Field Training Officer

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Contact Information

Paula Parker
Program Coordinator
prc11@psu.edu

Course Description

The Penn State Justice and Safety Institute (JASI) is pleased to partner with our co-sponsor to offer this powerful three-day program, which is designed to prepare officers for field-training responsibilities. Rather than focusing on solely the Reno or San Jose model of field training, our program blends concepts from these programs, providing field training officers with the opportunity to devise their training programs based on their department’s needs. This highly interactive class places an emphasis on imparting the knowledge and skills needed to properly train and mentor recruits for work as law enforcement officers.

Field training is an essential element of every law enforcement agency. As a field training officer, you have great responsibilities. Not only are you a trainer for new recruits, but also an integral part of your agency’s decision to keep or dismiss new recruits based on your observations. This course examines the core responsibilities of field training officers. Policy standards for field training are explained. This includes the selection and retention of field training officers as well as critical elements in the program. The course provides attendees with evaluation guidelines and assessment of recruit performance, including retention and termination guidelines.

The course defines the role of a supervisor and leader and discusses the roles and responsibilities as a supervisor of a recruit. This course also includes various leadership models to provide attendees with the skills to be a good FTO and a foundation for a possible supervisory role in the future. Attendees will be provided with an in-depth examination of learning and teaching concepts, such as the science of how people learn and what diminishes learning. They will be involved in hands-on training in the form of class exercises and role-play scenarios. These exercises will include assessments of recruit performance as well as face-to-face interaction with a recruit using simulated problems that are common during training.

Key Concepts for Field Training Officer

Key Concepts	Topics
Elements of the communication process	Tailoring to departmental needs Motivational and descriptive communication
Adult learning concepts
Concepts of appraisal	Evaluating a trainee’s performance based on policy procedures and guidelines
Evaluating training performance	Evaluation based on a trainee’s performance while completing basic tasks Counseling of a trainee based on positive or weak performance
Ethical issues	Counseling of a trainee on the issues of ethics and the performance of duty
Job-task analysis and patrol function
Review of FTO forms
Group and individual exercises

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Registration

Course: Field Training Officer (Course Description)
When: March 6, 2023 – March 8, 2023, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Where: Virtual Course (Zoom)