The farther removed I am from my hardass FTO’s the more I see the benefit in their training methods. The stress they put on you prepares you for the job, and once your out of their car solo patrol is very exciting when you don’t have to take 5 cold reports a day.
I’m in the FTO phase and you couldn’t of said this any better..😅 It feels good to know Im not alone in these struggles… we rookies gotta hold it down for the future generation of LEOs!!💙
Hey guys! just wanted to let you know how great your shows are! I listen with my earbuds all day at work 5 days a week. 24 now, working towards becoming an officer in the next few years. I learning a lot of useful information I never would have thought of. Lots I need to work on before I apply. Really appreciate you guys! Stay Safe!
Great topic and good insight. I completely agree with all the things you guys talked about. One thing I will say to all the trainee’s out there, regardless of your previous experience (especially laterals at a new agency), stay humble. Don’t talk about how good things were at your previous agency because no one cares. Keep your head down, do your job and learn from everyone until you get through it. Thanks guys.
This is super helpful since I've been hired on as a patrol deputy in my county Sheriff's department...also the most populated in my state, has the most violent cities and towns, has the most activity and is easily the most stressful county. I can use all the knowledge I can get
I did a lateral to a new department after 11 years at a very busy county police department. The new agency was a lot smaller and slower than what I was used to. I was expecting to be treated like the new guy, but when I was teaching my FTO and sergeant things, I quickly made a good name for myself. I did have to do the exact same paperwork and number of reports as a rookie would have to do to show competence with the systems and that I know what I was doing. After a few weeks, my FTO and I were more like a two man unit running around. On the other hand, when I came out of the academy, it was nuts, 7-10 reports everyday, which had to be completed before leaving. This was before we had computers, I had to hand write all my reports and accidents. We were allowed to use very minimal whiteout, but if there was too much, the FTO would rip up the report and I would have to do it again. It sucked when it was a hand drawn accident diagram I spent 2 hours doing. It made me more aware of how I was doing things and helped me be better at collecting the right information the first time. If there was an arrest report or accident, my FTO would get on the radio and tell the officer on scene to hold that call we would do the report. It was stressful, but I learned a lot and loved it.
Planning to leave the fire service and return to law enforcement, I was military police when I was in, and was definitely too immature for civilian law enforcement. This podcast and Fridays with Frank have really made me revisit law enforcement as a career. Planning to go to a college police academy when the new one opens in my town.
Great show as always! Thanks for answering my question about the academy: since I'm planning to go Reserve LEO, I'm enrolled in a part-time, collegiate academy as to not interfere with my current career. I was in the military so hopefully not attending a paramilitary academy won't be too much of a problem. Happy New Year to you all and thank you for what you do. 🇺🇸
Kyle you were on target with not putting too much pressure to make a trainee fail. I think an FTO should keep Professional Distance with trainees, be patient and be a teacher and not always just an Evaluator. Trainees need pressure and stress, but not so much to kill their spirit. You need to know when it's too much and recognize their deficiencies and work on them. There are going to be trainees that won't engage with criminals, be timid on Tstops etc. But now we see it more from the younger generation of kids that just don't have that life experience, or have experienced adversity.
@shotsfiredpodcast Thanks guys for calming my mind. Looking to roll out to patrol next month after two years at the jail. Was a little worried about toxic ftos and partners.
I wish someone had asked me what I felt deficient in so I could have focused more in that area. I needed a lot more traffic collision report writing. We didn’t have Traffic working graves. Fender benders weren’t too much trouble but occasionally there would be a bad one. Not being proficient in CA CIM made these daunting.
You’re totally right, Matt. The trainee is there to learn. They should feel comfortable enough to ask as many questions as possible. If an FTO is making a trainee feel like they can’t ask questions.. they are failing as the trainer.
My JC Academy was Para-Militaryish with a huge emphasis on bookwork, learning crim law, vehicle and penal codes with questions from your RTO everyday which were scored daily...But this was 94 and after getting out of the military...It was studying every night and weekends to keep the grades and scores up. Early in my career I had the hardass FTO with not too many question and answer sessions. Not taught a whole lot and was under more stress due to negative evals, rather than teaching...I have also experienced very good FTO's who wanted to teach rather than be an "Evaluator". I agree that even as a lateral, don't tell your war stories from your previous agency while your training.
See the sheriffs department I’m getting tested for next week is in my home county and they had 3,896 service calls in the month of August, now granted Georgetown county ( South Carolina) is a huge county but I would consider that a pretty busy county lol
Currently doing FTO at a sheriff office jail as a detention Deputy. Currently phase 2. Has its challenges it’s an hour away doing good. May transfer later on to my home Police Department to do Patrol. They said give it till April before applying. Can’t wait to start here in town and Persue k9 for my dream job.
I had plenty of FTO’s throughout my phases. Mostly, guys from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Few FTO’s I had I really learned a lot from. A lot of good knowledge passed down from generations to generations eventually making its way to me. Then, I would have an FTO who just did not want to FTO & just “pass” their probationary officers just to get the money. But for the most part I’ve had many FTO’s who taught me a lot. Fast forward now, I’m bounding to be an FTO at my agency. Something I never thought I’d want to do.
I’m older. Spent 9 years working in a hospital as support staff. Wanted to be law enforcement but now I decided to resign and go for it. I’m training every day and obsessing over material. This is my life. Is 35 years old…too old? Thanks guys.
Totally agreed that even in the current culture, you should be able to talk as a trainee, but "Know Your Place". It still turns me off when new guys on training get too comfortable even in 1st phase...Keep the jokes to a minimum and focus on the job at hand. What I hated was being the trainee and your FTO having you drowning you with paper. I spent more time writing or typing rather than learning on calls.
I agree with Kyle. You cannot keep pushing someone daily and treating them as someone lesser. At some point they’ll be so stressed that they can’t even learn. Obvious I can tell from this video that Kyle’s philosophy is different than the other two guys. Look at the FTO back when there weren’t a FTO? Those cops turned out fine didn’t they?
Currently DNR and have been approached about going through the law enforcement/Ranger side of things. Trying to figure out my physical fitness before joining. The FTO id be assigned to is a great officer and very knowledgeable but i have a ways to go first.
Quick question boys: would you say state troopers are “more experienced” than city or patrol deputies? I say this because state troopers conduct a lot of solo operations without immediate backup and therefore learn a lot quicker when it comes to body language and communication skills.
In some states, State Troopers jobs are different. In California, they don’t handle calls like city cops or deputies do. Anytime you have to conduct business solo, you learn how to communicate better, otherwise you might find yourself in a bad situation by yourself. That doesn’t mean you get more “experience” though… we can discuss this in an episode to further answer this. Good question.
I was couple days away to completed my FTO, unfortunately got on duty injury, later I found out that I will need to start all over again from phase 1. 😢
I’m sorry but putting a ton of pressure on a trainee in phase one or two can be dangerous because, that could lead to poor officer safety and even violating rights. I feel like FTO should set expectations and then work towards the expectation. The Dog example was perfect because if you push too hard ppl will just shutdown and it won’t be a great teaching moment.
The current approach of the police field training program focuses on transferring knowledge and skills from experienced field training officers (FTOs) to trainees. However, the traditional method of inducing stress in trainees to simulate real-life law enforcement situations is flawed. While FTOs believe that subjecting trainees to high levels of stress will prepare them for critical incidents, this is not the case. In fact, the stress inflicted by FTOs, such as mistreatment or verbal abuse, cannot compare to the daily stress experienced by enforcement officers in the field. Therefore, it is crucial to revamp the existing FTO program in order to truly prepare trainees for their future roles. Instead of artificially inducing stress, the focus should be on exposing trainees to real-life scenarios and calls. This would provide trainees with genuine stress inoculation and allow them to develop the necessary skills to handle challenging situations. In conclusion, the current police field training program is ineffective and requires a complete overhaul. By shifting the focus to real-life experiences, rather than artificial stress, trainees can be better equipped to handle the demands and pressures of law enforcement.
The hazing culture during the training process has to stop. That is one of the biggest reasons why people don’t really want to join the police or the sheriff's departments anymore. We need FTOs who are intelligent at all levels, not some asshole who is trying to haze you, so he can look like a big guy in front of other officers. We need FTOs who treat their trainees with respect and dignity because bad habits are easily picked up as the next thing you know it's the guy who you've just trained ends up on the news breaking not just the law but also department policy.
As a boot, you should sit there and not speak unless you're told to. I've seen new trainees joking and laughing with senior officers when they're having issues on training.
If what they are saying is true that is a truly toxic training environment. A FTO by pure definition is to train you in the field work. There is no more controlled environment training scenarios. They are graduates of the respective academy and deserve to be treated with respect and taught the knowledge of how things are handled in the street. I see why so many bad officers exist. Bad training from the top down!
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tXCVTPjG7yU.html 35 years ago... We lost 1/3 of my academy class to PT and firearms (one drug test) in the 24 week class. They came out and said they wanted to wash you out, that was our 5 month stresser. Their mindset was that most recruits did not have prior military training and they wanted to make it like marine corps boot camp. My son going in this summer thats how I landed here. Things have changed now where they dont even yell at the guys and put them under stress, i totally disagree with that.
