NCJ Number
76113
Date Published
1976
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The results of a survey of 132 peace officers, Federal law enforcement personnel, and college police science staff in Utah are presented. The survey was conducted in 1976 to assess perceptions of the quality, successes, and failures of all types of police inservice training in Utah.
Abstract
The types of training considered in the survey were departmental training provided by each agency, interagency training, college classes, Federal training programs, Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), and other training programs. Most of the peace officers surveyed (53 percent) felt they were not receiving all the inservice training they needed. One-third of the respondents mentioned that more training of all types needed to be provided in the less populated areas of Utah, and one-third felt the present system of inservice training included subjects not relevant to their current duties. Furthermore, one-fifth felt the training now offered was sporadically provided. Survey participants wanted more specialized training in judicial codes and procedures, refresher courses, and college classes, even though each officer receives an average of 65 hours of inservice training per year. Chiefs and sheriffs recognize the importance of inservice training, as evidenced by the high number of departments (49 percent) which have their own training programs. Finally, POST has been instrumental in offering good training to officers and in encouraging administrators to develop their own training programs. No references are given.