Riccucci, N., Naff, K. C., Shafritz, J. M., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (2008). Personnel management in government: Politics and process. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press 

Although I believe that formal education has countless benefits and should be offered, I believe that other forms of training such as on-the-job training, in-house seminars, cross-training, and simulation should be emphasized over formal education. Formal education is a great way of educating new police officers and expanding their skillset. However, other forms of training are more hands-on and practical, preparing them for real-life situations and daily job duties. Thus, although formal education provides many benefits and surely might improve police officers’ job performance, new police officers should first have a solid foundation on how to perform daily job tasks.

 
2020. “Why Police Officer Education Is So Important.” Civil Service Success. https://civilservicesuccess.com/why-police-officer-education-is-so-important/ (June 26, 2022).

Hilal, S., Densley, J., & Zhao, R. (2013). Cops in college: police officers' perceptions on formal education. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 24(4), 461-477.

 

Shafritz, Hyde, A. C., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (1981). Personnel management in government : politics and process (2nd ed., rev. and expanded.). M. Dekker.

In this week's module materials, in lecture we talked about several kinds of training programs, such as: Coaching and on the job training, skills training, demonstrations, simulations, career development, continuing education, conferences, and so on, with Professor Campos concluding that the list of available options is "rather endless." (Campos, 2022). There are many possible avenues for successfully training new officers.

In readings, Riccucci and Naff discuss the importance of planning and front-end analysis before initiating a training program (2008, p. 332). The authors recommend that organizations begin with planning and front-end analysis to: "Develop a strategic approach that establishes priorities and leverages investments in training and development to achieve agency results," and then move to design and develop training aiming to: "Identify specific training and development initiatives that, in conjunction with other strategies, improve individual and agency performance" (Riccucci & Naff, 2008, p. 332). It is important then that goals of a training program are evaluated within the specific context of the organization, and its goals and needs.

At the same time, the training program should take into account the thoughts and experiences of officers completing the training. It also must be clearly communicated to and receive the enthusiastic support of managers and supervisors. Riccucci and Naff quote O'Toole, saying, "Most workers have an innate desire to grow .... Apparently being able to satisfy the desire to grow and to learn on the job enhances worker self-esteem, satisfaction, loyalty, motivation, and occasionally, productivity" (Riccucci & Naff, 2008, p. 337). That is to say, the department needs buy-in from officers for training to ultimately be successful. As the authors point out, "lt is a common mistake to assume that the number of individuals who have been subjected to a training experience is equal to the number of individuals who have acquired a new skill or expertise " and further that training needs should consider the input of "superiors, subordinates, peers, and professional training  specialists" (Riccucci & Naff, 2008, p. 356). Superiors and training officers, they must also have full buy-in for the training program to be successful: "Effective implementation is key to the success of any training program. According to the  GAO, agency leaders must communicate the importance of  training  programs to its employees as well as the  agency's expectations that the training programs will lead to desired results" (Riccucci & Naff, 2008, p. 333). Regardless of what we implement, it is important that it meets the needs and desires of both the officers in training and the trainers themselves.

Given that a training program for new officers should reflect the organization's mission and values, and that it should be made with consideration to the officers who are completing the program, and finally the importance of planning and front-end analysis, I would suggest that a training program should have the following three goals. 

First, the program should enable the department to better complete its mission. 

Second, the program should reflect the needs and desires of officers, training staff, and supervisors and managers. 

Third, the program should have a clear evaluation plan, some way of measuring the success of the program. 

If we assume for a second that the GIF preview I used is more than a joke, and that our hypothetical police department considers choreography and dancing skills to be important components of its training program, we could consider the readings and lecture material as we consider how to implement such training. First, we should make sure that dancing police officers does in fact further support the mission of the organization, and so in this case we might imagine that the agency is prioritizing "service with a smile," and, "policing with panache." In this case, a dance training program would be appropriate because it furthers agency goals and assists the department in better completing its mission. Second, we should ensure that our training program reflects the needs and desires of both the officers in the training program and the managers and trainers administering the program. We could use surveys, questionaires, and so on to evaluate learning styles and implement the training program in a way where everyone involved is enthusiastic about the program and its outcomes. Finally, we need to evaluate the success of the outcome. In the readings, the authors suggest finding both quantitative and qualitative metrics where possible. A qualitative metric might be asking police officers how they liked the program, if the program was useful, or if they feel more confident. A quantitative metric might be an assessment or test, for instance all of the new officers could participate in a dance off at the end of the program. 

Meanwhile, the relative emphasis of on-the-job training, in-house seminars, cross-training, simulation, and formal education should reflect the strategic needs of the organization, and the reported needs of training officers and their supervisors and teachers. It's less important to assign an outside emphasis on one training method or another, and more important to ensure that the training program reflects the needs and interests of the organization. 

Riccucci, N., Naff, K. C., Shafritz, J. M., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (2008). Personnel management in government: Politics and process. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press

Campos, P. D. (2022). Performance, Training & Development. [PowerPoint slides]. Florida State Univeristy. https://canvas.fsu.edu/courses/201472/pages/week-7-performance-slash-training-and-development-materials?module_item_id=3916568