September 2013

 

NEW ELECTRONIC WORKBOOK FORMAT FOR LEARNING DOMAIN 19, VEHICLE OPERATIONS

In August 2013, the Basic Training Bureau (BTB) and the Computer Services Bureau (CSB) completed a fully-functional, proof-of-concept version of an iPad-based digital workbook (“e-Workbook”) for Learning Domain 19, Vehicle Operations.  The workbook is being distributed to several volunteer academies to participate in testing in order to:

1. Validate that end users find the e-Workbook to be more convenient and of higher educational value than the current paper-based workbook,
2. Verify that the e-Workbook functions acceptably, and
3. Identify any design and development modifications that will result in a more successful product.

BTB and CSB are planning to convert the remainder of the Regular Basic Course Student Workbooks material into the new electronic format.  Following conversion, the new e-Workbooks will be made available for use by academy staff and students.

Questions about the e-Workbooks may be directed to Senior Consultant Lon Ramlan, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-4820; or to Senior Information Systems Analyst Ted Fitzpatrick, Computer Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3905.

FIELD MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM

Local agencies sometimes encounter administrative, management, or operational problems or projects for which no formal training is available.  Through the Field Management Training Program, POST provides financial assistance for local agency personnel to visit sites within California and observe outstanding programs or receive on-the-job training.  Information gathered during these visits is developed into a report.  These reports are maintained at POST and are shared with agencies facing similar challenges.

Commission Procedure D-9 (POST Administrative Manual) contains information about the Field Management Training Program.

Questions about the Field Management Training Program may be directed to Staff Services Manager Kathy Hobson, Management Counseling Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3911.

 
POST COMMAND COLLEGE CLASS 53 GRADUATES

POST Command College Class 53 graduated in September 2013 in San Diego.  This brings the number of Command College graduates to 1,097.  Following welcoming remarks by POST Assistant Executive Director Dick Reed, Lieutenant Travis Martinez, Redlands Police Department, presented a summary of his futures portfolio:  “Caught In the Act! How One Police Agency Is Apprehending The Hard To Catch Property Crime Thief W/Electronic Stakeout.”   Lieutenant Martinez’ project focused on the deployment of a GPS tracking device attached to bait property commonly targeted by thieves.  This has resulted in an increase in theft apprehensions and has had significant impact on lowering property crime rates.

The keynote address was delivered by Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno Police Department.  Chief Dyer, a graduate of Command College Class 23, urged the graduates to be leaders and innovators, and to continuously advance the profession of law enforcement.

Lieutenant Michael Doyle, Fresno Police Department, was the Class Speaker and winner of the Hank Koehn award for “Most Inspirational Student.”   Lieutenant James Hendrickson, Sacramento Police Department, was the recipient of the "Dorothy Harris Award for Academic Achievement."  Mr. Andy Hines was the recipient of the "Outstanding Faculty Member Award."

Applications are currently being accepted for Law Enforcement Command College Class 57, which begins May 18, 2014, in San Diego.  The deadline for submitting applications is February 10, 2014.  Applicants must meet minimum experience requirements at the time the application is submitted.  Comprehensive information regarding the Command College requirements, application, and curriculum may be obtained on the POST Website, at: http://www.post.ca.gov/command-college.

Questions about the Command College registration or other matters may be directed to Senior Consultant Mike Davies, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-4892.

INSTRUCTOR STANDARDS ADVISORY COUNCIL HOLDS A SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING

The Instructor Standards Advisory Council (ISAC) held their semi-annual meeting during September in San Diego.  The purpose of this council is to review and make recommendations to POST staff regarding regulation and/or standards for law enforcement instruction.  Discussions during this session covered such topics as the history and goal of ISAC, proposed changes to course certification regulation, and the Instructor Development Institute (IDI) level-1 Academy Instructor Certification Course requirements for tri-ennial recertification.

Questions about the Instructor Standards Advisory Council may be directed to Senior Consultant Larry Ellsworth, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4895.

POST STAFF PRESENTS AT CALIFORNIA CLETS USER GROUP CONFERENCE

At the request of the California CLETS User Group (CCUG), POST staff presented at the CCUG conference on September 10-12, in Ontario.  CCUG executive staff asked for a presentation on the four levels of the Instructor Development Institute (IDI).  POST staff members presented two separate, two-hour blocks of student-centered active learning to over 150 attendees on how the IDI can help mold good instructors into great instructors.  Several attendees stayed after the end of the presentation to inquire about how to register themselves and their staff in the IDI course.

Questions about the Instructor Development Institute may be directed to Senior Consultant Larry Ellsworth, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4895.

"RESPONDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES" INSTRUCTORS WORKSHOP HELD

The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) was the authority under Penal Code Section 14314(a) to transfer funds to POST for the purpose of advancing environmental enforcement training for local and state peace officers.  POST has utilized these funds in the past to develop a variety of environmental crimes-related training opportunities, including:

• “Responding to Environmental Crimes” an 8-hour course designed for law enforcement first responders,
• “Environmental Crimes Investigations Overview” a self-paced POST Learning Portal course providing two hours of Continued Professional Training credit, and
• “Enforcement of Environmental Laws,” a 95-minute Telecourse DVD.

In September, instructors for the “Responding to Environmental Crimes” course attended a curriculum review workshop in Sacramento.  They reviewed content of the course (taught over the past two years), revised curriculum and structure where needed, and sought consistency among the teams of instructors.

The “Responding to Environmental Crimes” course is intended to develop fundamental skills for law enforcement to safely respond to and identify an environmental crime, initiate the investigative process, and coordinate with all necessary agencies.  Various environmental crime situations are discussed and clearly defined in the class.  Legal concerns and statutes are identified along with recommended reporting procedures.  The course is presented by experts from various disciplines assigned to environmental crimes investigation and prosecution.

Questions about the environmental enforcement training for local and state peace officers may be directed to Bureau Chief Robert “R.C.” Smith, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-4805.

STATE TACTICAL EMS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETS

The State Tactical Emergency Medical Support (EMS) Advisory Committee held its inaugural meeting in September to advise the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) on Tactical EMS issues.  The meeting was chaired by Dan Smiley, Chief Deputy Director, California EMSA.

The committee was named the “Whitman Committee” in memory of Special Consultant Ken Whitman for his pioneering work to advance Tactical EMS for law enforcement and personnel who provide emergency medical care in that environment.  Ken, who passed away on October 12, 2012, was honored for his dedicated leadership as Project Manager in the development and publication of the POST Tactical Medicine Operational Programs and Standardized Training Recommendations published in collaboration with EMSA.

POST staff, EMSA, representatives from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, CalOES, State Fire Marshal, and physicians and private emergency medical care providers attended the meeting.  POST staff gave a briefing on the guideline manual for Tactical Medicine Operational Programs and Standardized Training Recommendations and Regulation 1084 as it relates to standardized training recommendations for tactical medicine courses.

The agenda also included presentations and discussions on the status of tactical EMS in California, tactical EMS levels, SWAT tactical medics, hemostatic dressings, tactical casualty care, and operational integration of EMS during Active Shooter incidents.  The group also received updates on the National TEMS Initiative and Council, potential revisions to CCR, Title 22 for first responders, and summary reports by the Northern California and Southern California Tactical EMS Groups.

One of the goals of the “Whitman Committee” is to provide an opportunity for dialogue on the issue of tactical EMS, training standards for tactical emergency care, information sharing, collaboration, and discussion of best practices.  The next meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2014.

Questions about the State Tactical EMS Committee or the POST Tactical Medicine Guideline manual may be directed to Special Consultant Dan Toomey, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4828.

UPDATE ON THE POST CAREER PIPELINE CONCEPT

The POST Center for Leadership Development continues to share the POST Career Pipeline Concept with California Law Enforcement through the Chief Executive Workshops, offered annually to the county chiefs and sheriffs organizations.  The POST Career Pipeline Concept was created to address a POST Strategic Plan Objective related to the continuing recruitment challenges experienced by many law enforcement agencies.  The project task group noticed that many agencies are seeing a 90% failure rate among peace officer applicants.

The Solano County Chiefs and Sheriff Association adopted the Career Pipeline Concept and began the development of their own school-based public safety program.  Spearheaded by the chiefs of police of Fairfield (Walt Tibbet) and Suisun (Ed Dadisho) police departments, they worked with POST staff and then enlisted the collaboration of their local school district superintendent.  This collaboration led to the development of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified Public Safety Academy (PSA).  The PSA opened August 2012 on a dedicated school campus and is an “Alternative School of Choice” for approximately 400 students for grades 5 through 8.  Upon completion of their first year of operation, the school received one of the highest Annual Performance Index (API) scores in the State of California, achieving a 940 score out of a 1,000 maximum.  An 800 API score is considered a gold standard and achieving a 940 score in their first year of operation distinguishes them as an exceptional program and a great model for other law enforcement agencies to replicate.  The Fairfield-Suisun PSA began their second year of operation in August with 500 students and has expanded its program to 9th grade.  The program will eventually expand to 12th grade.

POST staff is hopeful that other chief law enforcement executives will review the Fairfield-Suisun model and be motivated to develop their own programs to assist in "growing their own" qualified candidate pools to reduce the high applicant failure rate.  POST staff will be hosting a POST Special Seminar on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, to review the first year results of the Fairfield-Suisun School District's Public Safety Academy (PSA) and share attributes of other Career Pipeline models (Los Angeles PD, San Bernardino PSA, and Anaheim PD).  The seminar will be hosted at the Fairfield-Suisun PSA (230 Atlantic Avenue, Fairfield, California) and will feature how these programs are developed and how other agencies can replicate these school-based models, to not only benefit the local law enforcement agency but also impact the local community in a positive manner.  Michael Josephson, the creator of Character Counts, will also be presenting at this seminar.

Questions about the POST Special Seminar may be directed to Senior Consultant Greg Kyritsis, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-2822.

LTR RELEASES REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SELF-PACED FIRST AID/CPR ONLINE COURSE

The Learning Technology Resources Bureau (LTR) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) #13112211, “Law Enforcement First Aid/CPR Self-paced, Online Course” for competitive bid on September 17, 2013.  Course development is expected to begin in early 2014.

The new self-paced, online course will replace the existing self-paced, online course “Law Enforcement First Aid/CPR” on the POST Learning Portal.  The existing course was modified recently to include 2010 First Aid and CPR guideline updates and meets the mandated (13518 PC) refresher training requirements for First Aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for California law enforcement officers.  The new version of the course will incorporate the most current First Aid and CPR guidelines and CCR, Title 22 requirements and will have an improved user interface, evaluation/remediation design, and test item bank as well as updated course graphics and video scenarios.

“Law Enforcement First Aid/CPR” is available at no cost to POST agencies.  Officers complete the cognitive portion of the course on the Learning Portal and complete the skills demonstration through their agencies.  After completing the skills demonstration with an approved instructor, an officer enters the date of completion via the Learning Portal and the officer’s EDI records are updated automatically.  To date, 10,921 officers have used the existing course to meet the First Aid/CPR refresher training requirement since its release in 2008.

Questions about the Law Enforcement First Aid/CPR Self-paced, Online Course project may be directed to Senior Instructional Designer Catherine Bacon, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-4546.

POST HOSTS TRAINING ADMINISTRATORS COURSE

The Training Administrators Course (TAC) instructs those individuals responsible for entering law enforcement training courses into the POST Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system for POST certification.  POST staff presented this course to 21 students during September in San Diego, California.  This 12-hour course is designed for beginners and teaches how to certify courses.

Topics include entering courses into EDI, modifying existing courses, entering presentation requests and course rosters, how to gain CPT credit for viewing/facilitating DVD’s, and many other technical issues dealing with maintaining course certification.  The TAC is offered four times per year.  Individuals wishing to attend are limited to those assigned to data entry into EDI on a regular basis.  This is a highly-interactive class that requires hands-on learning, group discussions, and presentations.  Individuals can access the online sign up process at: https://www.post.ca.gov/training-administrators-course.

Further screening of all applicants is done by POST staff.

Questions about the Training Administrators Course may be directed to Senior Consultant Charles Sandoval, Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau, at (916) 227-4414.

POST HOSTS POLICE TRAINING OFFICER (PTO) COUNCIL MEETING

POST hosted a two-day meeting during September 2013 with the Police Training Officer (PTO) Council.  The PTO is a Commission-approved Problem Based Learning (PBL) format for field training currently used by six agencies.  The program was approved following a lengthy developmental process and pilot testing.  The PTO Council consists of subject matter experts and training presenters and is intended to provide support for the program.  All current PTO agencies and training presenters were invited to attend.  The attendees represented the Capitola Police Department, Folsom Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium, and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

The council members met with POST staff to discuss program training needs.  Significant points of discussion included:

• Maintaining excellence in training standards,
• Trainee Journaling,
• Maintaining program consistency across agencies,
• PTO Update Course certification needs, and
• Upcoming training sessions.

The next council meeting is scheduled to take place in northern California in February 2014.

Questions about the meeting and/or discussion may be directed to Senior Consultant Alexis Blaylock, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-3935.

POST PRESENTS SAFE DRIVING AT ALERT CONFERENCE

During September, POST staff presented “SAFE Driving Campaign: Results and Lessons” to attendees of the Association of Professional Law Enforcement Emergency Vehicle Response Trainers (ALERT) International conference in Austin, Texas.  Approximately 160 individuals from agencies across North America attended the session.

ALERT has a primary focus on emergency vehicle operations, response, and training.  Under the leadership of ALERT President Travis Yates and Vice President Doug Larsen—both members of the Vehicle Operations and Training Advisory Council (VOTAC) and SAFE Driving Campaign—the organization has increased its focus on safety.  Other conference presenters included Gordon Graham, speaking on risk management, and Dale Stockton on “Below 100.”  The SAFE Driving Campaign message fit in well and attendees were engaged with many questions and comments during and after the presentation.

Questions about the SAFE Driving may be directed to Bureau Chief Bryon G. Gustafson, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4832.

SHERMAN BLOCK SUPERVISORY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (SBSLI) FACILITATOR TRAINERS WORKSHOP CONDUCTED

The Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI) Facilitator Trainers met during September 2013, in Concord for the fall workshop.  The intensive 12-hour agenda included a review of current best practices, lessons learned from training, and desired student outcomes.

In preparation for the workshop, the SBSLI Facilitator Trainers reviewed the book, "Cognitive Coaching Foundation Training and Learning Guide" written by Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston.  Their discussion focused on the concepts of planning conversations, reflection conversations, and problem-solving conversations.

Other topics discussed during the workshop were levels of proficiency and efficacy, supporting trainees in their development, information exchanges between trainers and trainees, documentation of development, document sharing, and “What does passing training look like?”

The SBSLI Facilitator Trainers finished the workshop by discussing the up coming Facilitator Assessment Workshop (FAW), scheduled to be held in Concord late September.  This training is for potential SBSLI Facilitator Trainers only and 12 individuals are scheduled to attend.

The next SBSLI Facilitator Trainers workshop is scheduled for May 2014.

Questions about the SBSLI program may be directed to Senior Consultant Kevin Hart, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-2824.

CPE TRACKING SYSTEM FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATORS IS LAUNCHED

The continuing professional education (CPE) requirement for peace officer psychological evaluators went into effect September 1, 2013 (see Bulletin 2013-12 (pdf)).  The POST Continuing Professional Education Tracking System (CPETS) is now online to assist with the implementation of this new requirement.  CPETS allows evaluators to submit profile and course completion information through the POST Website.  Training providers–or others–may also use the system to submit courses for POST approval.

Complementing the submission of evaluator and course information, CPETS also provides a list of psychological evaluators and POST-approved CPE courses.  At its initiation, there were 45 courses listed in the system.  This list, as well as the list of psychological evaluators, will continue to expand as evaluators and course providers submit their respective information.

Questions about the CPETS may be directed to Personnel Selection Consultant Melani Singley, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-4258.

NEW STAFF ASSIGNMENTS IN THE BASIC TRAINING BUREAU

The recent promotion of Bob Ziglar to Bureau Chief in Training Program Services Bureau has led to the reassignment of Law Enforcement Consultants in the Basic Training Bureau to fill in behind him.  Senior Consultant Mike Barnes is now the Basic Course Coordinator with responsibility for the Regular Basic Course – Standard Format, oversight of the 39 academies in the state, the Basic Course Consortium, the Academy Director/Coordinator and Recruit Training Officer workshops, and student workbook updates.  Mike came to POST following a 28-year career with the Kern County Sheriff’s Department where he retired as a Commander.  During his time with Kern County, Mike served as the academy director for several years.

Senior Consultant Lon Ramlan is now responsible for the Regular Basic Course – Modular Format, the PC 832 Course, the Reserve Peace Officer Program, and the Requalification Course.  Prior to working at POST, Lon served with the San Francisco Police Department retiring as a Lieutenant after a 30-year career.  Lon also spent several years at San Francisco’s Academy including a tour as the academy director.

Questions about the basic training courses and the academies may be directed to Senior Consultant Mike Barnes, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-3454.

Questions about the Regular Basic Course – Modular Format, the Reserve Peace Officer Program, and the Requalification Course, may be directed to Senior Consultant Lon Ramlan, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-4820.

 
POST LIBRARY MAKES MOBILE SEARCH EASY

POST Staff has made mobile searching from the POST Library online catalog easy.  Visitors to the POST Library catalog page will see the QR code for the mobile site on the right side of the screen.

To access mobile search, visitors can simply hold their phone in front of the QR code and scan it with a free QR code scanner application.  The mobile catalog will appear on the smart phone browser and will be bookmarked automatically.  To find new books and e-books in the POST Library, just click on “new titles” on the left navigation bar of the online catalog page.

Questions about the mobile search or the POST Library may be directed to Supervising Librarian Laurel Espell, Standards, Evaluation, and Research Bureau, at (916) 227-3204.

The Administrative Progress Report is a monthly status report that informs POST Commissioners and the California law enforcement community of recent progress on POST projects and instructional programs under development, and other information of importance to our mission to continually enhance the professionalism of California law enforcement.

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