Here's my take on law enforcement training in general. And it hasn't changed all that much in my almost 30 years.
I was lucky enough to have some good trainers in the police academy. I'd never fired a gun before I came on the job. When I was done with the academy, I shot expert with my model 10. I actually beat most of the former army and marine guys and gals. THAT was training, not just qualification. We also had excellent training in driving. We had one course where we actually chased each other. I haven't done that since but it was VERY fun and after I got into a few "real" chases on the job, I realized it had the highest real world to training ratio of any driving training I've had since
Our instructors pushed us to go faster to become familiar with what the '85 Dodge Diplomat could and couldn't do. In training I've had since then, the instructors told me to go easy on them so they wouldn't get car sick.....Hmmm...
As far as training goes now, just about everything I've had after the academy was not training but merely liability documentation. Something they could file away so that they could pull it out for court when you got sued. Let's face it. Training 5 times a year vs. 2 isn't going to make you shoot any better unless you want to. And frankly, police officers have to worry a lot more about shooting DECISIONS than accuracy and ability. Same goes for defensive tactics. Training 5 time a year vs. two isn't going to make you any better in martial arts. I don't like to go to the range for training because the courses of fire aren't really challenging for the most part. It's boring. For some reason I can still out shoot most of the trainers and 90% of the SWAT team and they train a LOT more than me. Natural ability? Maybe? Just better hand-eye coordination?
With training budgets what they are, even if they quadrupled them, you're not going to improve in your shooting skills unless you do it on your own. Same goes for defensive tactics.
And what about report-writing? The ability to know the elements of a crime and put them down on paper in a logical manner that someone can actually follow? I came on the job with a high school diploma but I liked to read, write and argue (as some here can attest). I read reports every day from alleged college graduate/bachelor degree recipients that are just atrocious. They have no idea what constitutes reasonable suspicion vs. probable cause vs. fantasy. Many of them don't even know what constitutes a crime! They know the guy did something wrong but they're not sure what. So they make the arrest and rely on the boss on the desk or the detective to determine what exactly the crime was. The training they get is a note from me, sometimes smart-*** if I think they can handle it, sometimes more gentle if I think they can't and always informative and helpful with constructive criticism and praise for doing the work in the first place. Some of them take it to heart and improve. SOME of the tactical, know-it-all cop queer studs have the attitude that they already know it all because they're in a special unit with three years on the job. Those names generally resurface on use of force and search and seizure issues....If you can't accept advice from someone who has been there already, no amount of training is going to make you a better policeman because there's formal training and then there's real training...
Most of the talk of guns and equipment and tactics are often just mental masturbation for folks who are sometimes so far behind on the basics, it doesn't really matter if they can shoot the bulls eye out of the target...Actually, I guess I have to rephrase that because the targets don't have the same type of scoring rings anymore....Or not the ones I was used to anyway....
And what about realistic training to be able to talk to someone without coming across like an ***? I had some cop who came to my house and got the address wrong who was ready to arrest me because I told him, "Uh, no, you're not coming into my house without a search warrant...."
We've gotten so far away from the basics that cops can't spot criminals anymore without an MDT that can read plates and fingerprints all by itself.
I think a lot of times we confuse the "best trained officer or unit" as nothing more than the "most trained". And equipment? Geez...I was just looking at some old LIFE magazine articles. How did our troops survive in Vietnam with Bulova watches and Raybans instead of tactical watches and glasses? When I came on, I carried a plastic briefcase with a ticket book, clip board, extra rounds and some paper towels to wipe the grease off of the headrest in the car.....Have you seen what some of these guys are carrying now? One guy literally carries a hockey bag full of ****.....
But back on point...police training is primarily litigation support and nothing more. If you want to be good at guns and fighting, you have to do it yourself. If you want to be good at POLICEWORK, you have to find a mentor, sit in on interviews and interrogations, get to know the prosecutor and what they need, learn to talk to whores like they're ministers and ministers like they're whores, accept, if not appreciate people for who they are and what you can learn from them instead of looking down on them based on they way you were raised or your preconceived notions, realize that the jerks you encounter are speaking to uniform and not you personally, learn sincerity and empathy or at least the ability to fake sincerity and empathy really well (either one works).....These are all things that they don't typically train you in. And any cop worth his salt would rather have a fatass partner who is good at these things than some sniper karate expert with a high speed, low drag bag full of goodies. Because formalized police training, while important and necessary for court, is mostly bull**** due to the available quality and quantity of training. The real valuable training that makes you a better policeman isn't something you're going to learn from the various tactical gun writers who are so revered around here.
There, now I'VE alienated some cops!
Oh..and the whole physical fitness thing? It always amazes me that you can have a guy who lives in a $500,000.00 house who justifies buying a new gun every year because he's more afraid of armed robbers in the ghetto than the massive heart attack sneaking up on him because he has 3 whole cheeseburgers sitting in his aorta. I mean...if you really want to increase your chances of "survival".....
Some of my family members don't even know the model of the gun they carry every day. Just the brand and caliber.
I really don't like talking to people about guns at work. The people who ask often already know the answer and are using the question as a conversation starter. I'd much rather talk about cars or dogs or something. Like the other guy says....Do you as a plumber want to sit down and tell someone about your tools or how they can fix their own water heater without paying you? I had a guy with a vest on with Camp Perry patches all over it and some pistol brand hat on ask me what kind of "weapon" I was carrying....I told him it was a Pontiac. He didn't bother me anymore while I flirted with the waitress at lunch....
