Management Training for Police Supervisors.A Cost-effective Approach Deriving the greatest productivity from their officers has become the primary challenge of today's law enforcement leaders. Agencies invest a considerable sum of money in each recruit before they even complete the police academy. In one department, an agency's initial cost to recruit, test, select, conduct physical and psychological examinations, and complete an in-depth background investigation exceeds $3,500 per applicant. [1] By the time the applicant has completed the traditional 4 to 6 months in the training academy, the agency will invest another $15,000 to $25,000 in training costs and officer compensation. [2] Each state requires entry-level police training or certification as a condition of continued employment. Yet, this certification of basic law enforcement skills for entry-level officers has not progressed to mid- and senior-level training to support the needs of the law enforcement community. Many law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). simply do not make management training a priority. In fact, many administrators believe that training at the police academy level remains sufficient for the agency workforce and that a formal system of continuing education continuing education: see adult education. continuing education or adult education Any form of learning provided for adults. In the U.S. the University of Wisconsin was the first academic institution to offer such programs (1904). and training for sworn officers is unnecessary or too expensive. For many of these agencies, training costs become a second or third priority to the more immediate needs of salaries, overtime costs, patrol vehicles, and fixed operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. . As a result, sworn officers seldom receive a systematic program of instruction in law enforcement education that will provide the leadership, supervisory, and management training necessary for effective police operations. This res ults in the inefficient and unproductive use of one of an agency's most valuable and expensive resources--the patrol officer. Without effective supervision and competent leadership, the trained and certified See certification. patrol officer becomes increasingly disillusioned dis·il·lu·sion tr.v. dis·il·lu·sioned, dis·il·lu·sion·ing, dis·il·lu·sions To free or deprive of illusion. n. 1. The act of disenchanting. 2. The condition or fact of being disenchanted. and disaffected dis·af·fect·ed adj. Resentful and rebellious, especially against authority. dis  af·fect . Thus, law enforcement agencies have a significant interest in maximizing the patrol officer's day-to-day efforts by providing effective mid-level management. Fortunately, during the past decade, some senior law enforcement officials have recognized a critical need for mid-level management training. While some departments traditionally have focused their programs on developing the skills of the chief or senior staff officers, other agencies recently have addressed the professional development of mid-level supervisors. In response, several well-recognized law enforcement training institutions have developed courses of instruction for mid-level managers. These courses focus on the practical aspects of police administration (e.g., decision making, problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. and analysis, and budget formulation). However, the tuition costs of $3,000 to $5,000 per attendee at·tend·ee n. One who is present at or attends a function. See Usage Note at -ee1. attendee Noun a person who is present at a specified event Noun 1. can impede im·pede tr.v. im·ped·ed, im·ped·ing, im·pedes To retard or obstruct the progress of. See Synonyms at hinder1. [Latin imped agencies from sending supervisory officers to such courses. Only the most generously funded agencies can afford to enroll their entire command structure of sergeants and lieutenants. The continuing conflict of providing quality training and affording the costs associated with such a long-term endeavor has prompted other organizations and educational institutions to offer alternative courses. Offering a low-cost instruction program presents one of the most important challenges in law enforcement management training. This training must prepare officers for a leadership position within the agency, while requiring the least amount of time away from their supervisory duties. This requirement is true particularly in the small- to medium-sized agencies that represent the foundation of law enforcement. Very few of these agencies can afford the training cost of $3,000 to $5,000 per officer. Additionally, many agencies cannot operate without one of their key employees for 10 to 12 weeks while they receive training. The Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS Minicomputer series from Bull HN. 1. (language, text) DPS - Display PostScript. 2. (language) DPS - A real-time language with direct expression of timing requests. ["Language Constructs for Distributed Real-Time PRogramming", I. ) recognized this need and responded accordingly. FINDING AN ANSWER IN ALABAMA Alabama occupies approximately 50,000 square miles A square mil is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of length one mil. A mil is one thousandth of an international inch. This unit of area is usually used in specifying the area of the cross section of a wire or cable. and has a population of 4.2 million. Most of the police and sheriff departments in Alabama are small to medium in size. Of the state law enforcement agencies, the Alabama DPS employs the most officers--700 state troopers--and provides state law enforcement services, such as highway patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. and motor carrier enforcement, as well as related police support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services . In 1998, DPS encountered serious budgetary shortfalls, a lack of experienced command staff, a new and more streamlined operational structure, and a transition to a newly elected administration. As a result, DPS needed to develop a cost-efficient management program for their officers. In addition, Alabama law enforcement officers wanted to provide their small- to medium-sized law enforcement agencies with a low-cost, mid-level, management training course but did not have the funding to start a program. After determining the need, the Alabama DPS began planning a training program for its officers. [3] Extensive research identified several important steps in the planning process. Planning the Program One of the first steps in planning the program included analyzing the areas of training and instruction that other institutions used in their curriculums. First, the program coordinator analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. the training curriculums other institutions used. Every curriculum covered leadership (theory and values), operational management (personnel issues, budgets, training), and critical incidents (crisis management). DPS structured the management course around the most commonly accepted programs of instruction and designed a three-phase course centered on these areas. Second, DPS determined the appropriate amount of training and identified a target audience. The department focused on sergeants as the program's intended audience because under DPS rank structure, the sergeant is the second-echelon supervisor and, in many instances, serves as a mid-level manager. Additionally, the department took several issues into consideration when determining how much training to devote to the course--the state code requirement of a 40-hour workweek, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act Fair Labor Standards Act or Wages and Hours Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1938 to establish minimum living standards for workers engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including those involved in production of goods bound , and the critical lack of supervisory personnel throughout the department. The program could not interfere with existing supervisory work or case management, yet it had to provide a sound basis of professional instruction. Therefore, DPS decided to use a modular concept of three blocks of instruction conducted during 32 hours of classroom instruction per week. Classes begin at noon on Monday and end at noon on Friday. DPS resolved another issue--appropriate class size--by limiting classes to 25 students per class. Next, the department had to choose a textbook textbook Informatics A treatise on a particular subject. See Bible. . DPS reviewed several nationally recognized texts and chose one for the entire course. Using one text provided a general framework for the students and addressed the department's economic constraints CONSTRAINTS - A language for solving constraints using value inference. ["CONSTRAINTS: A Language for Expressing Almost-Hierarchical Descriptions", G.J. Sussman et al, Artif Intell 14(1):1-39 (Aug 1980)]. as well. The department used the academy's operating funds to pay for the textbook. Each student received the book and the course outline approximately 3 weeks prior to beginning the course. Each student had to complete reading assignments for the course's entire first segment prior to the first day of class. Instructors supplemented their blocks of instruction with additional handout material and notes. Selecting instructors for the course presented one of the department's most difficult challenges. Originally, the program coordinator planned to have supervisory personnel with a college degree--of the rank of sergeant or higher--to serve as instructors, particularly individuals who had completed the FBI National Academy (NA). But, in 1998, only a few NA graduates remained in the department. The program coordinator prepared and sent a survey to each captain, lieutenant, and sergeant in the department to locate qualified instructors. From the survey, DPS determined the number of personnel who held a college degree or had completed a management course. Next, the program coordinator recruited qualified instructors and matched their individual skills to course topics. Three committee chiefs, one for each major topic of instruction, selected a primary and an alternate instructor for each block of instruction and developed supporting lesson plans for each topic. The committee chiefs also selected a list of courses or schools to help instructors obtain professional competency COMPETENCY, evidence. The legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause. This term is also applied to written or other evidence which may be legally given on such trial, as, depositions, letters, account-books, and the like. 2. and qualify for their particular areas of instruction. Finally, because the program required that each instructor hold a valid Method of Instruction certificate from a recognized training institute, DPS worked with the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission (POSTC), the state's licensing commission for law enforcement officers, to develop and implement a formal method of instruction training course. As the department developed the course, it requested that POSTC fund part of the training for instructor development. They sent a formal request to POSTC commissioners, the seven-member panel that oversees the operation of the state agency, for $15,000 to pay for instructor development. POSTC appropriated the money, contingent upon Adj. 1. contingent upon - determined by conditions or circumstances that follow; "arms sales contingent on the approval of congress" contingent on, dependant on, dependant upon, dependent on, dependent upon, depending on, contingent DPS's agreeing to offer the course to supervisors from other law enforcement agencies. As a result, the department now trains officers from city and county agencies throughout Alabama. Analyzing the Results DPS identified several valuable purposes of the training program. First, the economical use of resources provided several benefits. The program costs less than $500 per student, which reflects room and board costs for a 3-week period. Living in dorms at the training academy eliminates a long commute TO COMMUTE. To substitute one punishment in the place of another. For example, if a man be sentenced to be hung, the executive may, in some states, commute his punishment to that of imprisonment. for students who attend from agencies around the state. DPS assumes the actual cost for instructors and facilities as part of its operating expenses. The department did not experience any long-term loss Long-term loss A loss on the sale of a capital asset held less than 12 months that can be used to offset a capital gain. of key personnel because the training program lasted only 3 weeks. Student-officers suffer minimal disruption disruption /dis·rup·tion/ (dis-rup´shun) a morphologic defect resulting from the extrinsic breakdown of, or interference with, a developmental process. of their work or family lives by staying at the DPS academy for 5 days and 4 nights per segment. Additionally, because the course follows a modular mode, if student-officers miss a segment, they can enroll in a subsequent class to complete the required instruction. Second, attending officers receive standard training. They use a nationally recognized police administration textbook and receive training from qualified, college-graduate instructors. This uniformity of text and classroom instruction theoretically should result in the development of a common doctrine for police administration and operations within the state. Finally, the program encourages professional growth within the agency. The use of department instructors required that DPS develop at least one primary and one alternate instructor to serve as subject-matter experts in their designated training areas. DPS will direct future training funds to develop qualified individuals to teach the management course. In the future, DPS officers who have attended a senior management course will assist the instructional staff. The Alabama POSTC adopted this program recently as a standard course of instruction for Alabama police supervisors. The program satisfies the educational and instructional needs of the department's sergeants and lieutenants without disrupting the department's current operations. Law enforcement agencies in metropolitan or regional areas can adapt this curriculum, with appropriate modifications for state law and procedure, to train supervisors from several agencies. An agency's training academy or a community college can absorb overhead costs overhead costs see fixed costs. to administer the program, with each attending officer paying a proportional share of the administrative costs administrative costs, n.pl the overhead expenses incurred in the operation of a dental benefits program, excluding costs of dental services provided. (approximately $25 per day). CONCLUSION The development of the DPS Management Course has become an important first step in the professional development of Alabama law enforcement supervisors. The course has laid a foundation for leadership training and the development of more advanced training courses. Although the DPS course provides an essential foundation in management training, it does not equal the training courses at nationally recognized institutions nor did DPS intend the program as a substitute for a formal 10- or 12-week training course. However, the 3-week course represents an important first step in providing a statewide, inexpensive, and cost-efficient management training program to Alabama law enforcement supervisors. Additionally, and perhaps more important, other agencies can model and adopt the program, as well. Training in leadership, supervision, and management does not come without costs, but the alternative-- inefficient use of police resources--is much more expensive. By making mid-level management training a priority, law enforcement agencies will provide their officers with the leadership and supervisory skills necessary for effective police operations in their communities. Formerly a lieutenant with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, Mr. Mahaney developed the department's management training program. He now serves as a legal instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Noun 1. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - a center in the Department of that trains law enforcement professionals for more than seventy federal agencies FLETC in Glynco, Georgia Glynco is a small town in Glynn County, Georgia. It is located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, GA. Glynco is a contraction of the words Glynn County. . Endnotes (1.) The author based these figures on his experience hiring officers for the Alabama Department of Public Safety. (2.) Ibid. (3.) The author served as the project officer and coordinator of the Alabama Department of Public Safety's "DPS Management Course." He designed a cost-efficient management program to satisfy the educational and instructional needs of the department's mid-level management. To meet this objective, the author thoroughly researched courses osffered by other institutions and organizations. Department of Public Safety Management Program Course Syllabus A headnote; a short note preceding the text of a reported case that briefly summarizes the rulings of the court on the points decided in the case. The syllabus appears before the text of the opinion. Segment 1 * Registration/Welcome * Pretest pre·test n. 1. a. A preliminary test administered to determine a student's baseline knowledge or preparedness for an educational experience or course of study. b. A test taken for practice. 2. * Organization Theory * Leadership Principles * Management of Police Organizations * Organizational Goals * Media Relations * Problem Solving/ Decision Making * Time Management * Stress Management * Ethics and Integrity * Test * Effective Communications Segment 2 * Yearly Operational Budget/ Fiscal Management * Hiring Process * Training Process * Measuring Productivity * Employee Evaluations * Police Discipline * Special Problems in Personnel Issues * Legal Aspects of Discipline and Termination * Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most and Public Interaction * Motivation--Theory and Practice * Test * Effective Public Speaking Segment 3 * Laws of Public Order * Civil Liability * Use of Force and Escalation es·ca·late v. es·ca·lat·ed, es·ca·lat·ing, es·ca·lates v.tr. To increase, enlarge, or intensify: escalated the hostilities in the Persian Gulf. v.intr. Principles * Contingency Planning * Tactical Operations * Exercise (table top) * Intelligence Preparation * Logistical lo·gis·tic also lo·gis·ti·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to symbolic logic. 2. Of or relating to logistics. [Medieval Latin logisticus, of calculation Support for Operations * Communications and Reporting * Psychological Aspects of Critical Incident * Critical Incident Debriefing de·brief·ing n. 1. The act or process of debriefing or of being debriefed. 2. The information imparted during the process of being debriefed. Noun 1. * Review of Critical Incident * Final Exam Noun 1. final exam - an examination administered at the end of an academic term final examination, final exam, examination, test - a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of * End of Course Critique * Graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. |
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