Police training varies in important ways around the world, with significant differences in program content, format, and instructional methods.[4] Police academies are not used solely by police cadets, and some are also regularly used regularly by sworn officers, other law enforcement agencies, special units such as SWAT, and occasionally even civilians and other non-law enforcement personnel; for example, the 1932 Summer Olympics used the Los Angeles Police Academy's range for their shooting event.[2]
The requirements to join a police department and attend a police academy vary by jurisdiction. Most of the time, these requirements include background checks, physical, mental, and medical exams, as well as criminal record checks.
Training prepares police officers with the knowledge and skills to apply contemporary standards of policing. In some countries, police education consists of an extensive process over many years. In other countries, police receive as little as 5 to 8 months of education. Most police education includes some time spent on field training, which is a supervised practicum supported by a field training officer (FTO). Police academies adhere to policies for the selection and recruitment of instructors, stress-management training, community-oriented leadership and policing training, specialist training, supervisory and management training, and liability issues associated with training.[5]
History of police education
From the early 1800s through the early to middle 1900s, policing was conceptualized as a form of physical labor, and on-the-job training was the norm. In the middle of the 20th century, police work became more professional, but this changed a lot depending on national and local culture and politics. The "good government" ethos of the 20th century emphasized that police should be hired competitively based on merit, and entrance tests became standard practice. In some countries, the rights of ‘due process’ advanced to the point where it is necessary for police to have an understanding of the law and legal reasoning. After riots and other problems in the late 20th century, community policing methods were created to show how important social skills and knowledge of social science are.[6] The rise of gun violence also affected police training programs, which placed more and more emphasis on the use of weapons and defensive tactics.
Classroom and field training
Police training occurs in classroom settings, on the shooting range, in the gym, and in the field. In the classroom, recruits learn the basics of law, procedures, radio codes, penal codes, etc. This type of instruction often involves formal testing, in which recruits must pass each exam with a certain minimum score. On the shooting range and in the gym, hands-on and scenario-based activities include arrest and control, defensive tactics, the use of weapons, and driving. Recruits must demonstrate proficiency in these skills. In the U.S., the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing recommended incorporating the following in topics in basic recruit and in-service trainings: policing in a democratic society; implicit bias and cultural responsiveness; social interaction skills and tactical skills; addiction; crisis intervention (mental health); policies on sexual misconduct and sexual harassment; and how to work with the LGBTQ community. They also said that training innovation hubs should be set up and that community members should be included in police training.[7]Overall police training has also gone through a shift from vocational training to greater emphasis on academic courses. One of the intentions is to mitigate the powerful social impact of police culture.[8]Some states are moving towards a more inclusive training culture, for instance, all Florida police officers must complete a minimum of 770 hours of state-mandated training during their initial certification, which includes training in diversity.[9]
Uses of video as a training tool
Videos are used as a recruiting tool to engage people to apply for police training, and in attracting interest and attention, they may use action, humor, pathos or other techniques to encourage people's curiosity about policing as a career choice.[10]
Videos may be effective in improving learners' knowledge, developing attention, reflection, and noticing skills, but the educational value of video depends upon the characteristics of the medium, content, and the learner's mental effort and expectations for learning.[11] Video has six functions in police education to support the development of sworn officers.[12]
In the classroom, watching and talking about videos can help people learn to pick out and pay attention to the most important parts of complicated situations. For example, students may view a video of an interaction between police and citizens, learning to able to recognize the point at which information has been gathered to establish probable cause or suspicion to justify the officer's initial action. Such activities also may sharpen the ability to interpret and reflect on what is noticed based on one's own professional knowledge and experience using description, explanation, and prediction.[13] In policing, learning from video may cultivate systematic observation procedures that transfer to direct observation in the field. Because video provides a permanent recording that captures the complexity of social interactions, learners can examine an action with multiple objectives and from different perspectives. Learners can also stop the tape and review certain segments, focusing on specific details.
Video viewing and discussion activities cultivates professional vision. A concept used to describe the distinctive ability shared by members of a professional group to see and understand events central to their work. This is because video facilitates a shift from an individual dimension to a collective one in observation, since the same video can be shared by different observers, enabling analysis from multiple perspectives. Because viewers bring a variety of different kinds of life experiences and prior knowledge to the task of viewing video, what they notice and the meanings they infer from the video will vary greatly. For this reason, instructional practices that involve viewing and discussion need to elaborate their purposes with clear and concrete task structures and designs.
Learning from body-worn camera footage (BWC)
Video has become increasingly important in law enforcement, and society has accepted a variety of forms of surveillance because of its value in both increasing accountability and preventing crime. In a study of more than 700 police chiefs, researchers found that police chiefs with higher levels of trust in their officers were more willing to disclose raw video footage from body-worn cameras to the general public. Body-worn camera footage can be valuable for police training[14] and supporting officer learning, particularly in situations where behaviors fall short of professionalism.[15] But dashcams and body-worn cameras may also inadvertently increase the use of force incidents and reduce the time that the police spend on de-escalating a situation.[16]
Demonstrations and how-to videos
Other types of videos can also provide visual and real-life examples of important policing concepts and police instructors often use video ftoconveyiimportant information and ideas, demonstrating how to use equipment, tactics, and procedures, enhaneg situational awareness, and evenbettern understang the local community. Short clips from news and entertainment programs can help address important cultural and social dimensions of police/citizen encounters, and these videos are easily accessed through social media posts and video-sharing websites. Some of the video training materials that are used in police education are so tedious and boring to watch that officers are tempted to skip out on viewing them, which is a type of cheating.[17]
Controversies about videos used in police training
Many police recruits have entertainment-based perceptions about crime and law enforcement,[18] and their world views may be shaped by copaganda, or entertainment media's distorted depictions of police activity. Police training videos can also reinforce harmful stereotypes. Communities concerned about police abuse of power have examined the content and format of videos used in police academies as part of police reform initiatives. In Austin, as members of the community reviewed videos used for police education, they noticed patterns that troubled them. The videos used for police instruction included many with content that included an “us-versus-them” bias that focused exclusively on officer safety that neglected to consider the safety of the community as a whole.[19] Videos depicted officers as “good guys” and the public they interact with as “bad guys,” offering a view of the profession as primarily concerned with exercising and maintaining control, where officers are agents of control and the public stands in need of being controlled.[20]
In Australia, the states and mainland territories run a centralised academy for the training of law enforcement personnel for agencies within a given state or territory.
The academies ensure that officers meet basic local, state and federal standards. Graduation from an approved academy program is usually required before a new law enforcement officer is placed on active duty.
The
Western Australia Police Academy are state police, initial training institutions. The smaller yet distinguished Australian Federal Police
Academy located in Barton, Canberra trains AFP recruits.
In Azerbaijan, the Police Academy was established in 1921 by the People's Internal Affairs Commissariat of the Azerbaijan Republic and it continued to function in Baku until 1936 when the main building of the academy was moved to Mərdəkan (a district outside Baku).
The main purpose of the academy is to educate students regarding the law as well as specialised training for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
All candidates are expected to pass an entry examination composed mostly of fitness requirements. A candidate who does not meet the physical fitness requirements, or fails assessments such as medical or MIA checks are considered to be disqualified from the competition. Applicants must be a citizen of Azerbaijan with no criminal record. The successful candidates graduate after studying for 5 years at the academy.
During the course of study, students of academy are provided with dormitories, uniforms, scholarships, and meals. Men and women are placed in separate dormitories on campus.
After graduation, the candidates are assigned police ranks and they are given positions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The academy studies other countries by sending officers to Germany, Austria, England, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and other countries.[22]
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Police Academy trains recruits of the Bangladesh Police. It also offers refreshment training for previous graduates. Each law enforcement includes specialised training and study durations.[23]
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP): Bangladesh Police Academy (1 year), foundation training at Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center (BPATC)
Sub-Inspector: Bangladesh Police Academy (1 year)
Sergeant: Bangladesh Police Academy (6 months)
Constable: Bangladesh Police Academy (6 months)
Bulgaria
The Bulgarian police academy is the Academy of the Ministry of Interior (Академия МВР).[24]
Republic of Cyprus. Founded in 1990 as the successor to the Police Training School, the CPA is recognised as an institution of higher education by the Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications. The CPA operates under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order as a police unit within the organizational structure of the Cyprus Police
. It functions on a permanent basis, both for the education of cadet constables and for the training of all police members, regardless of rank, as part of officers' continuing education. Some legal courses are also conducted for non-police officers.
Czech Republic
The Police Education and Training Unit (PETU) was established in 2015 and is the leading agency regarding all education and training of the police forces in the Czech Republic.[25] In the Czech Republic, the Police Academy is a university-level institution, where specialised training for police, public administration, and private security services is provided. Some branches are open to civilians while some are only for police officers and other para-military groups such as firefighters and soldiers. The schools are open to recruits holding advanced educational degrees (bachelor's degree or higher).
Basic training centers for recruits are called "secondary police schools" and every law enforcement officer must advance through one of these centers. In this system, "senior police schools" still exist that have the educational status of "higher learning", where specializations are offered.
Municipal police may have access to several training centers, and some larger cities have their own dedicated campuses. Some municipalities conduct training through privately licensed agencies.
Estonia
The Estonian Police was originally established in 1918 and then re-established in 1991 after gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The Estonia Police force consists of three units: Central Criminal Police, the Central Law Enforcement, and the Forensic Service Center. In Estonia, the Estonian Academy of Security Science is located in Tallinn and consists of four colleges including the Police and Border Guard colleges in Muraste and Paikuse. Estonia Police were the first to use Blockchain technology to allow for better policing of the people. Applicants must be in good health, have no criminal background and possess certain traits as evaluated by psychological exams.[26]
Finland
Recruits in the Finnish Police forces receive training at the
Security Intelligence Service performs a basic security background check of all applicants which includes penalties and convictions, arrests for drunkenness, racist attitudes as well as security risks. Applicants must possess, at least, a short-term driving license by the end of the application period.[27]
Basic police training requires three years of study and is considered a bachelor's degree.
After the bachelor's degree and three additional years of experience in the field of internal security, an officer is qualified to apply for Master's studies (2 years, Master's degree). Master's studies focus on management skills and supervisory tasks. The master's degree is a required qualification for command positions such as Chief Inspector or Superintendent.
Germany
In Germany policing is divided into different levels. There are different police academies (Polizeischule) for the federal police (Bundespolizei) or state police forces (Landespolizei). In addition, there are training centers for several municipal police forces as well.