FCPD Field Training Officer Program Manual.scanned

Florida City Police Department FTO Program Manual POLICE 1915 FLORIDA CITY FOREWORD The purpose of the Field Training Program Manual and Guide is to provide a standardized program to guide recruit police officers and lateral experienced officers joining the Florida City Police Department, and Field Training Officers (FTOS) in the initial orientation and field training of newly assigned patrol officers. The program is designed to assist these officers in making the transition from what they learned in the academy and during any prior police experience to performing general law enforcement patrol duties competently in the field with the Florida City Police Department. This Field Training Program Manual and Guide is the textbook of the Field Training Program. It is a compilation of a comprehensive effort of design and review. This most recent revision is in part based on the model program authored by the Florida Criminal Justice Commission, Standards and Training. The mission of the Florida Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training is to continually enhance the professionalism of Florida law enforcement in serving its communities. The Field Training Officer is a critical component of the Field Training Program. It is the primary responsibility of the FTO to facilitate this transition process by supervising, training, and evaluating recruit officers in the initial application of their previously acquired knowledge and skills. This manual serves as an instrument to assist the FTOs in thoroughly and properly completing their task of training and evaluation. This standardized program is an accumulation of the best aspects of existing field training programs and is designed with the following criteria in mind: Defensible/Fair - The program achieves defensibility and fairness by proper selection of FTOs, a trainee feedback mechanism, a comprehensive list of training tasks and goals, and a standardized evaluation process. Adaptable/Flexible - The program is adaptable to changing policies and procedures. Flexibility is afforded by incorporating agency-specific policies and procedures along with POST objectives. The Field Training and Evaluation Program is designed to achieve the following goals: To produce a competent peace officer capable of working a solo patrol assignment in a safe, skillful, productive, and professional manner. To provide standardized training to all newly assigned regular officers in the practical application of learned information. To provide clear standards for rating and evaluation which give all trainees every reasonable opportunity to succeed. To enhance the professionalism, job skills, and ethical standards of the law enforcement community and the Florida City Police Department. 1 FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM COMMITTEE Field Training Program Coordinator, Lieutenant James R. Butts Jr. Committee: Officer Jermaine Brodie, Program Supervisor Officer Richard Brown Officer Mira Baker Officer Deron Joy Officer Jose Ortiz 2 PART I PROGRAM ORIENTATION 3 FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW The Field Training Program is intended to facilitate a peace officer's transition from the academic setting to the performance of general law enforcement patrol duties of the Florida City Police Department. Although an officer graduating from the Regular Basic Course (Academy) has received a thorough introduction to basic law enforcement subjects, that officer cannot be expected to immediately assume the full responsibilities of an experienced officer. Newly assigned officers must receive additional training in the field where they can learn from officers who have already gained a great deal of practical patrol experience. The Field Training Program introduces a newly assigned officer to the personnel, procedures, policies, and purposes of the Florida City Police Department and provides the initial formal and informal training specific to the department and the day-to-day duties of its officers. In addition, the Field Training Program facilitates the transition of experienced lateral officers who have a foundation of police experience and who are joining the Florida City Police Department to continue with their career. Over the course of the program, new officers are assigned to Field Training Officers (FTOs). The FTO is an experienced officer specifically selected and trained to conduct this type of training. It is the responsibility of the FTO to thoroughly review the field training guide materials with the newly assigned officer (henceforth referred to as the recruit officer) and to demonstrate proper professional skills. Recruit officers will be required to perform various, law enforcement and police service duties under the guidance and supervision of their assigned FTO and Shift Supervisor. With few exceptions, the recruit officer's performance will be evaluated daily by the FTO and monitored by the Shift Supervisor through daily observation reports (DORS). This one-on-one style of training, coupled with the fact that the trainers must guide the training in real law enforcement situations, sets it apart from any prior academic endeavor. Field training has a significant impact on the individual recruit officer in terms of imprinting attitudes, style, values, and ethics in carrying out the duties of policing that will remain throughout a career. Because of this, it is probably the most effective influence on the future direction of this agency. The Chief of Police and the Field Training Program Supervisor must, therefore, be certain that the field training program which introduces officers to the agency not only develops the necessary technical skills but also reflects the policing philosophy of this department and the Florida City community. The field training staff has the monumental responsibility of building the future of the Florida City Police Department through the people they train. To assure success in this task, the field training program must have a training philosophy that ensures that every recruit officer is given the maximum opportunity to show that he or she can do the job. To accomplish this, the program must create a positive environment in which learning is maximized and in which recruit officers are able 4 to perform to the best of their ability. The approach must be fair, firm, friendly, and, above all, professional. The example