This is the second article in our new series Ask a Cop. Send your questions for the Bainbridge Island Police to contact@insidebainbridge.com. We’ll get your answers and post them here.
This month’s questions were submitted by Islander Jacquelin Konis. Detective Aimee LaClaire and Officer Erik Peffer are providing the answers.
Dear BIPD:
How much training is required for a person to be a police officer?
The amount of training a person is required to have to become a police officer varies from state to state. Washington State mandates that a police officer or deputy recruit attend and pass the Criminal Justice Training Commission’s 720 hour Basic Academy curriculum. This translates to about 18 weeks.
As quoted from the CJTC’s website, the curriculum “is designed to provide recruit officers with the basic knowledge and skills necessary for safe, proper, and effective law enforcement service. Instructional blocks include: Criminal Law and Procedures; Traffic Enforcement; Cultural Awareness; Communication Skills; Emergency Vehicle Operations Course; Firearms; Crisis Intervention; Patrol Procedures; Criminal Investigation; and Defensive Tactics.”
It should be noted that Washington State Patrol Troopers attend their own academy with different standards and that tribal police may also implement different criteria.
After recruit pass the academy, they typically go through an in-house Field Training Program. This is where they work in conjunction with a seasoned officer and get hands-on experience. It is during this time that they learn the municipal code, if applicable, and study the policies and procedures of the individual department. This phase of learning usually lasts for 14 weeks.
So, overall, police recruits typically spend a minimum of 32 weeks in training before they are able to work as solo officers.
Washington State also implements yearly requirements for training for officers to maintain their commissions. The yearly requirement for city police officers and county deputies is 24 hours per year of generalized training. The training must meet CJTC’s guidelines and must be transferable between departments. In other words, the training must be police officer specific and not department specific.
There are other mandates that stipulate specific yearly or quarterly trainings that can be included in the 24-hour minimum. Examples include firearm training, defensive driving tactics, and blood-borne pathogen training. Officers can also take elective courses to learn more about specialized areas of police work that they may be interested in such as Marine, K-9, Traffic Enforcement, Collision Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, and Bomb Technicians.
I am concerned about police shootings, where the police are not in a life-threatening situation, but the victim is shot many times and killed. Are police trained only to shoot to kill?
Police are trained to stop the threat. Firearm training is geared toward this in that officers are trained to shoot for center mass until the threat stops. There is no set number of bullets that will definitively stop a threat and the number of shots is based on the perception of an officer at the time of the encounter. Officers receive a lot of scenario-based training to this end to better discern potentially life-threatening situations.
One such situation that is lesser known to the public involves a person with a knife. Knives can be extremely dangerous and life threatening to police as most can penetrate body armor. Studies show that an armed person can close a distance of 21 feet and begin stabbing an officer before the officer has time to recognize the threat, react, and stop the threat.
Officers are not trained to “shoot the knee” or “shoot the gun out of the hand.” These tactics are not realistic and may not stop the threat. The decision for a police officer to use deadly force is not one taken lightly. It is a grave responsibility and is bestowed upon law enforcement to protect their lives and the lives of citizens.
This fact has lead to fatal police-related shootings. Typically, every jurisdiction has a review policy and board in place that will investigate the circumstances and determine if the incident was justifiable under the law. If it is deemed not justified, then the police officers involved can face civil and criminal actions.
It should be mentioned that there are unfortunately many police officers who lose their lives in the line of duty every year, many of whom are killed by gunfire.
What is the training for dealing with violence without using guns?
A majority of officers’ training is done without their firearms. There are many other tools at an officer’s disposal when appropriate. These tools include mere command presence, verbal de-escalation techniques, control and defensive tactics, baton, pepper spray, Tasers, and other articles deemed less or non-lethal. Officers are initially trained in the academy on how and when to use these tools and they receive periodic training and refresher classes throughout their careers.
Is there any training for dealing with the mentally ill?
There is training for law enforcement to assist in handling calls involving citizens with mental health issues. Specifically, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program has been adopted and implemented by many police agencies across the country. The first CIT program was started in Memphis in 1988 and is referred to as the “Memphis Model.” The premise is to provide the training and tools to police and other first responders that will help them assist the mentally ill person with his or her immediate crisis needs as well as connect the person with resources in the community.
As quoted directly from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) programs are local initiatives designed to improve the way law enforcement and the community respond to people experiencing mental health crises. They are built on strong partnerships between law enforcement, mental health provider agencies, and individuals and families affected by mental illness.”
CIT offers a 40-hour class as well as 8-hour refresher courses, peer group classes, youth and veteran targeted training, and annual conferences. Locally, Bainbridge Island Officers have all attended the 40-hour class and many of the officers have completed additional CIT courses.
Are police consumed by fear in altercations because there are so many guns available to the public?
Police are trained to handle complex and dangerous situations and typically do not involve their emotions during these encounters. If police were consumed by fear or any other emotion, it would be very difficult to do our jobs. That is not to say that officers have no emotions. We just navigate them differently and typically not while on-duty.
Due to the fact that a small portion of the population targets law enforcement simply for being law enforcement, police officers have to train for and expect the worse. This prepares us to be ready to defend our lives and the lives of others when needed. We also encounter aspects of the population that are involved in criminal activity or are prone to violence. This fact mandates that we remain hypervigilant in order to do our jobs effectively.
There are many things we do or ask of a citizen during a contact that is for officer safety that might not be readily apparent to the person. This is not out of paranoia or based in fear; it is how we are trained and is a necessary component of our line of work. The sheer number of guns available to the public, legally or otherwise, is a fact. It is important to remember that a majority of gun-carrying citizens have no ill intent toward police or other citizens. For police, staying vigilant and aware and utilizing our training and tactics help negate or circumvent some of the potentially dangerous situations involving guns or other dangerous weapons.
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