March 14th, 2024
We were excited to begin our 2024 season with the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office in Ruston, Louisiana this past week.
We graduated another 20 students from all around North Louisiana, including Deputies, Corrections Officers, and Police Officers. Agencies included Lincoln Parish, DeSoto Parish, Union Parish, and the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Offices. Also in attendance were members from the Minden Police, Natchitoches Police, and Bienville Police Departments.
Many of the attendees have been Field Training Officers (FTOs) for several years and brought a great deal of experience to course discussions. With that said, several attendees commented that, while they do have a “field training program,” they had not attended any type of formal training related to serving as an FTO. Others mentioned their agencies had neither a formal field training program for their recruits or their FTO, so the material we presented was all new to them.
Upon completion of the class, several were impressed with the specific details of the course to include the Principals of Adult Learning, Evaluations (DORs), and the use of the Standard Evaluation Guidelines (SEGs). (See student reviews below for details.)
We were able to provide a comprehensive field training manual for patrol deputies, as well as a custody FTO Manual and DOR with the corresponding SEGs to three agencies for their review and consideration. We hope these manuals will aid in the development of a formalized field training program for their respective agencies.
In our review of the course evaluations, it is apparent we were able to meet and exceed class expectations.
We received student comments like:
- “The course material could have been viewed as a boring topic. However, you were very engaging and taught with enthusiasm. You used real-world examples to relay important information and encouraged student engagement.”
- “Another possible death by PowerPoint, but the way it was presented was very well done and kept the class engaged.”
- “The class has given me an understanding to better train new hires, as well as insight on what I need to do to be a better FTO.”
- “Examples were very similar to situations I experienced in my line of Expectations and goals for the class were set early on and met.”
- “You did a great job of breaking up the monotony of a classroom style course with the use of exercises and video examples. You kept the students engaged throughout the 40-hour curriculum.”
April has us busy as we head to Oak Harbor, WA with a 2-day FTO Refresher Class the 10th and 11th. April 22th-26th, 2024 we will be Everett, WA with a Basic 40-Hour Class. We are currently in negotiations for a possible Basic FTO Academy Class in southwest Washington July 15th-19th. We will post this class on our upcoming FTO classes page once we confirm the specifics.
We have two Basic FTO Classes scheduled in September. We will be in Pullman, WA (WSU Police) September 9th -13th, then back to Everett, WA September 23rd – 27th.
If you are in need of an FTO course or a refresher class, and unable to attend any of our currently listed courses, please let us know and we will work with your agency to bring our course to your area.
