Two “Officer Wellness” Videos Released
As part of POST’s launch of its new Organizational Wellness and Resiliency Collaborative (see Bulletin 2020-30 (pdf)), POST has released two videos dedicated to the topic of officer wellness.
The latest edition in the Did You Know? video series, “Silent No More” reveals internal issues plaguing many officers as they serve their communities. Through this video’s portrayal of a “routine” day, viewers will recognize many factors affecting officers’ well-being and are encouraged to be Silent No More about law enforcement suicide and mental health. The highly impactful video encourages law enforcement officers to seek help if necessary, raise awareness, and support others who may be struggling with physical or psychological wellness. The video is now available to view or download on the POST Website or on the POST Learning Portal.
A full-length training video, “Officer Wellness,” has also been released. This program provides insight into the many factors facing peace officers from the beginning of their career through retirement. With poignant scenarios directly from the work and home environments, briefing-style facilitation, expert commentary, and bold interviews with peace officers and family, the video provides valuable information and resources for individual officers, their families, and agencies, in assisting each with experiencing healthier lives. The “Officer Wellness” training video is available to agencies on the POST Learning Portal.
Questions about the new Did You Know? “Silent No More” video and the Officer Wellness training video may be directed to Senior Law Enforcement Consultant Mike Barnes, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-3454.
Questions about POST’s Organizational Wellness and Resiliency Collaborative may be directed to Senior Law Enforcement Consultant Andrew Mendonsa, Management Counseling and Projects Bureau, at (916) 227-2510.
POST Review of POST Management Course
On June 16-18, 2020, POST audited the California State University, Long Beach, Center for Criminal Justice presentation of the POST-certified “Law Enforcement Management Course.” The 104-hour course is mandated by POST Regulation 1005 and must be completed within one year of being promoted to the position of lieutenant. The curriculum is designed to assist first-line supervisors (Sergeant) transition to middle management (Lieutenant) role functions. The course was held at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Doheny Beach in Dana Point, California. The learning environment and class attendees complied with the State of California, Department of Public Health, Social Distancing Guideline Recommendations. This was the first class to be rescheduled for a live presentation, in the wake of COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place Orders issued on March 19, 2020. Nineteen students attended and successfully graduated from the course.
Questions regarding the Management Course should be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Charles Evans, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 215-4432.
POST Offers Online Training to Training Managers
Law Enforcement Consultants from the Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau (TDC) often present training courses at the regional level or in partnership with a training presenter or a local agency. One of the courses TDC presents is the Training Administrator Course (40721) (TAC), which is usually a 12-hour presentation that is historically presented in-person. The audience typically consists of training managers from local agencies, training managers from private entities, or educational institutions that provide POST-approved training, and those managing Regional Training Centers.
The last in-person presentation was on December 17, 2019 in Westminster, CA, which was attended by 20 people from throughout Southern California and other parts of the state. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, in-person courses were cancelled over the last few months.
To continue to serve our constituents, the course was quickly converted to an online “webinar” format, reducing the course to four hours with the content focused on only those topics that directly show how to certify a course using our Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system. On June 2, 2020, POST was able to present the course online for a limited number of students from the Central Valley.
Questions regarding the online course may be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Jeff Dunn, Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau, at (916) 227-4873.
First Online Course for POST: The Supervisory Train-the-Trainer Course
It has been several years since POST offered the supervisory Train-the-Trainer course, which certifies instructors and consists of information and strategies on how to present the 80-hour supervisory course. This course was originally scheduled in a classroom setting; however, due to COVID-19 the class was moved to an online format. Originally, 26 students signed up for the course, but due to the mobilization of agencies to protect the public during protests, the number of students was reduced to 15.
This was the first ever online course presented by POST, which tasked POST staff to learn as much as they could about the ZOOM platform. This entailed reaching out to POST IT personnel for technical assistance to accomplish this goal. The expanded course outline was immediately changed to an online format, rising above the many challenges to adapting to an online format. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Training Program Services (TPS) was unable to purchase materials needed for the course and had to improvise. The online course averaged between seven to eight hours every day for the entire week. At the end of the week, the students facilitated discussions as a team, presenting various aspects of the curriculum. A rubric was designed to provide feedback to the students on their presentations, wherein students and TPS staff provided valuable feedback upon the completion of each presentation. In addition, new material, including Principled Policing, were introduced to the students.
All 15 students completed the necessary certification requirements as instructors for the supervisory course and are now fully qualified to present the course in the near future. In addition, a Quality Assurance Program was also conducted during the course, which will enable TPS to make adjustments when presenting future online courses.
Questions regarding the online course may be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Jim Katapodis, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3467.
Basic Course Waiver Application Statistics Update
The Basic Course Waiver (BCW) provides an exemption from the Regular Basic Course (RBC) or Specialized Investigator Basic Course (SIBC) training requirements. A BCW is granted to individuals with qualifying out-of-state or federal law enforcement experience, whose law enforcement training, experience and education are deemed, by POST, to demonstrate sufficient law enforcement knowledge, skill and proficiency. Acceptance of a BCW is at the discretion of the employing agency.
POST receives an average of 150-200 BCW applications per year. In the past three years, POST Basic Training Bureau processed over 500 BCW applications. There was a slight decline of BCW applications in Fiscal Year 19/20, with staff processing approximately 124 applications. Although we have seen a slight decline in RBC applications, there has been an increase in SIBC waiver applications.
Questions regarding the Basic Course Waiver Process may be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Julie Gorwood, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-3915.
POST Awards Contract For Updating Two Self-Paced Courses
POST has awarded a contract to Candent Learning Solutions to update, convert, design, and develop smaller Learning Portal training modules on the topic of communication and, in tandem, on the topic of terrorism.
Each course will be analyzed and re-created into smaller course modules and made available to California law enforcement via the POST Learning Portal. These trainings will help law enforcement meet mandated refresher training including de-escalation techniques for the communication topic and modern issues for the terrorism topic.
Questions or comments regarding this project may be directed to Rayanne Rogers, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-3912.
POST Hosts Online Meeting for Training Coordinators
On June 17, 2020, training coordinators from Regions 3 and 4, covering agencies from Merced County to Sacramento County, participated in an online meeting with their POST regional consultants and the leadership of the California Association of Police Training Officers (CAPTO) North Valley Chapter. The discussion included POST Bulletins regarding training requirements, changes authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential for online training courses for Continuing Professional Training credit, the removal of the carotid control hold from POST approved in-service courses, and other POST updates. The meeting provided participants a networking opportunity and identified the current training needs of the region.
Questions regarding the online meeting may be directed to Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau Law Enforcement Consultants Jeff Dunn at (916) 227-4873 (Region 4) and Karen Lozito at (916) 227-0471 (Region 3).
Principled Policing for Basic Course Instructors
A principled policing train-the-trainer course for academy instructors is scheduled for release this summer. The curriculum will cover key elements of principled policing, procedural justice, legitimacy, implicit bias, and the impact of historical and current events on community and law enforcement perspectives. Subjects were added on April 1, 2020 to Learning Domain 3, Principled Policing in the Community.
The course will be offered in both distance learning and on-site classroom formats. Participants will receive instructional support materials, training on strategies for inclusive teaching, suggested methodologies for integration of principled policing in basic training, building enhanced facilitation skills, and teach-back evaluations.
Questions about the train-the-trainer basic course can be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Dan Toomey, Training Program Services, at (916) 227-4887.
POST Hosts Online Meeting for Training Managers
On June 16 and 17, 2020, training coordinators and representatives from 19 Northern California law enforcement agencies participated in online video conference meetings with their POST Region 2 Consultant.
Topics covered were the elimination of the carotid control restraint hold from all POST training curriculum, per order of Governor Newsom; COVID-19 resources for law enforcement and recently issued POST Bulletins regarding training and “emergency” hiring procedures; driver’s training options via Region 2 Skills Training Centers; updated information regarding SB 230 (Use of Force) and POST’s pending release of training curriculum/information for its agencies; and mandated training course options (“Bias and Racial Profiling”) now available on the Learning Portal and other Learning Portal resources (e.g. non-peace officer training options and instructional tutorials).
The video conferences provided participants a networking and information-exchanging opportunity to assist their organizations during these times when meeting in-person has become a challenge.
Questions regarding the online meeting may be directed to Law Enforcement Consultant Marty Picone, Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau, at (916) 227-4843.
AB 332 Research Project Update
The Assembly Bill 332 (Penal Code Section 13510.05) project research, data collection, and analyses are continuing. Initial testing, and if relevant, remediation and retest outcome data is being collected on all 42 POST required tests for individuals attending any intensive format regular basic academy since July 1, 2019. As of June 17, 2020, data has been collected on 1,913 students enrolled in 32 academy classes from 20 different academies. In addition, data has been collected from one additional academy with 23 students that is using the newly approved reduced set of firearms tests. This data, and other academy data with the revised test plan, will be analyzed separately. As data is collected, POST staff in the Strategic Communication and Research (SCR) Bureau are carefully reviewing the data and, when necessary, reaching out to the specific academies to correct that data. Academies are encouraged to contact Chau Chan at (916) 227-4835 as soon as they encounter any issues, confusions, or are unclear with the task or instructions.
Questions related to the analyses of the data should be direct to Dr. Bob Holmgren, Strategic Communication and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4830.