Training & Education

An Inside Look at This Nation’s Premier Law Enforcement Training Event Todd Fletcher The 2019 International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) Conference has wrapped up and instructors from all over the world have returned home to continue their mission of training law enforcement officers. After six solid days of instruction, everyone left exhausted, reinvigorated and ready to share new information and knowledge. The ILEETA Conference includes classes on leadership, supervision, use of force, defensive tactics, live fire firearms…

Ed Nowicki “What does reasonable law enforcement use of force and making sausage have in common?” The answer is logical. “You want to enjoy the final product, but you don’t want to see either one being made.” The part of law enforcement which tends to be the most controversial is the use of force which, at times, has been compared to making sausage. Today’s complex society requires that the professional law enforcement administrator deal with various issues involving the use…

Choosing the Right Program Is Key to Achieving Your Career Goals Rebecca Waters Once you’ve decided to pursue higher education, the decision-making process has just begun. Which degree is most likely to help you reach your objectives? Which school should you attend? “Before deciding to pursue my doctorate degree in criminal justice, I first spoke with the admissions representative, a current student in the program that I was considering, and a graduate of the program,” says Dr. Michael Pittaro, Assistant Professor…

Ed Nowicki One of the most important aspects of a law enforcement officer’s duty relates to the use of force. If officers do not respond with force in certain circumstances, these officers may pay the ultimate price with their lives. If their force response is excessive, they may unlawfully take someone’s life. NOTE: This article was written by a use-of-force practitioner and a judicially recognized use-of-force expert who is not a licensed attorney. This article does not constitute legal advice….

Leischen Kranick According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it’s estimated that 115 people die every day in the United States from overdosing on opioids. However, this number does not account for the numerous individuals who overdose, but do not expire, with some of them overdosing repeatedly. “I’ve seen this happen with the same person as many as seven times in a 24 hour period,” said James Deater, who spent more than 27 years as a trooper with the…

Todd Fletcher When you get a group of shooters together, the discussion inevitably turns to their individual likes and dislikes. They discuss training philosophy, equipment preferences and why “their” way is better than the “other” ways. These conversations usually include point shooting versus sighted fire; how to perform malfunction drills; how to perform slide lock reloads and tactical reloads; 9mm versus .45 ACP; and many others. When it’s a group of law enforcement firearms instructors, it can get even worse….

Todd Fletcher Once we build a solid foundation based on the fundamentals, we can continue to push our skills in courses of fire and scenarios which stress our ability to apply marksmanship. Over the course of my career as a police officer and firearms instructor, I have met some instructors who are good at setting up courses of fire designed to test a shooter’s combative firearms skills. Most of these include a variety of skills important to law enforcement officers….

John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D. CTC, CLS and Michael Coleman ©2018. A.R.R. Most Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) are trained to perform pat-downs and searches on suspects, but few have been trained on how to properly and safely do these procedures on people wearing medical appliances and/or prosthetic devices. With approximately 185,000 amputation surgeries taking place each year in the United States, it is estimated there are about 1.9 million amputees here currently. Similarly, there are also millions of people wearing…

Dr. Stephenie Slahor Federal, state, local, private, and foundation grants can mean fostering a new project, providing more training, acquiring better equipment, or developing improved processes. Whether city, county or state law enforcement, the fact remains that grants can provide a useful source of funds when the budgets are tight, but projects are worthy. Public and private grant funding can help finance all, or part, of a program, training or equipment, but competition is high for those funds. To obtain…

Mike Rayburn When the moment of truth has arrived, the time for preparation has passed. Are you training for the fight or are you training for the range? There is a difference, even though there shouldn’t be, but some departments are still doing “range practice” when they should be teaching “street fighting.” In today’s world of touchy-feely PC police departments, where we cry when we retire and can’t wait to show off our latest dance moves on YouTube, God forbid…