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.