Introduction
Mandatory retraining of law enforcement officers is encouraged since it contributes to them performing their duties more efficiently and safely. There are crucial laws passed each time thus necessitating a continuous process of education to help the police officers be up-to-date with them. The knowledge of new aspects of law enforcement is also important because it helps in preventing limiting liabilities through civil actions that arise out of the activities conducted by the law enforcement officer. There are multiple topics that can be covered during retraining of officers including court decisions, new laws, as well as internal policies. It is the duty of an agency chief to determine the topics that are necessary for the law enforcement officers. The need for retraining may arise as a result of a need for firearm requalification; as a result of a specific assignment; or it can even be voluntary in-service training. The mandatory training is in line with the Police Officer Standard and Training Council (POST) that requires individuals in law enforcement to attend additional retraining. The states that are compared in terms of mandatory retraining requirements include Florida, California and Texas.
Discussion
POST calls for a mandatory retraining of law enforcement officers in every state to help them acquire new knowledge or to assist in reinforcing what has already been learnt during the previous trainings. The necessity for mandatory retraining arises out of the need for officers to operate efficiently and safely. The work of law enforcement is a high level stress job that requires officers to be in their best in terms of skills, knowledge and emotional stability thus avoiding excessive use of force or maladaptive practices that may lead to civil suits that result in legal liability to the force (Mishra, 2017). Each state has its own mandatory retraining requirements aligned to the POST’s objectives and goals. The laws provided differ based on the states.
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In Florida, the requirements for mandatory retraining are clearly discussed under the Florida Police Academy help and study guides. There are requirements that have to be fulfilled per every statute. One of the statutes requires a continuous educational training that must be conducted for law enforcement officers in the state at least once in every twenty four months. The in-service training should take at least 40 hours in every four years (Florida Police Academy, 2017). All officers are required to undergo the process in order to keep their certification active. The Florida mandatory training requirements also provide that all officers must qualify by undergoing mandatory retraining in the State of Florida firearms qualification course that is undertaken every two years (Florida Police Academy, 2017). It is in line with the division of criminal justice requirements that recommends mandatory firearm requalification.
The extra training in the state is classified as either mandatory retraining credit or salary incentive. Salary incentive credit training has an allowance payment apart from the officer’s normal salary. The payment is classified as a salary incentive and helps in motivating individuals to pursue the mandatory training. As part of the mandatory retraining, officers are also allowed to go for Advanced and Career Development Training courses but after an approval that is granted by an agency’s administrator (Florida Police Academy, 2017). The agency administrator decides whether the courses offered to an individual are mandatory retraining credits or salary incentive. Some of the mandatory retraining courses offered in the state of Florida include human diversity, domestic violence, juvenile sexual offender investigations, discriminatory profiling, use of force, firearm requalification.
There are similarities and subtle differences in the requirements for mandatory retraining in the states of Florida, California and Texas. The main similarities that cut across all the states includes the requirement that officers be retrained in firearm requalification for their certification to remain active. The states are keen on ensuring that the firearms are used appropriately to prevent the numerous legal battles with civilians that arise out of inappropriate use of firearms. All the three states have mandatory retraining courses and elective retraining credits. All the courses count towards a minimum of 40 hours of training requirement that must be accomplished within four years in each of these states (POST, 2018). Apart from the firearm requalification course, the other credits may differ from state to state. The other mandatory retraining courses in the state of Florida include domestic violence complaints, electronic surveillance, high speed vehicle pursuits, as well as racial and cultural diversity training. In the state of Texas, the mandatory retraining topics include special investigative topics, crisis intervention training, and cultural diversity.
Unlike the state of Florida that classifies its courses in terms of mandatory retraining credits and salary incentive credits, the state of California categorizes its course as either continuing professional training or perishable skills/communication courses. It provides for law enforcement levels that qualify for each course. However, there are some courses done by each individual regardless of the position in the force such as the firearm requalification. Only a few officers are exempted from the continuing professional training courses including level III Reserve Peace Officer and Public Safety Dispatcher (POST, 2018). Perishable skills/communication courses are done by every officer except the reserve officers. The perishable skills course include arrest and control; tactical firearms and driver training. Communications training can either be interpersonal or tactical.
Just like the other two states. Texas requires that its officers complete a minimum of 40 hours of training that is to be completed within two to four years. The Texas requirements for mandatory retraining places a lot of emphasis on coverage of recent changes that have occurred in the law (Texas Association of Counties, 2018). The knowledge and skills helps in preventing legal court battles that may be pursued by civilians against the police force for inappropriate application of laws. The continuing education is an ongoing cycle whose courses are adjusted based on the goals and objectives of training. Just like the other states, Texas officers also have to complete a mandatory firearm requalification for them to continuing holding valid certificates (Texas Association of Counties, 2018). The courses are divided into mandatory courses and non-mandatory courses. However, the Texas state does not pay its law enforcement officers for pursuing the non-mandatory courses referred to as electives.
Conclusion
Mandatory retraining of law enforcement officers in various states of America is considered a normal practice due to the requirement placed by POST. The practice is considered important since it helps in equipping officers with new skills as they emerge. The job of law enforcement officers is very sensitive hence requires constant updating with the new laws as well as enhancement of already existing skills such as firearm handling and high speed vehicle pursuit. The states examine in this case bear similarities and differences that distinguish their mandatory training programs. All the states require their law enforcement officers to complete at least forty hours of training in every four years. Firearm requalification is also a mandatory course in all the states. The courses are divided into both mandatory and non-mandatory ones. In Florida, the non-mandatory courses are referred to as salary incentive credits and are thus paid for upon approval by an agency administrator.
References
Florida Police Academy (2017). Mandatory Retraining. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/home/florida-requirements/-11-mandatory-retraining
Mishra, S. (2017). Staff Training: A Mandatory Requirement. Journal of Business Management & Quality Assurance (e ISSN 2456-9291) , 1 (3), 20-25.
POST (2018). Required Updated or Refresher Training Requirements. Retrieved from https://post.ca.gov/refresher-training
Texas Association of Counties (2018) Continuing Education for Sheriffs. Retrieved from https://www.county.org/Education-Training/CE-Requirements/Sheriff
