Communities make efforts to enhance police training

Training requirements have grown significantly in the 50 years since Massachusetts enacted the first law requiring training for new municipal police officers.

In addition to the intensive 20-week, 800-hour basic training course that all new recruits must complete, officers must attend a total of 32 additional hours of training each year on topics including legal (“in-service”) updates, firearms, defensive tactics, CPR and first response. Additional trainings focused on specialized skills and social issues such as rape investigation, suicide prevention, and hate crimes prevention are often mandated.

Because state dollars for local police training are severely limited, however, many local governments tap their own budgets and look to outside resources, such as federal grant programs, to ensure that officers are kept up-to-speed on the latest changes in state laws, new technologies and critical skills.

In addition to mandated training, many local police departments place a high priority on offering training to help officers stay healthy and to help them better manage the emotional and psychological demands of the job.

Whatever the source of funding, training for local police officers helps to improve the safety of local communities and can help to reduce municipal costs and liability.

Regular in-service training covers the latest procedural and legal developments and helps to clarify the often-complicated jurisdictional procedures faced by officers. Some courses focus on the major causes of wrongful convictions and imprisonment as well as effective procedures for conducting and documenting eyewitness identifications and suspect interrogations.

Officers can also participate in hands-on trainings of safe driving techniques – such as emergency vehicle operation exercises held on an outdoor course and one-on-one indoor simulator classes using computerized scenarios.

Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin said his city takes pride in having a well-trained and educated police department. He said the training also helps the city meet its goal of saving taxpayer dollars by minimizing potential liability.

“Training provides a way for our busy police officers to further their education and stay current with changing laws and procedures,” he said.

Sturbridge Police Chief Thomas Ford, who recently sent officers to an emotional survival training program, said this type of non-traditional training can help officers better understand their challenges and stay healthy.

“In law enforcement,” Ford said, “mental health is as important as physical health. … We’ve lost far too many officers at a young age due to hypertension, stress-related issues and, simply, an inability to cope.”

MIIA supports its property and casualty subscribers by offering a range of free, specialized public safety training programs. MIIA purchased a state-of-the-art driving simulator in 2005, then added an emergency vehicle operation course the following year. In 2010, MIIA formed a partnership with the Municipal Police Institute to develop and provide topical video-based training for municipal police departments.

During fiscal 2013, MIIA held approximately 40 training sessions for law enforcement personnel throughout the state.

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee website (www.mass.gov/eopss/law-enforce-and-cj/law-enforce/mptc).