Linking Educational Institutions with Police Officer Training Programs

Abstract

Community partnerships that are formed through Community Oriented Policing help to assist law enforcement officers with academy education and post academy education. The training offered in the academy and the post academy Field Training Officer Program traditionally places little to no emphasis on critical thinking, professional self-regulation, communication skills or problem-based learning. In the last several years a new approach has been spawned. The Police Training Officer Program (PTO) is an innovative form of education that focuses on problem based learning for post academy graduates. The PTO Program emphasizes adult education, problem solving, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution. This education is necessary to assist officers in de-escalation strategies within their communities and can lend to the reduction of civil disturbances. However, currently, relatively few agencies are offering this education to their post academy graduates and none are offering it to their academy recruits due, in part, to a lack of qualified instructors. PTO instructors must be proficient and fully trained in problem based learning techniques. Through Community Oriented Policing, law enforcement agencies can address this instructor shortage by partnering with university educational institutions to secure instructors who are competent in andragogy, critical thinking, and problem-based learning.