Many students of this class were tenured officers who expanded their enforcement experience
We finished up with our Basic FTO Class in April with 22 new FTOs.
It was great to see several attendees with lots of law enforcement experience. In recent classes, it was not uncommon to have attendees with 3 years or less of experience. These tenured officers offered great examples of their experiences, which greatly added to thew classroom discussions.
One thing that always stands out is our memories of our first FTO. Whether it has been only 3 years ago—or as one attendee admitted, 25 years ago—we all remember that first FTO. The question is why? One of our classes deals with the Laws of Adult Learning. The Learning Law of Primacy—The state of being first—creates a strong almost unshakable impression.
How important is that!
One question we ask of all of our attendees is to give us one word to describe your best FTO, and one word to describe your worst FTO. We have never experienced an individual who cannot provide us with an answer, even 40 years later!
Understanding how adults learn and using the Laws of Adult Learning is just one of the many skills sets we provide to our attendees.
After working with these students and getting to know them, we are always appreciative of the comments that they provide to us in return. Here are just a few examples from this class:
- “Very informative class. I feel more confident being a new FTO.”
- “One of the best trainings I have attended, and I highly recommend anyone involved in the FTO process to attend this class.”
- “As an FTO from a prior agency, I only received an informal 2-day “training.” My new agency requires this level of training, and for that I am grateful. I feel more prepared for my future students.”
- “This was the first law enforcement training class I did not want to fall asleep in. Harris and Hawley are awesome instructors, I certainly recommend this class to anyone wishing to become an FTO.”
- “Great class! Really opened my eyes to how bad my FTO experience was. Motivated me to change our program!”
As we move forward, we will be in West Monroe Louisiana in July, then back to Washington State for a Basis FTO. Immediately followed by that will be our 2-day Refresher, and then our 1-day FTO Management Class in September after that. For a list of upcoming classes, click here.
As always, if there is anything we can to assist your agency related to your FTO Program, or if interested in hosting any of our classes, just send us and e-mail and we can get the ball rolling (contact information below).
What if I do not see a field training officer class near me? If you do not see a FTO class in your area coming up, we are ready to discuss the possibility of coming to you! We have done classes in multiple states, including Washington, Arizona, Idaho, and Louisiana. If your state uses the San Jose Model of field training, reach out to us!
Sgt. David J. Harris (Ret)
Email: ftoschool@gmail.com.
Phone Number: 425-426-6350
There is also a Contact Us Form on our website.
Pictures below from this class of FTO students:
