Becoming a Police Trainer/Teacher

[MikeyD]

Has anyone here transitioned into training/teaching prospective officers? How long did you work on the force before you started teaching? What would be an average amount of years of experience an officer would need on the force before becoming a teacher?

[retdetsgt]

Are you talking about being a field training officer or teaching in a formal classroom environment?

We like FTO's to have a minimum of three years, but prefer closer to 5.

I don't know of anyone who does formal training with less than 7 or 8 years on, usually more unless they had demonstrated a remarkable expertise in the subject they're teaching. I had about 13 years on before I was asked to teach in the academy. Most people I knew doing it probably had about that much or more.

[Kimble]

On the job education (especially in gov't jobs, like law enforcement) prefer to use the term "training" vice "teaching." Teaching is what you do in a static classroom environment, training can be done in a classroom but can also be more practical hands-on education and in the field.

As retdetsgt said, you need to clarify whether you mean a field training officer (i.e. an officer that does follow-up, in-the-field training to rookies fresh out of the academy) or academy training. I recently changed agencies but was a firearms instructor at my last agency (and while I had under a year on when I was made one, I had 3 prior years in LE with other agencies when I was selected).

[retdetsgt]

I recently changed agencies but was a firearms instructor at my last agency (and while I had under a year on when I was made one, I had 3 prior years in LE with other agencies when I was selected).

That wouldn't have happened here and it has nothing to do with your ability to do the job. It's a culture thing. They figure a 15 year vet isn't going to appreciate being told what to do by someone with three years on. People here need at least 5 years on before they really get much respect. And it's not because people don't think you know what you're doing, it's just that most feel you need to "make your bones" before you're given a nice job like that. I'm not defending that attitude, but it is what it is.

[Samuel]

Has anyone here transitioned into training/teaching prospective officers? How long did you work on the force before you started teaching? What would be an average amount of years of experience an officer would need on the force before becoming a teacher?

Depends on a lot of things - YMMV - and, unfortunately, sometimes what is "needed" is NOTHING related to Ability, Experience, Knowledge, or Merit...

[Kimble]

That wouldn't have happened here and it has nothing to do with your ability to do the job. It's a culture thing. They figure a 15 year vet isn't going to appreciate being told what to do by someone with three years on. People here need at least 5 years on before they really get much respect... I'm not defending that attitude, but it is what it is.

Culture is VERY different at fed agencies (across the board in my experience) from local/state LE. At the fed you can find more responsibility thrown at you earlier on, but you also often experience less camaraderie and "brotherhood."

Of 4 agencies I've worked for, 2 had cultures like what you describe. Also common for some older officers/agents to not speak much (and in some cases outright ignore) to new folks until the have ~5 yrs on. Frankly I find it B.S., but it seems fairly common nonetheless.

[retdetsgt]

Of 4 agencies I've worked for, 2 had cultures like what you describe. Also common for some older officers/agents to not speak much (and in some cases outright ignore) to new folks until the have ~5 yrs on. Frankly I find it B.S., but it seems fairly common nonetheless.

Ours aren't that extreme, but I think it's more thinking that the people who have been on the street for more years deserve the shot at being an instructor more than someone who's only been doing it for a few. As I said, paying your dues.

And to be honest, a lot of young cops (me included at that stage) have a bit of an inflated self image. Kind of like being a teenager, looking back on it I see that I didn't know nearly as much back then as I thought I did. I did a lot of good work at that stage, but I also did a hell of a lot of dumb things too.

A couple of years before I retired, another Sgt about my age and I got on the elevator at work with two young uniform cops. They were just agog and acting silly over making some minor street cocaine arrest. It was like they had just found another French Connection or something and it was just a pissy little amount. A couple of old beat cops I know downtown make three or four of those arrests a week.

The other Sgt rolled his eyes and one of the young cops saw him and was obviously pissed. When they got off I told him, "We are now the people we used to hold in contempt." Making one of them a firearms instructor would be a huge mistake at this point.

And I wish I had a dollar every time some old cop looked at me out of the corner of his eye and either grinned or sneered my first few years. And looking back, I sure know why now! But I also have to give my old department credit in that rookies aren't subjected to practical jokes and you're really not screwed with just because of your lack of tenure. But people let you know when you've been an idiot. I still have a lot of fondness for some of the old guys (with 6 or 7 years LOL) when I was new that took me by the nape of the neck and didn't give me a ration of sh!t, but explained to me how I could have done something better. We were treated okay, but it was clear they didn't want to hang out with us! But after a few years of settling down and doing some good, solid police work, I was accepted and that meant a lot to me. You can't beat earned respect.

[Joeyd6]

I became a firearms instructor with a little over a year on at a federal agency, howevere I did have about 7 years of other LEO experience from outside that agency before that.

I can say this.....fed agencies are a lot smaller than some state and local the canidate pool for instructors is more about who wants to do the job (which is typically an added duty to your normal work load with no extra pay), who has a passion for the subject and who is competant enough to learn it,/pass training and has the ability to teach it.

We had a few older folks on the range nearing retirement who "knew it all" since they were on the job before I was born. Their qual scores did not show it. I gave them the advice they needed. A few took it and improved and realized the kid knows his crap. A few didn't. Their scores were submitted without any extra "help." They talked about the "brotherhood" and other stuff....yet when I threw back as a brother they need to have my back, and being able to shoot is one of those things, they had nothing to say. After a second quarter of not listening to my advice and poor scores, HQ advised them they were going back to FLETC for a week for a refresher class. All in their late 50's came running to me, asking me to help them and re-qual them and get them out of going to the class. I did...they listened....they didn't have to go. I don't believe time on the job makes a good instructor. Don't get me wrong...it helps...but I think theres other things that contribute.

[retdetsgt]

I don't believe time on the job makes a good instructor. Don't get me wrong...it helps...but I think theres other things that contribute.

Me neither. We had some former Marines that were great firearms instructors and would have been from day one. The issue with us is that it's a coveted position and you need to put in some time to earn it.

We have a lot of people that are qualified to be instructors and a lot want the job. We just think the guys who have put some time on the street should get first crack at it.

[mcsap]

I became an FTO with 4 years on. I didn't ask for it and they didn't send me to any kind of training ( until about 5 years later). I ended up training 8 officers , 3 of whom became Sgt's

Of course my own FTO was about 2 1/2 weeks followed by about 2 weeks on the road by myself and then I went to the 12 week academy.

[retdetsgt]

Same here, I became an FTO at three years because we had a ton of new hires and not enough FTO's to go around. I guess I must have had 4 or 5 over the next 8 years until I was promoted. I trained about that many detectives over the years too. We have a training program for them too, they just aren't handed a new badge and a stack of cases.

I was never on my own before academy, but I was hired in May and didn't start the academy until September. I had two FTO's by then. I had one more after I finished the academy and then was on my own. Now, fortunately no one works until they've finished both the state academy of 12 weeks and our advanced academy of 4 weeks. Our training, both initial and in service has improved tremendously since 1970 when I started.

[MikeyD]

Are you talking about being a field training officer or teaching in a formal classroom environment?

We like FTO's to have a minimum of three years, but prefer closer to 5.

I don't know of anyone who does formal training with less than 7 or 8 years on, usually more unless they had demonstrated a remarkable expertise in the subject they're teaching. I had about 13 years on before I was asked to teach in the academy. Most people I knew doing it probably had about that much or more.

Thanks for the reply! I'm primarily asking about teaching in a classroom environment. No field training, just strictly teaching theory in the classroom to prospective cops.

[MikeG]

My .02 which is about 0.03 more than it's worth. BTDT is worth more than anything. I could probably be a pretty good forensic computer person but it would only be a non-sworn position because of the progressive nature of being a sworn officer. I have a buddy that is high-up in maryland state police and is still non-sworn because that requires the progressive movement of the sworn ranks. He has as a code white security clearance and combat tours but sworn BTDT experience is what is desired. The powers that be make those rules for reasons they believe are important and I defer to their experience so if you aspire to be a certain sworn officers, start at the bottom.

[Samuel]

Thanks for the reply! I'm primarily asking about teaching in a classroom environment. No field training, just strictly teaching theory in the classroom to prospective cops.

theory about what?

[oscarmitre]

Thanks for the reply! I'm primarily asking about teaching in a classroom environment. No field training, just strictly teaching theory in the classroom to prospective cops.

There are a lot of issues that come up from your query MikeyD. Some have been addressed by Kimble and retdetsgt and I think you can see that there are no hard and fast rules on the issue. But as an aside there are a few things that come to my mind about your question.

1.An Academy (or in-service) instructor without significant field experience is not going to be taken seriously by trainees. that's not a departmental requirement, that's part of the culture. We think that trainees are fairly untutored and forget that their BS detectors are in good working order. No point in an inexperienced officer using war stores (theirs or others borrowed for the occasion) to bolster their reputation either; the trainees and probably other instructors, will see through the attempt. So, from that you can probably see that someone would need a number of years of operational experience to be able to teach/train recruits in aspects of policing. As you are probably aware it's possible to teach from a lesson plan but the learning experience for the learners will be anaemic. A good teacher will call upon their own abilities to flesh out a lesson and while a lesson plan is good (I find they keep me from going off on a tangent) they cannot replace the ability of a good instructor to make a lesson live (that's "live" as in "living" for learners.

2. If someone joins the police to become an instructor then they're going about it the wrong way. Best they get some university qualifications and try teaching at university or community college or similar. Joining the police means being a cop and whatever assignment someone is given at any time can be taken away and they can be sent back out on the road, which is the core function of a police officer anyway.

3. I've worked with a lot of excellent cops who were average instructors and worked with some excellent instructors who were average cops. Don't ask me which category I was in, modesty prevents me from mentioning it (and the peer pressure from others on the forums would have a tiny bit to do with it as well....). There is more benefit to a learner from having an average cop with excellent teaching skills than the former. Excellent cops are an amazing resource for learners and indeed for instructors, but - to turn G.B.Shaw's famous, if slightly dismissive aphorism on it's head, if those who can do and those who can't, teach, then perhaps those who can should keep on doing it and benefiting the job that way.

4. You have to have a love of learning to be a good instructor. That doesn't mean standing up in front of a class and being a general blowhard. There are many ways of facilitating learning and they range from the good old "information transmission" model (didactic) to the facilitating guide who allows learners to learn. In truth any instructor must be able to use all teaching/learning methods and not fall back on one, it's limiting for their professional practice but it's also a major bore for learners.

5. Did I mention you need substantial experience in the job before taking on an instructional role?

I did, okay, I think I'm finished then.

Heck I did that without a lesson plan.

Things are looking up.