{"id":176586,"date":"2016-08-16T07:50:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T13:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=176586"},"modified":"2016-08-16T07:50:44","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T13:50:44","slug":"is-it-time-for-a-national-police-training-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/08\/is-it-time-for-a-national-police-training-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it time for a national police training standard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

COMMENTARY:\u00a0<\/strong>Amid the cries and protests regarding police shootings, there has been a push for a national standard in\u00a0police training in the hopes that incidents of violence between officers and the communities\u00a0they represent can\u00a0be reduced.\u00a0Presumably, this standard would involve\u00a0direction from the government on specific requirements for the selection, hiring, training and evaluation of individuals for the position of law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n

\"J.R.

Courtesy photo<\/p>

J.R. Lonsway<\/p><\/div>\n

This idea is based on a supposition that police are either not properly, or are improperly, trained for incidents they face on the street, and that a national standard\u00a0will help remedy\u00a0issues regarding\u00a0use of force.<\/p>\n

As it currently stands, New Mexico has\u00a0requirements for basic police academy\u00a0and in-service training. These\u00a0standards are set by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board (NMLEA) at\u00a0the direction of the New Mexico Legislature (NM Statute 29-7-1 through 29-7-21<\/a>).\u00a0That may surprise some people, the fact that everything from the selection process for a basic academy, all the way through to\u00a0mandatory in-service training that an officer must receive annually during his\/her career, is part of the legislative process.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0requirements are passed down from NMLEA\u00a0to those agencies that host\u00a0their own police academies and in-service training (you can see more of this at nmlea.dps.state.nm.us<\/a>). Compliance is mandatory. Failure to comply results in the certification of the agency being taken away, although I am unaware of any agency that has been found noncompliant.<\/p>\n

All instructors\u00a0must be certified by the\u00a0NMLEA (certification is acquired through a 40-hour law enforcement instructor development course, or a college-level public speaking course of one semester). If an instructor is not certified, a\u00a0certified instructor must be in the classroom at the time the instruction is given to assure that the lesson plan is adhered to and the level of professionalism is maintained.<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0exception\u00a0to the “certified trainer” rule\u00a0are those professionals deemed capable, competent, and qualified to instruct because of their profession and the nature of the course they are instructing (MDs, lawyers, judges, psychologists, etc). There\u00a0are other specialized\u00a0instructor courses that no one can teach but the personnel who have been certified in the subject matter, which includes firearms, defensive tactics, and use of force.<\/p>\n

Courses\u00a0such as cultural sensitivity, race relations, dealing with mentally challenged or mentally ill persons, domestic violence, conflict resolution, etc. are important courses that are included in the academy curriculum but\u00a0not necessarily taught by police instructors. As far back as 1979, when I went through the LCPD academy, persons\u00a0representing the NAACP, LULAC, LGBT (although the organization name at that time was different), parents with special needs children, and others spoke to us.<\/p>\n

Those courses are enlightening. It is one thing for a police cadet to hear a professional speak about what to expect when dealing with a person that is schizophrenic, or autistic, but it’s another matter entirely to hear about it from the\u00a0parent of that\u00a0child.<\/p>\n

Would a national standard make training any\u00a0different from what it is now? That would require a review of the training curriculum of all 50\u00a0states; but,\u00a0remember, determining\u00a0what is to be taught\u00a0does not come down to a bunch of cops sitting around deciding what they want, and don’t want, to teach. The input\u00a0comes from academics at universities who\u00a0specialize in criminal justice, law enforcement professionals that specialize in police training, and other professionals who have knowledge and insight into what courses of instruction would be beneficial to the training of police officers, especially at the recruit level (lawyers, judges, psychologists, medical professionals, etc.).<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the agenda\u00a0must be approved by the NMLEA Board, which is chaired by the attorney general.<\/p>\n

Just as\u00a0important as\u00a0what is taught is\u00a0who is taught. That means the selection process must be rigorous. For most law enforcement agencies, the process begins with\u00a0a written exam, and those who pass are then scheduled for a physical agility test. Successful completion of\u00a0that phase leads to an oral interview, and if the candidate gets through the oral board,\u00a0a background investigation is conducted.<\/p>\n

Part of the background investigation is the polygraph. (I’m not a fan of the polygraph, for\u00a0two reasons: The polygraph is only as good as the polygraphist operating it, and I saw candidates for positions with LCPD who came up deceptive on questions regarding drug use and thievery who were still allowed into the academy, even after failing two polygraph exams!\u00a0What’s the point of having a polygraph if the candidate can lie and get away with it?)<\/p>\n

After the background comes the medical exam, and if they\u00a0pass that\u00a0the candidate is accepted into the police academy. That begins six\u00a0months of training, and if the recruit makes it to graduation day, they are then assigned to a shift and put through a 14-week field training phase. They also must complete one year of probation. NMLEA also requires a\u00a040 hour\u00a0in-service training minimum for each officer every year on specific\u00a0topics (see the website<\/a>). Most departments give more than that.<\/p>\n

I believe New Mexico has a model system in place. While trainers are always on the lookout for state-of-the-art methods to improve on what is taught and\u00a0how it is taught, I’m not convinced that\u00a0a national standard could enhance the level of professionalism put forth\u00a0by the NMLEA. Just remember, cops are human beings, not robots; 99.99 percent of the time they are going to do the right thing, and that one-hundredth of a percent of the time when they don’t, it is usually a matter of minor, insignificant standing.<\/p>\n

Certainly there are aberrations, but those are seldom training-related; in fact, nearly all instances of police misconduct are not a result of training, but stress-related factors in the officer’s personal and professional life.<\/p>\n

J.R. Lonsway<\/a> is a retired deputy chief of police with the City of Las Cruces and the author of Twenty<\/a>. He blogs at jrlonsway.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe New Mexico has a model system in place. I’m not convinced that a national standard could enhance the level of professionalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[142,2109,203],"class_list":["post-176586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-crime","tag-guns","tag-law-enforcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}