Venues for Law Enforcement Training

• NCJ Number: 204738
• Journal: Campus Law Enforcement Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2004 Pages: 31-34
• Author(s): Tom Dempsey; David Coffey
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This overview of venues for law enforcement training throughout the United States considers where entry-level training occurs, the duration of training, and the relative merits of the venues.

Abstract

This article is an overview of the authors' textbook, "Law Enforcement for the Twenty-first Century: An Entry-Level Guide" (Gould Publishing, 2001). In addition to a literature review, the authors examined State training guidelines for every State that had State-mandated training for law enforcement officers. A detailed examination of the curricula of 17 States was conducted. The States and academies selected reflected regions and demographics throughout the United States. Detailed descriptions were obtained for State training requirements, syllabi, and lesson plans from State oversight agencies and from individual academies. This research found that the most common training delivery was through a multijurisdictional academy that serves many different agencies. These academies are often conducted by academic institutions, most often community colleges. In addition, many large law enforcement agencies operate their own academies and accept students from other agencies, and there continue to be single-agency academies that exclusively serve the very large departments around the country. Regarding duration of training, the shortest length of academy training was 240 hours, and the most lengthy was 1,040 hours. The average period of required attendance was 510 hours. Although there are no nationwide standards for entry-level law enforcement training, the authors' research found consistency in the content of academy training curricula, especially in basic law enforcement training. Even the proportionate time devoted to various topics was consistent across academies. In assessing the relative merits of each training venue, the authors believe that affiliation with academic institutions offers the greatest benefit in structure, assuming comparably sound curricula and delivery. The greatest advantage of such a venue is the access that academy instructors and staff have to resources. 9 references