Assessing the Police – Part 8 - Field Training Officers and Programs

Perhaps no other police program has as wide an impact on the reputation and overall effectiveness of a department as the Field Training Program. As a result, every police department must have a valid and reliable FTO program certified by the California Police Officers Standards and Training Commission pursuant to regulation 1005 and procedure D-13. POST considers the field-training program a continuation of the basic course, where recruits can put their academy training into practical exercise. Training new officers is not only the job of the FTOs, but also the entire department, from the rank-and-file officer on patrol up to the Chief or Sheriff. Observing and correcting performance should be everyone’s responsibility, however the FTO is tasked and paid to perform this critical function for the agency. 

FTO Selection Process

The ability of the FTO program to properly prepare a recruit is a significant element in the comprehensive health and well-being of the department. The selection process for the FTO program is designed to get the best officer available to take on the responsibility of developing new members of the agency. What exactly is a FTO and what does he or she do? A FTO is a trainer and evaluator for the department, their job in simple terms is to create high quality cops. Think about what that means, what are the qualities high quality cops should possess, such as knowing and following department policy and the law, being competent, compassionate, unbiased, reliable, hard-working, being a team player, having a high degree of integrity, fairness, etc. As an evaluator, the Field Training Officer is expected to evaluate the performance of recruit officers based upon observations of actual field experience in accordance with the Field Training and Evaluation Program guidelines. The Field Training Officer is expected to provide the recruit officer with constructive criticism and suggestions for improved performance. The primary goal of field training is to produce a competent “solo beat officer” at the end of the training program.

FTO’s must be experienced police officers who are willing and able to perform their training roles. Like many training endeavors, the success of any FTO program is contingent on proper selection and evaluation of the FTO themselves. Nothing will undermine an FTO program, no matter how well designed, then the selection of a substandard FTO. The first thing about FTO’s is that no one should be a FTO that does not want to be one, this is not an assignment where people are forced to work, they must volunteer and be well qualified to take on this critical role. Because of heavy administrative demands that many FTO programs create, FTOs should be very organized and able to prepare and maintain accurate and detailed records of recruit officer performance. 

The Field Training Officer is mandated to teach first and then evaluate the recruit’s behavior based on the standardized guidelines. As mentioned earlier, the primary goal of field training is to produce a competent “solo beat officer”. The solo beat officer is a competent officer, not a seasoned veteran or an expert in any area of law enforcement. It is expected that the new officer will make mistakes, will ask supervision or senior officers for guidance, and will continue to develop the skills and awareness that will make a more effective employee. Regardless of the length and make-up of an FTO program it is essential that the program is managed and administered properly. 

Field Training Officers are selected based on their experience, motivation, initiative and ability to be able to instruct other officers. The FTO selection process should contain the following elements:

? A written announcement about openings and qualifications for the position of FTO. If it is not important to the department, it is easy to see why it would not be important to others.

? A memo of interest written by the employee and sent through his chain of command, who must then comment on his or her suitability. This engages supervision in the process.

? A written test that measures basic knowledge and department concerns. This can include department and city policies and protocols.

? An oral board consisting of department supervisors and managers. The applicant can be expected to answer questions directed toward his or her performance, learning styles and personal motivation for the job.

? An oral presentation allowing the applicant to display his or her teaching skills. Generally, each applicant can pick a relevant topic of his or her choice for a 3–5-minute presentation. There is no perfect way to choose the training officer, yet there are ways to make the process more meaningful for all concerned and provide the department with better data on which to base their choice.

Field Training Officers must pass a certified Field Training Officer course prior to training any recruits. All field training officers in California must complete a 40-hour FTO course (Course control number 31725). This course involves student activities designed to develop the critical leadership, interpersonal, and coaching skills needed to work in stressful one-on-one training environments. The purpose of this course is to train newly appointed Field Training Officers (FTO). The FTO's will receive training on goals, objectives, expectations, functions, and roles of the FTO. They will also receive training on leadership, ethics, teaching and training skills development, competency in writing evaluations, intervention, remediation, test and scenario development, legal and liability issues, case studies, mental health crisis intervention and driving issues/driving safety.

Once selected, this also means that recruit officers are observed and evaluated properly with continuous instruction and appropriate feedback so officers can change their own behavior. This of course means that FTO’s provide positive as well as negative feedback and help the recruit officer identify their weaknesses to improve their performance and not as a mechanism of ridicule or embarrassment. Furthermore, it is essential that the department managers take the recruit evaluations seriously so recruits and FTO’s do merely “go through the motions” and pass recruit officers through their FTO program without proper scrutiny. 

Field training officers minimize and mitigate liability to the agency. One of the FTO job functions is that you are responsible to act as an auditor of your FTO program, you must be constantly aware of the status of your FTO program, is your manual up to date and current, what is your success rate, pass/fail rate, how many get through the program, do they pass probation, do they remain with the agency, etc. Now we know the success rate is as good as recruiting and background units do in selecting and hiring good people. Some issues with current FTO program are policy needs to be updated, how long can someone be an FTO (rotation policy), assessment of FTO’s, criteria to remain an FTO,

POST Regulations and Approved Patrol Training Programs

In California, agencies can select either the Field Training Program (FTP) or Police Training Program (PTP). Both programs offer complete POST-approved guidelines in two volumes: programs are intended to be fair, effective, and flexible for trainees as they perform in a rapidly changing law enforcement environment.

Option 1: Field Training Program (FTP). The program must be a minimum of 10 weeks: (The state average is 14 weeks)

Volume 1: Overview and Appendices - FTP Guide

Volume 2: POST Field Training Model

Option 2: Patrol Training Program (PTP). The program must be a minimum of 15 weeks:

Volume 1: Overview and Appendices - PTP Guide

Volume 2: Training Workbook – All Phases

Each guide includes an extensive overview of the program’s phases, objectives, performance standards, learning activities, and recommended forms for both trainee and training personnel. All forms are available online, including the POST-Approved Field Training Application (POST 2-229) and Field Training Program Approval Checklist (POST 2-230). Both FTP and PTP facilitate a peace officer’s transition from the Regular Basic Course (Academy), or custody assignment, to performing general uniformed patrol duties. Each program introduces newly assigned peace officers to agency personnel, policies, and procedures. Both programs provide initial formal and informal training specific to the agency and to general day-to-day duties. The Patrol Training Goals are:

To produce competent peace officers 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, giving all trainees every reasonable opportunity to succeed.

To enhance the professionalism, job skills, and ethical standards within the law enforcement community.

Each program offers unique and effective training methods to build competent patrol officers who successfully complete the training programs. Each program achieves defensibility and fairness by proper selection of training officers, a trainee feedback mechanism, a comprehensive list of training tasks and goals, and a standardized evaluation process. Each program is performance-based and includes adequate documentation, minimum time completion requirements, and competency specifications. Each program is adaptable to any size or type of agency. Each program includes an extensive overview of the program’s phases, objectives, performance standards, learning activities, and recommended forms for both trainee and training personnel. All forms are available online, including the POST-Approved Field Training Application (POST 2-229) (pdf) and Field Training Program Approval Checklist (POST 2-230) (pdf). See steps below on how to submit your completed guide.

In 2015, Senate Bill 29 created Penal Code 13515.295, mandating that POST shall conduct a review and evaluation of the required competencies of the Field Training Program (FTP) and Police Training Program (PTP) to specifically identify areas where additional training is necessary to better prepare law enforcement officers to effectively address incidents involving persons with a mental illness or intellectual disability.

The San Jose Model

The San Jose Police Department originated the San Jose Police Department Model of training in the early 1970s and is considered a definitive source on field training related issues. Within reasonable limits to account for changes in policing, POST has used the San Jose Model as a fundamental benchmark for providing direction and instruction in field training. The training model is built on the primacy and importance of developing a positive training and teaching atmosphere as a prelude to evaluation. The balance between training and evaluation is fundamental to this learning process. An imbalance, sometimes exhibited by an excessive amount of time spent in evaluation, is often one of the first symptoms of an unhealthy program and can lead to tainted and inaccurate portrayals of the recruit’s performance.

The San Jose Police Department researched a field training program for recruit officers that was more objective, content-valid, and professional than prior training models. The demand for retaining quality police officers and the growing expectations of policing drove the department to develop what eventually became known as the San Jose Police Department Model. The San Jose Police Department rapidly became acknowledged as a leader in the field of recruit training and began teaching the model under the auspices of the California Police Officers Standards and Training Commission. The San Jose Model employed court-validated Standardized Evaluation Guidelines (S.E.G.) to define content-valid behaviors that can be evaluated on a numeric scale. The San Jose Training Guide, entitled the San Jose Police Department Field Training and Evaluation Program, is focused on the two dominant functions of the program: training and evaluation.

The San Jose Program should be seventy (70) days and fifty-five (55) Daily Observation Reports (D.O.R.s.) There are four progressive phases. The D.O.R. is completed each day and the scores are discussed between the FTO and trainee.

Phase I consists of five (5) working days and is recorded as limbo time for the trainee. Limbo time does not count against the trainee and allows him/her time to observe his Field Training Officer.

Phase II consists of five (5) working days that the trainee will be evaluated by the senior Field Training Officer.

Phase III consists of five (5) days of shadow time. The FTO follows the trainee during the entire shift.

Phase IV is divided into three (3) segments consisting of seven working days of which five (5) days require a completed D.O.R.

Phase V is the balance of the 365-day probationary period.

Only phases two (2) and three (3) can be extended and only for twenty and five days respectively. A D.O.R. with a rating of one (1) for two (2) consecutive training days will be forwarded immediately to the FTO Commander. The program described above is a base program modeled after the San Jose FTEP. It is important to note that many departments have longer and very restrictive FTE programs. The San Jose is only a base model and many departments develop similar programs with the differences ranging from minimal to the very extensive. Specific procedures and techniques that can assist the recruit and the F.T.O. in developing a close student/teacher relationship do not exist. The topics found in the manual include:

1. The F.T.O. Training Philosophy

2. Mandatory Conduct for Field Training Personnel

3. Duties and Responsibilities of the Field Training Officer, Sergeant, and Lieutenant.

4. Field Training and Evaluation Program Personnel Selection

5. Development of Standardized Guidelines

6. F.T.O. Instructional Techniques: Lesson Planning

7. Program Reorganization and Updating

8. Recruit Problems and Possible Solutions

9. Exemplars The mission of their program and the role of each of the participants is defined and put in perspective. There are no secrets or verbiage. This permits the recruit and the F.T.O. to put all their energy into the primary mission. As a baseline, the manual should be clear in delineating the operating philosophy of the Department (what we are about), the purpose of FTO training and role that the FTO and the recruit play.

Training Guide and Recruit Manual

The FTO Program training guide can and should be a reflection of the department’s vision, relationship to the community, and strategic priorities. The Field Training Manual is given to every recruit. It contains the information the recruit is expected to master to pass the FTO Program. Given the diversity of training needs in police departments, POST provides little direction regarding the structure of the training manual. A great deal of discretion is left to the agency. However, based on the importance of manual content and the role it plays in directing the recruit to success, the manual should communicate some basic concepts that fit all police agencies. The department expects the Field Training Program to produce competent generalists within the time allotted. The department also expects that the recruit will continue the learning curve, gradually picking up the nuances of policing that only experience brings. The content and the language of the manual should therefore create a realistic sense of expectation by presenting the nuts and bolts of policing in a coherent, logical way. If anything, the training manual requires sound management oversight to ensure that what is being said is both necessary and consistent with Department goals.

The manual should open with a message from the Chief of Police or Sheriff to the recruit explaining the Department philosophy, expectations of the FTO and the recruit and the importance of the manual. This sets the stage for what is to come and provides the recruit with direct, unambiguous guidelines for performance. The manual should provide distinct, targeted responsibilities for the recruit beginning with the less complex and moving toward the more complex. This approach should be folded into the phase training methodology used by the department, with each FTO having the responsibility to ensure that targeted training objectives are completed by the end of the cycle.

The FTO Program training guide can be viewed as the department roadmap to success, imparting the official ways and the means for officers to become fully accepted members of the culture. Because FTO training has such impact on the officer, the terminology and content of the manual or training guide must a clear reflection of the needs of the trainee and the department.

The Daily Observation Report (DOR)

The San Jose DOR is a sheet that is completed by the FTO and then scored at the end of each shift. The report is scored on a sliding scale between the numbers of 1 and 7. A 1 is unacceptable and a 7 is exceptional. The DOR encompasses 29 grade-able tasks (performance categories) depending on the departments program. Some of the tasks or areas include, Appearance, Attitude, Knowledge, Performance and Relationships. Each task category may have several sub-categories. The effective daily observation reports, regardless of the ultimate training outcome, had certain ingredients. They focus on training, used the guidelines closely, and offered training plans for any deficient performance, thus keeping the positive nature of the process in front of the trainee.

Teaching is an art form. How it is done and how the information is conveyed is as important as the knowledge itself in many cases. It is not to suggest that all trainers need to be experts in adult learning theory. Entire college level courses are devoted to the topic. I suggest that the basic elements of adult learning are an important and necessary part of any successful FTO program. These elements can be learned and implemented by the FTO. They must be the means to good training by FTO supervision. The Field Training Officer Program is a system in which all parts must perform within the same parameters. It is management’s responsibility to ensure that these basic working models are understood, implemented, and reinforced. The current program requires important adjustments to make the intent of this model training oriented and more effective for all involved parties.

The DOR is intended to educate and inform the recruit. Each FTO must adhere to Department guidelines in using the form to ensure a consistent learning environment for the recruit and a defensible Department position if the recruit cannot pass training. The FTO must also complete the form in a way that meets the requirements of adult learning. Any rating less than acceptable in this section should require an explanation in the narrative portion of the DOR.

Length of the Program for Lateral Officers

The department has options when hiring lateral officers and have considerable discretion in dealing with officers being hired from other police departments. POST Bulletin 98-01, dated January 9, 1998, clearly exempts an officer from mandated field training, “if the officer is a lateral officer possessing a POST Regular Basic Certificate whose previous employment included general law enforcement patrol duties.” Based on the performance of the lateral new hire, the FTO Coordinator should have a great deal of discretion in modifying the time frame if the lateral new hire is ready as a “solo beat officer.” Having said this, a minimum amount of time on using daily observation reports is essential.

The new hire receives one week of post-academy internal training on report writing. The recruit then receives two weeks of non-evaluated, limbo time from the first training officer. During this period, the recruit is trained only. The recruit is then rotated in four-week increments among the day, swing, and early morning shifts with a new training officer each time. They are not given any more limbo time. The recruit returns to the original training officer who rides in a plain-clothes capacity for the last two weeks. It is not uncommon for recruits to receive extended cycles or time in the program of needed.

The lateral officer receives a month long, in-house, pre-training orientation that incorporates all the elements of the new hire and additional issues San Jose feels are pertinent to someone with prior experience. They then receive one week of limbo with the first training officer and a general minimum of 12 weeks of training with three training officers. However, there is no rule on this. It is possible that the lateral can be released earlier or kept longer if necessary.

Field Training Officer Training

All officers that serve as FTO’s must complete the 40-hour FTO course (course number 31725). The purpose of this course is to train newly appointed Field Training Officers (FTO). The FTO's will receive training on goals, objectives, expectations, functions and roles of the FTO. They will also receive training on leadership, ethics, teaching and training skills development, competency in writing evaluations, intervention, remediation, test and scenario development, legal and liability issues, case studies, mental health crisis intervention and driving issues/driving safety.

The FTO must attend the 24-hour FTO Update course every three years (course number 31715). The course fulfills the POST training requirements for FTO Update training. The course focuses on the core functions of a F.T.O. which are to Teach, Evaluate and Document (T.E.D.). The instructional techniques used focus on the modern science of learning and specific techniques to build the student's teaching skills. Students are given several opportunities to see positive and negative examples of 1) training and counseling trainees and 2) writing D.O.R.’s and Remedial Training Plans (R.T.P). Students are given specific techniques to diagnose the root cause of a trainee's deficiency and how to fix it. Students learn best practices for writing a Remedial Training Plan (RTP) and complete an RTP in the course. Other topics include legal and liability issues for California police officers. This course provides updated legislative content of Penal Code Section 835a.

The 8-hour crisis intervention and behavioral health training course is also required for all FTO’s per SB29 (course number 20763). It will provide the trainee with the minimum topics mandated by 13515.28(a)(1) of the California Penal Code. Field training officers are required to have 8 hours of crisis intervention behavioral health training which must be completed within 180 days of appointment.

In February 2020, the Commission of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) have received numerous requests for increasing availability of the Field Training Officer (FTO) Update Course. Several of these inquiries include requests for online and/or modular formats for course presentation in order to assist agencies as they balance staffing needs against mandated training obligations.

Based on current training needs, POST has made the decision to allow presenters the option to divide the FTO Update Course into three modules for both instructor-led online and in-person presentations, as an alternative to the conventional consecutive-day format. This modular format is intended to be held one day per week for three consecutive weeks. Presenters who elect to present this format will be required to complete a separate course certification package for each module. Presenters shall create a New Course Certification Request for each of the modules, 35012 – Field Training Officer Update – Mod I, 35013 – Field Training Officer Update – Mod II, 35014 – Field Training Officer Update – Mod III. Students must complete all three modules consecutively to be in compliance with POST regulations, reference Commission Regulation 1004(d).