A weekly stipend is provided for the dura-tion of the program.

• PTOs who are actively training receive anhour of compensatory time for each day oftraining.

PTO Training

• To accommodate shift scheduling, thedepartment delivered the 40-hour PTOtraining over a four-day period.

• Twenty-eight officers were trained, includ-ing 15 PTOs, 5 Police Training Evaluators(PTEs), 6 Sergeants, a Lieutenant, and theTraining Academy Supervisor.

• The agency’s Superintendent attendedpart of the training.

Program Structure

• PTOs are distributed between the day shiftand the early night shift.

• The six trained Sergeants are evenly divid-ed between the department’s three sec-tors, with a Sergeant covering each of thetwo training shifts.

• Sergeants coordinate groups of PTOs,their trainees, and PTEs. Bi-weekly PTOmeetings are held throughout the program.

• PTEs only serve as evaluators and do notfunction in a PTO capacity.

• Initially, trainees remained in a single sec-tor throughout the training, but the pro-gram has been changed to exposetrainees to each of the three sectors.

• The department modified the programschedule. Instead of four three-weekphases, the department used three four-week phases so that the trainees couldspend time in each of the three sectors.


• The Mid-Term and Final Evaluation phaseseach lasted one week.

• Because the department changed theschedule to produce three phases, itadded a third evaluation. Now an evalua-tion follows each phase.

Lowell Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• Three years of duty as a Lowell PD officer

• Favorable training attitude

• No disciplinary actions within the pastyear

Lowell Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• Initially, the department selected PTOsfrom a short list of volunteers; becausethe list was short, the screening was notvigorous.

• A renewed interest in training produced a longer list of volunteer candidates,allowing the Lowell PD to implement a more rigorous selection process:

• PTO Sergeants evaluate each appli-cant.

• Criteria were expanded to includecommunity policing indicators.

• The selection continues year-round.

lowell pd



• Participants found that it was difficult tolearn all of the material in only a four-dayPTO academy.

• Despite officers’ criticism of the field train-ing model in place before the PTO pro-gram, many remained attached to certaincomponents of that model.

• The clear-cut numeric evaluation ofthe previous model was acclaimed,until it became apparent that usefulevaluation information could begleaned through the PTO program’swritten evaluations.

• PTOs moved to incorporate their“rook book”—or trainee task manu-al—into the Learning Matrix, creatinga program hybrid.

• The Union requested involvement in pro-gram administration components, such asPTO selection and compensation, and inBOE activities.

• Bi-weekly meetings ensured that the train-er group was cohesive. Meeting topicsincluded program modifications, new crite-

ria for incoming PTOs, and the identifica-tion of potential problems with trainees.

• The program structure was modified toexpose trainees to all police sectors, andthe evaluation structure was modified tofit the three-phase schedule.

• The Board of Evaluators was used suc-cessfully to solve a PTO-PTE personnelissue that arose, demonstrating thatProblem-Based Learning Exercises(PBLEs) can be useful not only in trainingbut also in program administration.

• Trainees were allowed to work together inlearning teams on Neighborhood PortfolioExercises (NPEs). Exercises were donewell and presented to the command staffat meetings.

• Journal writing was not emphasized as alearning tool by PTOs, who were con-cerned about the potential for “discovery”pursuant to court cases.

• Initial training teams left PBLEs and NPEsuntil the end of program phases, and thenthey felt rushed to complete them.Backing those components up into theheart of the program re-emphasized theirlearning value.

• Compared to the FTO program, PTOsfound it easier to head off problems withrecruits and to fix them before theybecame major. PTOs felt that they wouldnot have detected these issues under theFTO program.

• PTOs respected the program’s separationof evaluation and training.

• Recruits became involved in regular polic-ing activities more quickly than under theprevious program, and they gained agreater understanding of the communitiesthey policed.

Command Structure

• Location – Support Services Division

• Command Responsibility – Deputy Chief of Support Services

• Program Management – One Lieutenantacts as part-time Program Coordinator.

• Personnel Structure – PTOs report to PTO Sergeants, who in turn report to the Program Coordinator.

• Board of Evaluators (BOE) – Three PatrolOfficers and three PTO Sergeants consti-tuted the BOE for the pilot training. Itscomposition is presently under review.

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case studies


A longside Pike’s Peak and the RockyMountains, the City of ColoradoSprings, Colorado, is located 68 miles

south of Denver. Colorado Springs coversapproximately 200 square miles and is a hubfor the U.S. military space industry, as wellas for technology manufacturing and ama-teur sports training. Its geography and cli-mate make it a popular travel destination.

The recently expanded force of theColorado Springs Police Department over-sees public safety for the city’s population of386,000. At the time of its participation as aPTO program pilot site, the ColoradoSprings PD was in the process of increasingits force of 594 sworn officers by 117.(Currently there are 666 sworn officers.) Aspart of the adjustment, the department’sthree patrol divisions were expanded to four.Operations of the PTO program were decen-tralized to a degree in Colorado Springs.This produced variations in the programwithin the then three different divisions of thedepartment.

The practice of community-oriented policingand problem solving (COPPS) is uniformthroughout the department. Communitypolicing is the Colorado Springs PD’s corevalue, and it is the policing philosophy thatunderlies the execution of its daily policeactivities. Additionally, a neighborhood-

policing unit focuses on specific projects.The department was interested in switchingto the Police Training Officer (PTO) programto better prepare new recruits for policingwithin the context of the department’sCOPPS orientation and to address trainers’concerns about the Field Training Officer(FTO) program then in use.

The department was using a field trainingmodel it had modified to include a neighbor-hood summary component. It had alsoadded a problem-oriented policing project tothe checklist of FTO performance guidelines,but command staff still felt that the programwas turning out new officers who, while pro-ficient at basic policing tasks, were notfocused on solving crime and disorder prob-lems. Further, the Colorado Springs PD washaving difficulty keeping and recruiting train-ing officers, despite overtime and other payincentives, because officers found the dailypaperwork requirements of the agency’sexisting training program too burdensomeand time consuming.


• The Colorado Springs PD training acade-my runs two classes per year, each lasting21 weeks. With the proposed expansionin agency size, the academy and post-academy trainers faced greater-than-usualnumbers of graduating recruits.

725 North Murray BlvdColorado Springs, CO 80915

Chief of Police: Luis Velez

Key contact: Sergeant Charles [email protected]

the colorado springs (co) police department

colorado springs pd


• Thirty-five to 40 new officers graduate perclass.

• Community-oriented policing and problemsolving are taught in an eight-hour instruc-tion block, and they also are incorporatedin exercises throughout academy training.Sixteen to 20 hours of instruction in prob-lem-oriented policing (POP) are delivered,and recruits are required to complete aPOP project while in the academy.

PTO Program

Selection

• The selection process was formal anddepartment-wide.

• All selected PTOs had received COPPStraining. Some had received this training inthe academy, and some received 16 hoursof in-service training when the departmentswitched philosophically to community-ori-ented policing.

• Three-quarters of the 28 Colorado SpringsPD officers who were selected for the PTOprogram were experienced FTOs; theremainder had never been training officers.

Incentives

• The department maintained its five percentpay increase for training officers.

PTO Training

• The Colorado Springs PD trained 28 per-sonnel in the PTO program. Among thosetrained were four Sergeants, including theTraining Academy Sergeant, and threeLieutenants. One of the department’sDeputy Chiefs also attended part of thetraining.

• Training was conducted over four ten-hourdays.

Program Structure

• Trainees in the PTO program wereassigned to afternoon and swing shifts toallow them daytime opportunities to makecommunity contacts.

• Training teams remained in a singleassigned sector within a division for theduration of the training.

• Colorado Springs PD trainees wentthrough the program phases in the orderestablished during the Savannah training:Non-Emergency Incident Response,Emergency Incident Response, PatrolActivities, and Criminal Investigation. Thedepartment was comfortable with thatorder.

Colorado Springs Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• Rank of Patrol Officer, 2nd class, with atleast two years of service

• No disciplinary action within the pastone year

• Passing grade on the most current fitnesstest

• “Memorandum of Request” from theofficer (stating why the officer felt he orshe was qualified for the position) and apersonal resume

Colorado Springs Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• PTO positions were posted.

• All candidates, including those active asFTOs, had to apply for the PTO posi-tions. The department felt this encour-aged applications from officers who trulywanted to train.

• Applications and resumes were reviewedby the department’s Board of Evaluators(BOE).

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case studies



• PTEs used Learning Activity Packages andCoaching and Training Reports (CTRs) asevaluation tools.

• A one-week Mid-Term Evaluation and one-week Final Evaluation were conducted.

• The BOE met only when PTOs identified aproblem with a trainee.


• The Colorado Springs PD pilot tested thePTO program while it was training a classof recruits using the FTO model. Trainers’instruction in the PTO model and a com-parison of the FTO and PTO programsconvinced trainers and command staff ofthe inadequacy of the traditional trainingmodel. By the next training cycle, thedepartment had switched to train its entirepost-academy class using the PTOprogram.

• The department has ranks of Chief,Deputy Chief, Commander, Lieutenant,Sergeant, and Police Officer. An additionalrank of Master Police Officer – which

included FTO duties – was removed afterColorado Springs began to implement thePTO program.

• The department recognized variationbetween its three divisions in the mannerof PTO implementation. After the initialtraining, the divisions cooperated opera-tionally in the execution of the program.That is, the training was no longer decen-tralized.

• Supervisory oversight was identified asessential for program success. Thedepartment found that in the divisionwhere supervisors became directlyinvolved, formed training teams, and over-saw logistical issues, the trainers devel-oped cohesion and the program had con-sistency of structure and content.Effective division coordination included:

• Face-to-face weekly meetingsbetween the Sergeant and each PTO-trainee team

• Bi-weekly meetings of all divisionPTOs and Sergeants to discuss theprogram

• Training relied heavily on the learningmatrix, and each call for service was laterrelated back to the matrix by the trainingteam. Journal writing was used at thesetimes, and it became a valuable reference.

• The PTO program significantly affected thetraining curriculum at the academy.

• Instruction was reconfigured to adoptthe problem-based learning (PBL)style of teaching used in the PTO pro-gram.

• Initially, as a time-saving measure fortrainees, some of the componentswere removed from the PTO trainingprogram and placed into the acade-

Command Structure

• Location – Each Patrol Division

• Command Responsibility – Division Lieutenant

• Program Management – Division Sergeant

• Personnel Structure – Teams of nine PTOs report to a PTO Sergeant withintheir division.

• Board of Evaluators – An implementationcommittee that had been formed to directthe department’s transition to the PTOprogram became the BOE. Members are a Commander, three Lieutenants, threeSergeants, and a representative from thetraining academy.

colorado springspd


my. The department later realizedthat the components that had beenmoved to the academy program werea vital part of the learning thatoccurred during the PTO training. Thedepartment decided to move thecomponents back into the context ofthe PTO training, but use the acade-my to introduce recruits to Problem-Based Learning Exercises (PBLEs)and CTRs. The early exposure toreports, forms, and exercises helpsColorado Springs’ trainees to com-plete these components more effi-ciently once in the program.

• The Neighborhood Portfolio Exercise(NPE) was moved entirely into theacademy and made part of its curricu-lum. Trainees in Colorado Springshad not remained in one divisionsector long enough during the PTOprogram to complete the assignment.This shift also gave the trainee moreof an opportunity to focus specificallyon the training phases of the PTOprogram while in the field. By givingtrainees the time and the opportunityto complete the assignment while inthe academy environment, thedepartment found that the NPE quality improved. Once graduatedand in PTO training, the trainee is stillrequired by his or her PTO to use hisor her NPE-developed skills.

• When the most significant weekly incidentapplied to a different phase of programtraining (for instance, an emergencyresponse incident occurs during theCriminal Investigation phase), PTO-traineeteams chose to complete a CTR on thatincident.

case studies


N ortheast of San Francisco on theSan Francisco Bay, the City ofRichmond, California, spans 56

square miles of land and water area and has32 miles of shoreline. The city has bothresidential and industrial areas and anestimated population of 100,000. Thepopulation is highly diverse—37 percentAfrican American, 32 percent Hispanic, and22 percent Caucasian.

Primary law enforcement jurisdiction for thecity falls to the Richmond PoliceDepartment, with approximately 200 swornofficers and 80 civilian employees. The PDascribes to the community-oriented policingphilosophy as its primary method for deliver-ing service. All officers (not specializedteams) practice community-oriented policingand problem solving (COPPS). Commandfor the Richmond PD is divided into fivegeographical areas, with each area subdivid-ed into smaller beats. Each of the five areascontains a sub-station for the convenienceof officers and citizens, but departmentalcontrol is centralized. The department iscomprised of Police Officers, Sergeants,Lieutenants, five Captains, an AssistantChief, and Chief.

The Richmond PD adopted the PTO pro-gram in order to teach its recruit officersmethods for creative problem solving in a

city where calls for police service are high.The department’s prior model of police train-ing measured trainee performance across 25dimensions, using a seven-point scale asso-ciated with Daily Observation Reports. Theconcept of community-oriented policing wasadded to the Daily Observation Report as aperformance dimension; however, thedepartment found that a daily evaluation of atrainee’s COPPS application was not aneffective training tool. Through the PTOtraining process, Richmond PD officers aretaught to engage the community in problemsolving, to seek creative solutions to neigh-borhood problems, and to utilize resourcesoutside the department for the purpose ofimproving residents’ quality of life.


• The Richmond PD draws from threeregional academy facilities: the NapaValley Criminal Justice Training Center,Alameda County Basic Academy, andContra Costa County Sheriff’s OfficeAcademy.

• Post-academy, recruit officers receive athree-and-one-half hour classroomorientation to the PTO program and theproblem-based learning (PBL) method.

401 27th StRichmond, CA 94804

Chief of Police:Joseph Samuels, Jr.

Key contact: Officer Roger [email protected]

the richmond (ca) police department

32

richmond pd


PTO Program

Selection

• The Richmond PD invited its 13 FieldTraining Officers to attend and evaluate thePTO training course.

• The PTO course was not open to officersinterested in becoming trainers for the firsttime because the department preferred touse experienced trainers.

Incentives

• PTOs receive four hours paid overtime foreach week spent training a recruit.

• PTOs wear Corporal stripes to signify theirposition as a training officer.

PTO Training

• Forty hours of training were completed infive days.

• An initial pilot site training of 13 PTOs wasconducted.

• Chief was involved and supportive at theimplementation level and attended part ofthe PTO training.

Program Structure

• PTOs and their trainees are mostlyassigned to daytime shifts to facilitateresource exposure. However, since somePTOs are assigned to the graveyard shift,some recruits have been trained on thisshift.

• Trainees’ beat assignments are determinedat the discretion of the PTO.

• The Richmond PD modified the pilot proj-ect training phases and now it trains in thefollowing order: Patrol Activities, Non-Emergency Incident Response, EmergencyIncident Response, and CriminalInvestigation.

• The department extended each of the train-ing phases by one week for a total 19-weekpolice training program (four four-week train-ing phases, a one-week Mid-Term Evaluation,and a two-week Final Evaluation).

33

Richmond Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• 2.5 years of service at Richmond PD

• Assignment to the Patrol Bureau

• A score of “Standard” or above in all cate-gories on the two most recent evaluations

• A high degree of initiative and motivation,including willingness to work extendedhours

• Demonstrated abilities in

■ interpersonal skills and teaching

■ prioritization of departmental demandsand commitments

■ conducting preliminary investigations

■ writing clear and concise reports

• No substantiated force, racially abusiveconduct, or sexual harassment complaintsin the past two years

Richmond Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• A department-wide announcement is made.

• The candidate submits a request forconsideration, endorsed by directsupervisor, Division Commander, andBureau Commander.

• A PTO Selection Committee of PTOCoordinator, Training Sergeant, and atleast one PTO is convened. This group

■ Reviews requests and files

■ Interviews applicants

• A list of successful applicants is forwardedto the Chief for a final decision.

case studies



• One-week Mid-Term Evaluation was basedon Core Competencies and included atrainee self-evaluation interview compo-nent.

• One-week shadow-oriented FinalEvaluation was extended to two weeks.The Final Evaluation was used to deter-mine comprehension, application, andsynthesis of the 15 Core Competencies.

• The Board of Evaluators (BOE) evaluatedthe trainers, trainees’ progress, and theoverall program operation. The BOE alsowas used at the request of PTO staff torecommend remedial training measures.


• Chief Joseph Samuels, Jr., had the PTOspresent him with a case for switching tothe program after they had undergonePTO training. He then championed initial

program exploration. Project leadershipresponsibility was transferred from theChief to the trainers who were motivatedto make the program work.

• To minimize internal resistance to the pro-gram and to help supervisors understandthe trainee balance between completingthe training components and answeringcalls for service, PTOs made presentationsto each patrol team and first-line supervi-sors. The PTOs also invited PatrolSergeants to attend the second PTO train-ing course. Further, each PTO took thetime to describe the program to other offi-cers in the department when asked.

• PTO group cohesion greatly benefitedfrom dedicating one officer as a full-timePTO Coordinator.

• The PTOs met weekly to maintain enthusi-asm and to share information on trainees’progress and issues.

• PTOs used the Learning Matrix and the“Course Development Problem” from thePTO training as tools for teaching theirtrainees.

• The department found the new program tobe flexible. It allowed trainers and traineesto address training issues effectively.

• Journals were used on a daily basis, andthey provided a strong record of referencefor both PTOs and trainees.

• PTOs noticed trainees applying Problem-Based Learning Exercises (PBLEs) to dailycalls for service.

• Training officers decided to create “essen-tial learning packages” corresponding tophase themes to encourage trainees tostudy areas that the PTOs felt should beemphasized.

• New officers are demonstrating job profi-ciency and problem-solving skills.

Command Structure

• Location – Patrol Division

• Command Responsibility – Patrol BureauCommander

• Program Management – One full-timepolice officer is the Program Coordinatorsupervised by the Administrative TrainingSergeant.

• Personnel Structure – PTOs report to theteam Sergeant and to the PTO ProgramCoordinator.

• A Probation Review Board already in exis-tence prior to the program served as theBoard of Evaluators and was composed ofa PTO Coordinator, an AdministrativeTraining Sergeant, three PTO-trainedSergeants, a Patrol Bureau Lieutenant, aPatrol Bureau Commander, two officers,and an active PTO.

34

charlotte-mecklenburg pd


C harlotte-Mecklenburg is locatedalong North Carolina’s southern bor-der and just hours from the Blue

Ridge Mountains to the West and theAtlantic Ocean to the East. It is a major U.S.banking center and has an international air-port. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg PoliceDepartment is the largest local law enforce-ment agency between Washington, D.C. andMiami, Florida. It polices the fifth largesturban region in the United States, with apopulation of 600,000 in the City ofCharlotte and a population of 740,000 whencombined with the residents of MecklenburgCounty. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg PoliceDepartment polices this area with a force ofapproximately 1,535 sworn officers. Thelarge area policed by the department isdivided into six service areas. Each servicearea contains two districts, which are furtherdivided into multiple response areas.

Community-oriented policing and problemsolving (COPPS) is included in the depart-ment’s mission statement. COPPS perme-ates academy training, and all officers areexpected to practice community policingand to complete problem-oriented policinginitiatives. Additionally, certain officers areassigned exclusively to community policingduties.

The initiative for the change to the PoliceTraining Officer (PTO) program came fromsenior management. The department had

been using a 12-week field training programbased on the San Jose Model, modified toinclude a problem-oriented policing (POP)project as a task on the Daily ObservationReport. Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s FieldTraining Officers (FTOs) had all receivedCOPPS training, and each officer had beenincorporating it into field training as she orhe saw fit. Many were relying more heavilyon the comment portion of the DailyObservation Report than on the checklist toevaluate trainees.


• Charlotte-Mecklenburg runs its own 26-week training academy. Academy trainingis continuous and not split with segmentsof street training.

• The academy graduates three classes peryear, providing the department withbetween 20 and 40 new officers per class.

• Recruits receive 80 hours of COPPSinstruction in the academy, and they mustcomplete a community project before theygraduate.

PTO Program

Selection

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg chose PTOs fromeach of its 12 patrol districts.

• Of the officers trained as PTOs, approxi-mately 60 percent had previously servedas FTOs.

601 East Trade StreetCharlotte, NC 28202

Chief of Police:Darrel Stephens

Key contact:Sergeant Brian [email protected]

the charlotte-mecklenburg (nc) police department

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case studies


Incentives

• Pay increases of 3 percent offered underthe FTO program were changed to 5 per-cent.

• The department is considering the addi-tional incentives of take-home cars andfirst preference for training opportunities.

• “PTO of the Year” Award was instituted togenerate enthusiasm.

PTO Training

• Three PTO training sessions were held forthe Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD.

• Each training lasted five days, with allthree 40-hour trainings held over a periodof six weeks.

• Eighty-four PTOs were trained, as were 12Sergeants—one per district—and somemembers of the Training Academy staff.

• The Chief and the Command staff cameby to observe segments of training.

Program Structure

• The approximately 50 trainees forming thepilot class were assigned to districtsaccording to the current staffing allocations.

• Shift scheduling varied by district, withsome districts attempting to keep traineesoff third shift (i.e., night shift) to ensure thatthey could complete the community inter-action components in the program. Manytrainees were assigned to day shift.

• The majority of trainees remained in a sin-gle assigned district throughout the pro-gram. In the event that a district did nothave a sufficient number of PTOs avail-able, a PTO from a neighboring districtwould voluntarily transfer to the trainingdistrict to accommodate the additionaltraining needs.

• Program phases were not switched fromthe then-established order (Non-Emergency Incident Response, EmergencyIncident Response, Patrol Activities,Criminal Investigation), unless an excellenttraining opportunity arose in a differentphase.

• Sergeants in each district were in chargeof program operation, and they attemptedto coordinate implementation by meetingtogether monthly.


• PTOs trade recruits during the evaluationphases, and then function as PTEs.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s PTO Selection Criteria:

• Acceptable prior personnel evaluations andratings from direct supervisors

• Three years of service with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD

• Disciplinary record for the past five years is considered

• Letter of intent explaining reasons for wanting to become a PTO

• Written recommendation from a currentPTO

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s PTO Selection Process:

• Department-wide announcement wasmade.

• All previous FTOs were relieved of training duties and invited to submit formal applications, as were potential new trainers, for the position of PTO.

• PTOs within each district were originallyselected by each district’s Sergeants andCommanders. PTOs are still selected within districts, but the selections are made by the Captain, the PTO Sergeant,and the current PTOs of that district.

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charlotte-mecklenburg pd


• Charlotte-Mecklenburg added a drivingevaluation to each of the four programphases but later reduced the number ofdriving evaluations to two; these occurduring each of the two evaluation periods.

• Week-long Mid-Term and Final Evaluationsare conducted.

• The Learning Matrix is used as a referenceguide for evaluations. The Problem-BasedLearning Exercises (PBLEs), Coaching andTraining Reports (CTRs), and NPEs also areused as evaluation tools to measure theprogress of the trainees throughout thetraining phase.


• Key components of success were com-mand staff support and central programorganization.

• Sergeants met weekly with their divisionalPTOs. PTOs also began meeting amongthemselves to exchange information infor-mally as a learning cohort.

• PTOs found that they were well supportedin instances where trainees were recom-mended for termination. The supportcame from senior personnel trained in theprogram and from a range of evaluationinstruments, including trainee reflectionson self-evaluations.

• Time management

• The department has integrated into itsComputer-Aided Dispatch System theability of a trainee to “check-out” whilehe or she is completing the CTR.

• Initially, CTRs took trainees three tosix hours to complete, but traineesimproved as training progressed. Asa time-management component,PTOs now dispense with the CTR onweeks where the trainee is preparingthe Problem Based Learning Exercisefor a phase.

• For trainees who are lateral transfers fromother departments, scheduling post-acad-emy training is difficult due to part-dayattendance in the academy and part-daypatrol assignment. To remedy the prob-lem, laterals complete Phase A in theacademy, and the remainder of the pro-gram is completed post-academy.

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg PTOs heavilyemphasize journal writing with traineesand reference the Learning Matrix for alldaily activities. The journals functioned asan icebreaker and enhanced learning.

• The Problem-Based Learning Exerciseshave proved an excellent learning experi-ence for trainees. Most districts have nowmodified the PBLEs to fit their unique envi-ronment.

• The department found that new trainerswere more receptive to the PTO programthan were trainers who had been FTOs.

Command Structure

• Location – District

• Command Responsibility ■ Program Commander■ Service Area Major■ District Commander (Captain)■ PTO Program Coordinator

• Program Management – PTO-trained DistrictSergeant

• Personnel Structure – Seven PTOs per districtreport to the PTO-trained Sergeant.

• Board of Evaluators (BOE) – The BOE within eachdistrict is composed of the Service Area Major, theDistrict Commander, the PTO Sergeant, and allPTOs and Police Training Evaluators (PTEs). Theymeet to discuss training issues, to evaluate theNeighborhood Portfolio Exercises (NPEs), and tomake final recommendations regarding whether atrainee is ready for solo status, needs remedial train-ing, or needs to be terminated.

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lessonslearned

lessons learned


T he experiences of the six pilot agencies described in theprevious section were critical to the development of the final PoliceTraining Officer (PTO) program. Most importantly, the piloting

process proved that the new model for field training could be successful-ly implemented in a variety of departments and produce high-qualityofficers ready to serve their communities. The piloting process alsoshowed that the program was flexible—allowing agencies to tailor it totheir own circumstances. Summarized here are some of the lessonslearned, lessons that will be helpful to other agencies that choose toimplement the PTO program.

personnel/management• Adopting a new training program, such as the Reno Model, requires

commitment at all levels of the organization. The most successfulapproach is to assign to program positions a cadre of individuals whoboth support the concept and have credibility with officers.

• Agencies experienced greater success wheneveryone in the program was clear about theirroles and responsibilities and everyone under-stood the structure of the program.

• Agencies experienced greater success whenthey provided in-service training for supervi-sors and mid-managers who were not directlyinvolved in the PTO program so that theycould become familiar with the program andsupport it.

• Agencies experienced greater success whenthey held weekly or bi-weekly meetings ofPTO supervisors and trainers. These meet-ings helped to standardize implementation of the program, and theyhelped the Police Training Officers to be more prepared and feel moreconfident. Agencies that did not have these meetings experiencedless cohesion among personnel and more implementation obstacles.

• Program supervisors have a great impact on the extent to which pro-gram learning components are emphasized and promoted. If a pro-gram component—such as the Problem-Based Learning Exercise(PBLE), journal writing, or the Learning Matrix—is downplayed by

lessons learned


supervisors, PTOs are unlikely to execute that program componentand, as a result, learning opportunities are lost. Agencies experiencedgreater success when they emphasized and utilized all learningcomponents.

• Agencies experienced greater success when they used their Board ofEvaluators (BOE) to its full potential. The BOE could identify trainerand trainee issues, identify programmatic/procedural issues, conductexit interviews to produce feedback on the process, and determinewhether a trainee needed remedial training or to be terminated.

• Although the Learning Matrix can and should be customized to reflectan agency’s special circumstances and needs, the pilot agencies foundthat the universal matrix created as part of the PTO Program fit thegeneral needs of each agency.

• Agencies found that, relatively quickly, they needed to train a secondgroup of PTOs. The lesson learned is to have an ample stock of trainedPTOs (and, ideally, trainers on staff who can train more) before imple-mentation. Agencies learned they should forecast staff turnover (e.g.,losing trainers due to attrition, transfer) to minimize program disruption.

phases• Agencies ordered the four programmatic phases of the PTO program

(Non-Emergency Incident Response, Emergency Incident Response,Patrol Activities, and Criminal Investigation) in different ways, but theydetermined that it was not advisable to begin training with theEmergency Incident Response phase. Starting with one of the otherphases built the necessary confidence for trainees, so that later, whenthey received the emergency response training, they felt moreprepared.

• Agencies experienced greater success when they allowed the pro-grammatic phases to be flexible with regard to the content covered.For instance, an emergency response topic might be introduced duringthe Non-Emergency Incident Response phase as a result of a relevantincident. Even though the current phase is the trainer’s primary focus,every opportunity to train should be explored.

lessons learned


learning components/methods• Problem-based learning (PBL) is an excellent training method for law

enforcement. Initially, the method’s lack of structure makes traineesfeel uncomfortable, but the purpose and payoff of their dissonancebecome clear as training moves forward. The PBL method can beadjusted to fit the trainers and trainees. As a case in point, sometrainees and trainers never became comfortable with the unstructureddelivery, believing that more structure was preferable. At least onedepartment has implemented a more structured approach.

• Agencies experienced greater successwhen they spaced out the PTO program’sassignments—for example, NeighborhoodPortfolio Exercises (NPEs) and PBLEs—over time, instead of saving them until theend of a phase or the end of the program.If PTOs delayed asking the recruits tocomplete the NPEs and PBLEs until theend of a phase, the trainees tended tocomplete them quickly all at once as tasksand not gradually as learning tools. Manylearning opportunities were missed by notdoing these assignments over the courseof the program; daily activities contributeto the assignment, and the assignmentsinform daily learning, in turn.

• Agencies experienced greater success when their trainees wrote intheir journals. The trainees in these agencies were encouraged byPTOs who provided guidance in how to use the journal and explainedits purpose.

• Agencies experienced greater success when they allowed theirtrainees time to return to the station to complete assignments. Thisensured that the assignments weren’t rushed at the end of a phase ordropped entirely. The program assignments are time-consuming.Agencies that tried to lessen this burden by removing elements of theprogram or by making the elements part of academy training ratherthan post-academy training found that learning opportunities were lostor aspects of the training were not communicated. Some agencies,however, determined that it was effective to explain to academy

lessons learned


students the forthcoming PTO training; they would introduce PTO pro-gram assignments in the academy, but they would not require studentsto complete them at that time. Trainees then emerged from the acade-my familiar with the structure and content of their forthcoming PTOtraining, providing an important continuity between academy and in-field training.

• The Neighborhood Portfolio Exercise was very positively received bytrainers and trainees in the pilot agencies. Agencies reported thattrainees experienced accelerated learning about neighborhoods, localgovernment, and community resources, and they developed excellentnetworks.

evaluation• Agencies experienced greater success when they used the Learning

Matrix to guide evaluation of the trainees. Evaluations based on out-comes were found to be superior to traditional evaluations based ontask standards. The matrix was particularly useful for identifying rea-sons a trainee was experiencing problems.

outcomes• The attrition rate of trainees in the PTO program was similar to that

associated with the traditional field training program. Interestingly,however, the type of officer who failed the two programs was different.Under the San Jose Model, trainees failed who thought creatively orwho did not excel with rote learning methods; under the Reno Model,trainees failed who were too regimented and could not think analytical-ly or outside the box.

• Agencies found that the PTO program produced quality recruits. Therecruits were resourceful, willing to take risks, and more willing to inter-act with senior officers than were the recruits who had completed pre-vious post-academy training programs.

implementationresources

implementationresources

T he implementation of the PTO program in the six pilot siteswas tremendously important to the development of the newmodel. Each agency—impressive in its willingness to implement an

untested training program—helped the project team enhance the qualityof the program and make adjustments to ensure smooth implementationin real-life conditions. As the case studies and “lessons learned” makeclear, the model can be adapted to the needs, priorities, and structure ofthe implementing agency. The PTO program was not uniform as imple-mented by the six pilot agencies; each one customized the program toproduce the best fit.

What is uniform across the pilot agencies is their success at producinghigh-quality officers to serve their communities. Officers trained in thePTO program are not only proficient in the basic skills required of lawenforcement personnel, they also are oriented toward the communitiesthey serve, able to partner with key stakeholders, and able and willing tothink analytically to solve problems.

To implement the PTO program, an agency should have one or moreagency trainers receive instructor courses in PTO and PBL. It is alsodesirable for these same employees to sit through the 40-hour PTOcourse being conducted at another agency to become fully familiar withthe content and methods.

Web-based resources are available to agencies that want to implementthis new program. Guides developed by the Reno/PERF team include the

• PTO Manual to guide agencies implementing the program and thePTO Officers who train academy graduates,

• Trainee Manual for use by academy graduates undergoing PTOtraining, and

• Training Standard for use in training PTOs.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services has also funded thedevelopment of an Instructor Development course in problem-basedlearning.

All documents are available for downloading in PDF-format on the web-sites of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (atwww.cops.usdoj.gov) and PERF (at www.policeforum.org). Thesefiles can be used by agencies to produce multiple copies for personnel.Additional information is available at these sites regarding instructor-development courses. These include courses for instructors on bothPTO and PBL.


implementation resources

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Learning Manual for Training and Evaluating Police Trainees · (NV) Police Department, Savannah...

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