Community policing tactics and police training has taken on renewed importance amid recent social unrest over incidents of police violence.
Today, police officers handle a wide range of situations from taking routine traffic reports to more complicated incidents such as criminal activity, substance abuse, homelessness, and mental illness. And clearly, proper training is the bedrock of any police program. And this is particularly important during a time when involving law enforcement and persons of color have resulted in lost lives, social unrest, and the trust between citizens and the police becoming further frayed.
As a result, state legislatures in 2020 began crafting bills to address common-sense police reform, with many calling for as a cornerstone to building back that trust and creating a foundation of ethical policing and improved community relations.
The importance of the FTO program
As with many jobs, after recruits graduate from 鈥渃ollege鈥� 鈥� often in this case, the police academy 鈥� they move into the next step of their careers: intensive on-the-job training known as the Field Training Officer (FTO) program. This is perhaps the most important time in an officer鈥檚 educational development and the seminal moment to instill solid, community policing practices.
The FTO programs help bridge the gap between the classroom and the practical applications on the street by building a foundation for new officers that can have on police departments, communities, and other officers.
San Francisco Police Lieutenant Tracy McCray, an officer with more than two decades of experience on the force and 20 years as an FTO, says the FTO program is vital to prepare officers and allow them to be observed as they learn. 鈥淭here needs to be an evaluation and assessment period of the new officer,鈥� McCray says, adding that in the FTO program trainees gets first-hand experience of what they had previously only read about or seen in a classroom. The goal is to train new officers by pairing them with training officers in the field so the recruits will eventually be prepared to function for solo patrol duty.
鈥淵ou have to have a lot of patience with rookie officers,鈥� McCray says. 鈥淎dults all learn in different ways.鈥� Despite the challenges, the rewards are endless, she adds, and when she 鈥渟ees the light bulb go on鈥� for a trainee, it is very fulfilling. 鈥淵ou know you鈥檝e made a difference when you see the officer move on and help others.鈥�
The FTO program can make a big impact on how trainee police officers understands their responsibilities and prepare for a prolonged career in law enforcement, explains McCray. 鈥淲e try to expose the new recruits to different variables including working different shifts, at night and during the day,鈥� she says. And today, recruits are getting constant feedback from the digital landscape of the community with the like cell phone cameras and websites such , a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods.
Training community policing
Learning the foundations of ethical policing at the beginning is crucial, McCray says. 鈥淛ust start off doing the right thing and you won鈥檛 have to worry about anything else,鈥� she explains, adding that it鈥檚 also vital to instill leadership skills into the police trainee early in the process. She emphasizes the importance of treating everyone the same, not matter in which part of the community they live. It鈥檚 also important for officers to remember that some citizens have had a variety of experiences in life, including traumas caused by interaction with the police. 鈥淚 want officers to take others鈥� life experiences into account,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou are in a service industry and the trainee should not forget that.鈥�
鈥淚 want officers to take others鈥� life experiences into account. You are in a service industry and the trainee should not forget that.鈥�
鈥� SF Police Lt. Tracy McCray
New officers also should be taught to proactively speak up if you see a fellow officer doing something that doesn鈥檛 feel right, like what happened in the incident with George Floyd鈥檚 murder in 2020. McCray says she challenges the idea of a 鈥渂lue wall of silence鈥� and tells new officers, this is your scene, you鈥檙e in charge, and you must speak up if you see any sort of malfeasance. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 some 1970鈥檚 cop show,鈥� she adds. 鈥淵ou want to go home at the end of your shift with everything intact including your integrity.鈥�
How to evaluate a new police officer
Throughout the FTO program, McCray says her goal is to train quality police officers; however, some people may not have the personality or life experiences to handle the stress of the job. While McCray admits that some critics have said she is tough on new recruits in the program 鈥� the retention rate for new officers was a 鈥渓ow 68%鈥� 鈥� she says she believes it is important to identify if a person isn鈥檛 ready to be a cop. 鈥淵ou might be a nice person, but this job isn鈥檛 for you, and someone has to tell you that.鈥�
For example, some of the reasons a recruit might not pass the FTO program, most commonly include: i) fear for the recruit鈥檚 safety and the safety of others; ii) recruit does not follow proper police procedure (i.e., rules, general orders of the departments, and applicable laws); and iii) recruit fails to complete appropriate paperwork in a timely, concise, and acceptable manner.
The idea that a recruit can鈥檛 cut it can be hard for the new officer to hear, but it鈥檚 better for the safety of the community for the recruit to find out sooner. Sometimes the officer might just need more life experience or training outside of the force; other times, it is just not the right job for the person. And McCray isn鈥檛 shy about vocalizing that. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing a greater service by letting the new officer know now, rather than allowing them to potentially go out onto the street and hurt people,鈥� she says.
At the end of the 16-week FTO program, McCray says that supervising officers should evaluate their trainees on the following criteria:
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- Does the recruit perform competently on a consistent basis (with occasional, isolated, non-critical mistakes)?
- Does the recruit require immediate supervision by an FTO or are they competent enough to safely be on patrol without a partner?
- Is the supervising officer comfortable with the recruit working competently 鈥渙n their own鈥� with fellow officers?
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There are other observable factors as well. While a trainee might be incredibly intelligent, this job requires emotional intelligence much more than academic intelligence. And common sense is an essential asset the trainee must possess 鈥� and one that often cannot be learned in 16 weeks. 鈥淐ommon sense goes a long way 鈥� a person may be incredibly book smart but lack people skills.鈥�
Indeed, police work requires constant learning and growing. New police officers will make mistakes, of course, but it is how they look at those mistakes and develop over time that indicates whether they will be a successful public servant to their community, according to McCray. 鈥淲e鈥檙e humans, so we鈥檙e going to make errors, but can we learn from that situation the next time it comes up?鈥�
