Recommendation area ▸

Police Training

The Problem ▸

Basic (academy) and in-service (on-the-job) training is designed to shape how officers do their job, develop new skills and knowledge, and learn how policies and procedures should be implemented. Police training is relatively short in duration, may be limited, and often focuses on physical and tactical policing responses and procedures. Research studies show that training in other areas, such as prioritizing guardian philosophies, problem-solving, and understanding and respecting cultural differences, is very limited. Because of this, officers are often underprepared to engage with the complex challenges involving individuals who are economically and/or socially disenfranchised. In addition to content deficiencies, officer training may be further weakened by the quality and methods of training delivery.

What We Know ▸

Basic Training Averages 833 Hours or Roughly 21 Weeks

Although almost all agencies have minimum education requirements for new officers, the amount of education prior to hiring tends to be low. The most recent nationwide data reveals that 84% of municipal police agencies[1] and 89% of sheriffs’ offices[2] require a high school diploma and less than 1% require a 4-year college degree.[3],[4] Most but not all law enforcement agencies require field training in addition to basic classroom training. However, even when field training is mandatory, this requirement may not apply to all recruits.[5] Despite these minimum requirements, approximately 1/3 of police officers have 4-year college degrees.[6]

Most Instructional Time is Spent on Firearm Skills, Defensive Tactics, and Patrol Procedures

Hundreds of hours are spent on traditional law enforcement topics such as firearms, defensive tactics, and use of force procedures. Far fewer hours are spent on non-traditional “guardian-style” topics such as diversity, de-escalation, communication, crisis intervention, and stress management.[7],[8] About 75% of academies provide instruction on mediation and conflict management (average length of instruction 13 hours) and problem-solving (average length of instruction 16 hours).[9] Nearly 100% reported providing training on ethics and integrity. Less than half reported providing training on restraints such as the carotid hold.[10] Different types of training and a re-allocation of hours or re-prioritization of training hours may be necessary to move American policing towards more of a “guardian” orientation as opposed to “warrior” orientation, and to address other important topics such as self-improvement. [11]

Enhanced Psychological and Cognitive Skills Training May Be Necessary

Psychological skills training, using an adult learning model that includes the integration of cognitive, emotional, social, and moral skills development may improve performance, including police-community relations, but it is not sufficient without cultural support within the agency.[12] Police academies can facilitate the development of critical thinking skills, conscientiousness, adaptability, emotional regulation and intelligence, stress tolerance, performance techniques, social competence, teamwork, assertiveness and persuasiveness, integrity, ethics, and spirituality (many of which are also psychological screening factors in some states). In addition to being emphasized in the academy, these skills should be reinforced in field training. Methods to enhance macro-cognitive skill development include sensemaking, naturalistic decision-making, and the ShadowBox methods of cognitive skills training.[13]

Instructor Backgrounds, Experience, and Education Vary

Forty-two percent of academies required a high-school diploma or equivalent for full-time instructors; 25% had no formal education requirement for instructors; 25% require a 2-year degree or higher for instructors. On average, about four years of policing experience is required to be a full-time instructor.[14] Despite these requirements, it is unclear if and how these qualifications impact instruction quality and learning outcomes.

Training Academies are Not Always Operated by Law Enforcement

Field Training Officers (FTOs) Have a Lasting Impact on New Officers

FTOs are responsible for reinforcing academy training, teaching competencies beyond those taught in the academy, and developing new officer values.[16] Because recruit training faces challenges with incorporating both book knowledge and applied knowledge, field training is crucial in providing officers with social learning that instills intangible value-based decision-making during unpredictable incidents in complex situations. FTOs can teach both positive and negative behaviors and thinking that has lasting impacts on officers. Field-training processes may negatively impact a new officer’s attitudes toward community policing and problem-solving.[17] Further, complaints against new officers is at least partially attributable to their FTO.[18]

Evidence on the Effectiveness of Specific Types of Training is Limited, and Effectiveness Varies

Officers who received crisis-intervention training were more likely to de-escalate, use less physical force, and perceive physical force as less effective compared to nonphysical actions during scenario-based vignettes.[19],[20] These officers also felt better prepared to interact with people with perceived mental illness.[21]
There was significant variation and little standardization across de-escalation programs, but some evidence suggests the programs generated moderate attitudinal, perceptual, and behavioral benefits.[22] For instance, officers reported more positive attitudes towards compromise, prioritizing safety for everyone involved, and knowing when to disengage.[23]
Social-interaction training can improve officer attitudes regarding procedurally just communication but does not alter use-of-force behaviors, and officers are skeptical that it enhances their skillset.[24]
Officers who receive procedural justice training report more positive perceptions of public engagement, more positive attitudes toward officer respect and empathy, and fewer complaints and use-of-force instances.[25]
Educating officers about disproportionate contact with minority youth improves officer knowledge, attitudes, and understanding regarding effective interaction strategies.[26]
Training on community-oriented or problem-oriented policing (COP) has little impact on officer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.[27] However, implementation of COP has been demonstrated to improve a community’s satisfaction in and trust of the police, as well as reducing community perceptions of disorder.[28]
Trainings designed to reduce implicit biases can improve officer knowledge and understanding on the science of bias; however, it has limited effects on attitudes about discriminatory or prejudiced behavior and no impact on reducing actual disparities in enforcement outcomes.[29]

Virtual Reality (VR) and Simulation Training Modalities May Show Promise

VR training allows for greater perspective-taking and has been used in various domains to build empathy in interactions including medicine[30], psychology[31], and education[32]. Virtual scenarios (designed to be more similar to live interactions) can facilitate enhanced presence in simulated interactions,[33] and therefore may be a more effective way of identifying racial bias and increase prosocial behavior with longer-term impacts on police-community interactions and prejudice reduction.[34] Simulation (aka scenario-based) training involves realistic scenarios, including use of equipment on the job and equipment-based feedback.[35] As in VR training, simulation-based training has been demonstrated to be superior to more basic training formats (e.g., problem-solving approaches) especially for complex tasks, in fields such as aviation[36], management[37], and medicine[38]. There is some research showing the success of VR training in policing[39].

Council Recommendations ▸

Recommendation 50

Develop and Deliver Training That Supports Organizational and Cultural Goals

Training curricula that support law enforcement agency organizational and cultural goals and values, as defined by agency leadership and the community, should be developed and delivered. Trainers and the curriculum should be certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) National Certification Program (NCP). Training curricula that support law enforcement agency organizational and cultural goals and values, as defined by agency leadership and the community, should be developed and delivered. Trainers and the curriculum should be certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) National Certification Program (NCP) or some other nationally recognized certification program.

Recommendation 51

Review Roles of Field Training Officers (FTOs)

Field training officer (FTO) training, selection, assignment, and impact should be reviewed to ensure alignment with organizational values and culture. Differences between academy training and guidance provided by FTOs should be analyzed, including observational analysis and surveys of attitudinal and other possible changes before and after the academy, and after field training. Officers with founded complaints, misconduct, or multiple uses of excessive force on their record should not be selected as FTOs. The Police Training Officer (PTO) model, which emphasizes community problem-solving and other approaches, should be considered, tested, and evaluated.

Recommendation 52

Evaluate Impact of Training on Officer Behavior

The impact of all training on policing outcomes should be evaluated, including for possible disparate impact.

Recommendation 53

Incorporating Elements of Contemporary Policing in Training

Essential elements of contemporary policing must be incorporated in all academies, in-service, and field training. These elements include procedural justice, de-escalation, active bystandership, respect for all persons, sanctity of life, value of diversity, fair and impartial policing, and interpersonal and communication skills. To ensure that trainees understand and can implement these elements, the time spent on these elements (including refresher work and skill-based proficiency assessments) should be compared to time spent on training that may prioritize more aggressive law enforcement tactics.

Further Research ▸

The impacts of training should be further studied. Agencies are experimenting with both training content and training modalities. Despite this experimentation, there is little known about the impact of these dimensions. Training programs should specify both proximal and distal outcomes in areas such as officer attitudes, officer behaviors, organizational outcomes, and community perceptions and safety.

The extent, nature, and quality of in-service training of officers who are already on the job should be further studied. This training is generally focused on legal changes and firearms proficiency rather than other topics that expand officer skills and knowledge. Because in-service training is often handled by individual agencies, far less is known about it.

Instructional methods and practices used in police training and the instructor qualifications should be better assessed and understood.

Field training programs are thought to significantly impact new officers. However, little is known about program delivery and how it impacts officer knowledge and techniques on the job. Further, little is known about how officers are selected to become FTOs or how such selection influences the development of new officers. More research is needed to understand these programs and to guide future policy decisions.

Citations ▸

[1] Reaves, B. (2015). Local Police Departments, 2013: Personnel, Policies, and Practices. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

[2] Burch, A (2012). Sheriffs’ Offices, 2007 – Statistical Tables. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

[3] Reaves, B. (2015). Local Police Departments, 2013

[4] Burch, A (2012). Sheriffs’ Offices, 2007

[5] Buehler, E. D. (2021). State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018 – Statistical Tables. Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/slleta18st.pdf

[6] Gardiner, C (2017). Policing around the Nation: Education, Philosophy, and Practice. https://www.policinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PF-Report-Policing-Around-the-Nation_10-2017_Final.pdf

[7] Police Executive Research Forum. (2015). Critical Issues on Policing Series: Re-Engineering Training On Police Use of Force. https://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining1.pdf

[8] Sloan, J. J. III, & Paoline, E. A. III. (2021). “They Need More Training!” A National Level Analysis of Police Academy Basic Training Priorities. Police Quarterly, 24(4), 486-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211013311

[9] Buehler, E. D. (2021). State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018

[10] Police Executive Research Forum. (2015). Critical Issues on Policing Series: Re-Engineering Training On Police Use of Force. https://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining1.pdf

[11] Sloan, J. J. III, & Paoline, E. A. III. (2021). “They Need More Training!” A National Level Analysis of Police Academy Basic Training Priorities. Police Quarterly, 24(4), 486-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211013311

[12] Andersen, J. P., & Gustafsberg, H. (2016). A Training Method to Improve Police Use of Force Decision Making: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychology, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016638708

Blumberg, D. M., Schlosser, M. D., Papazoglou, K., Creighton, S., & Kaye, C. (2019). New Directions in Police Academy Training: A Call to Action. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950698/

[13] Suss, J., & Ward, P. (2018). Revealing perceptual-cognitive expertise in law enforcement: An iterative approach using verbal-report, temporal-occlusion, and option-generation methods. Cognition, Technology and Work, 20(4), 585-596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-018-0493-z

[14] Buehler, E. D. (2021). State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018

[15] Buehler, E. D. (2021). State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018

[16] Buehler, E. D. (2021). State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018

Bennett, R. R. (1984). Becoming Blue: A Longitudinal Study of Police Recruit Occupational Socialization. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(1), 47-58. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232495465_Becoming_blue_A_longitudinal_study_of_police_recruit_occupational_socialization

Engelson, W. (1999). The organizational values of law enforcement agencies: The impact of field training officers in the socialization of police recruits to law enforcement organizations. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 14, 11-19. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02830064

[17] Haarr, R. N. (2001). Making of a Community Policing Officer: The Impact of Basic Training and Occupational Socialization on Police Recruits. Police Quarterly, 4(4), 402-433. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/making-community-policing-officer-impact-basic-training-and

[18] Getty, R. M., Worrall, J. L., & Morris, R. G. (2016). How Far From the Tree Does the Apple Fall? Field Training Officers, Their Trainees, and Allegations of Misconduct. Crime & Delinquency, 62(6), 821-839. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128714545829

[19] Compton, M. T., Demir Neubert, B. N., Broussard, B., McGriff, J. A., Morgan, R., & Oliva, J. R. (2009). Use of force preferences and perceived effectiveness of actions among Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) police officers and non-CIT officers in an escalating psychiatric crisis involving a subject with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 37(4), 737-745.

[20] Rogers, M. S., McNiel, D. E., & Binder, R. L. (2019). Effectiveness of Police Crisis Intervention Training Programs. The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 47(4), 414–421. https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.003863-19

[21] Tully, T., & Smith, M. (2015). Officer perceptions of crisis intervention team training effectiveness. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, 88(1), 51-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X15570558

[22] Engel, R. S., McManus, H. D., & Herold, T. D. (2020). Does de-escalation training work? Criminology & Public Policy, 19(3), 721-759. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12467

[23] White, M. D., Mora, V.J., Orosco, C., & Hedberg, E.C. (2021). Moving the needle: Can training alter officer perceptions and use of de-escalation? Policing: An International Journal, 44(3), 418-436. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2020-0140

[24] McLean, K., Wolfe, S. E., Rojek, J., Alpert, G. P., & Smith, M. R. (2020). Randomized controlled trial of social interaction police training. Criminology & Public Policy, 19(3), 805-832. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12506

Wolfe, S., Rojek, J., McLean, K., & Alpert, G. (2020). Social Interaction Training to Reduce Police Use of Force. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 687(1), 124-145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716219887366

[25] Skogan, W. G., Van Craen, M., & Hennessy, C. (2014). Training police for procedural justice. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11, 319-334. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11292-014-9223-6

Rosenbaum, D. P., & Lawrence, D. S. (2011). Teaching Respectful Police-Citizen Encounters and Good Decision Making: Results of a Randomized Control Trial with Police Recruits. Michigan State University. http://www.ippsr.msu.edu/research/teaching-respectful-police-citizen-encounters-and-good-decision-making-results-randomized

Schuk, A. M., & Rosenbaum, D. P. (n. d.) The Chicago Quality Interaction Training Program: A Randomized Control Trial of Police Innovation. National Police Research Platform. https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=687722

Wood, G., Tyler, T. R., & Papachristos, A. V. (2020). Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers. PNAS, 117(18). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920671117

[26] LaMotte, V., Ouellette, K., Sanderson, J., Anderson, S. A., Kosutic, I., Griggs, J., & Garcia, M. (2010). Effective Police Interactions with Youth: A Program Evaluation. Police Quarterly, 13(2), 161-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611110365689

[27] Paoline, E. A. III, Myers, S. M., & Worden, R. E. (2000). Police culture, individualism, and community policing: Evidence from two police departments. Justice Quarterly, 17(3), 575-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820000094671

Quinet, K., Nunn, S., & Kincaid, N. (2003). Training police: A case study of differential impacts of problem-oriented policing training. Police Practice and Research, 4(3), 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/1561426032000113889

[28] Gill, C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Vitter, Z., &, Bennett, T. (2014). Community-oriented policing to reduce crime, disorder and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy among citizens: A systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10, 399-428. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-014-9210-y

[29] Worden, R. E., McLean, S. J., Engel, R. S., Cochran, H., Corsaro, N., Reynolds, D., Najdowski, C. J., Isaza, G. T. (2020). The Impacts of Implicit Bias Awareness Training in the NYPD. John Finn Institute for Public Safety, the IACP, and the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Police Research and Policy. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/impacts-of-implicit-bias-awareness-training-in-%20the-nypd.pdf

Forscher, P. S., Lai, C. K., Axt, J. R., Ebersole, C. R., Herman, M., Devine, P. G., Nosek, B. A. (2019). A Meta-Analysis of Procedures to Change Implicit Measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(3), 522-559. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6687518/

[30] Li, L., Yu, F., Shi, D., Shi, J., Tian, Z., Yang, J., Wang, X., & Jiang, Q. (2017). Application of virtual reality technology in clinical medicine. American Journal of Translational Research, 9(9), 3867–3880.

[31] Glantz, K., Durlach, N. I., Barnett, R. C., & Aviles, W. A. (1996). Virtual reality (VR) for psychotherapy: From the physical to the social environment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 33(3), 464–473. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.33.3.464

[32] Kavanagh, S., Luxton-Reilly, A., Wuensche, B. & Plimmer, B. (2017). A systematic review of Virtual Reality in education. Themes in Science and Technology Education, 10(2), 85-119.

[33] Garcia, E. T., & Baker, L. J. (2019). Measuring Presence and Performance in a Virtual Reality Police Use of Force Training Simulation Prototype. Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society Conference. https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/FLAIRS/FLAIRS19/paper/viewPaper/18223

[34] Gillath, O., McCall, C., Shaver, P. R., & Blascovich, J. (2008). What Can Virtual Reality Teach Us About Prosocial Tendencies in Real and Virtual Environments? Media Psychology, 11(2), 259-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260801906489

Groom, V., Bailenson, J. N., & Nass, C. (2009). The influence of racial embodiment on racial bias in immersive virtual environments. Social Influence, 4(3), 231-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510802643750

Salmanowitz, N. (2018). The impact of virtual reality on implicit racial bias and mock legal decisions. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 5(1), 174-203. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5912078/

Eastwick, P. W., & Gardner, W. L. (2009). Is it a game? Evidence for social influence in the virtual world. Social Influence, 4(1), 18-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510802254087

Doan, L., Ray, R., Powelson, C., Fuentes, G., Shankman, R., Genter, S., & Bailey, J. (2021). Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Simulation Tool for Studying Bias in Police-Civilian Interactions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 12776, 388-399. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78114-9_26

[35] Jenkins, B., Semple, T. & Bennell, C. (2021). An evidence-based approach to critical incident scenario development. Policing: An International Journal, 44(3), 437-454. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-02-2020-0017

[36] Moorthy, K., Vicent, C., & Darzi, A. (2005). Simulation based training. British Medical Journal, 330, 493. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7490.493

[37] Salas, E., Wildman, J. L., & Piccolo, R. F. (2017). Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.8.4.zqr559

[38] Steadman, R. H., Coates, W. C., Huang, Y. M., Matevosian, R., Larmon, B. R., McCullough, L., & Ariel, D. (2006). Simulation-based training is superior to problem-based learning for the acquisition of critical assessment and management skills. Critical Care Medicine, 34(1), 151-157. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16374169/

[39] Andersen, J. P., Pitel, M., Weerasinghe, A., & Papazoglou, K. (2016). Highly realistic scenario-based training simulates the psychophysiology of real world use of force encounters: Implications for improved police officer performance. Journal of Law Enforcement, 5(4).