What is FTO in Law Enforcement?
FTO, or Field Training Officer, is a term commonly used in the law enforcement industry. Its roots go back to the 1950’s when Bundy and Clancy showed that training after the police academy was both important and necessary, and led to less citizen complaints. It also satisfied the needs of the Federal Government to comply with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), which mandated a shift in management practices that would provide opportunities for employees to be evaluated on their job performance.
For over 60 years, the FTO concept has been the end result of adjustments to the system by various industries to accommodate both new higher education standards and adult learning principles. Today, reputable Police Academies around the country have integrated the FTO process into their curriculum.
The Field Training Officer program allows officers in the field to teach new recruits how to operate in a real world setting, within the confines of the classroom training they received in the academy . Officers in training need to quickly learn to accept the responsibility and power affiliated with the position of Police Officer. The use of the FTO process has the added benefit of allowing the Field Training Officers to select the new recruits that best fit the needs of the agency they work for.
The modern Police Academy no longer trains recruits how to act in the field; this occurs during the first 14-16 weeks after graduation. This program is intense, carefully observing 155 specific areas of performance outlined (and scored) in an FTO booklet. The purpose is to standardize the trainee’s evaluation process, therefore ensuring both consistency and objectivity. The goal is to give the police department the best possible recruit. The two most widely used programs are the San Jose and Miami-Dade Systems.
The Role of a Field Training Officer
The standard method of training new recruits has typically involved an officer observing the recruit in the field for six months to a year. However, field training standards have evolved since the 1970s and the FTO role is now an integral part of the overall training and hiring process. An FTO’s role is to evaluate a recruit’s work habits and individual learning method using criteria set forth by the police department or hiring agency.
Specific duties and responsibilities of an FTO include:
Mentoring – FTOs provide mentorship for new recruits by assisting them with job-related questions and guiding them to become proficient officers. It’s important that new officers are able to develop their talents and weaknesses in a way that emphasizes their specific learning methodology. An FTO is responsible for setting an example for the recruit to mimic.
Monitoring – While mentoring is an important aspect of the job, it is equally crucial for FTOs to monitor new recruits to ensure they’re adhering to departmental procedures and policies.
Reporting – FTOs must report on all interactions with the recruit in a standard form set forth by the hiring agency. This standard report will generally outline a timeline of the officer’s progress, or lack thereof, from the date they were first hired as a full-time recruit to the conclusion of the program.
Evaluating – After monitoring and mentoring, FTOs are responsible for evaluating recruits based on the criteria set forth by their agency. These evaluations typically take place every two weeks. The new recruit will be informed of the results of the evaluation, and in most cases, this information is captured on an evaluation report that is placed in the recruit’s personnel file.
Depending on how well a new hire adapts to their role, FTOs may recommend that the officer receive additional training or that the officer should be removed from the program altogether.
The Structure of FTO Programs
The program is divided into five phases that generally last between two and a half months to 16 weeks. Generally, the program is broken down into 3 or 4 phases that are generally equal to approximately thirty shifts (work days) of in-car time. Usually, the final phase of the program is a combination of in-car training and evaluation to reinforce the objectives covered during previous training phases.
The usual paradigm is a twelve-phase program with three phases serving as Field Training Officer (FTO) "maintenance" shifts interspersed throughout the program. Maintenance shifts involve the subject officer working with other certified officers who have not been through the department’s field training. Many departments have fewer phases, however, so that the program lasts from about ten to fourteen weeks.
The objectives of the FTO program are carefully defined for each phase and are necessary to assess the recruits’ progress through the program. The FTO program has specific performance guidelines for each objective. The goals for each recruit are usually developed at the beginning of the program and the objectives are tailored to the specific department. At each phase, an FTO assesses the program recruit’s ability to perform the desired tasks. These tasks are evaluated according to each individual department’s performance guidelines.
At the conclusion of each training or maintenance shift, the FTO assesses the program recruit’s performance and documents it on a special FTO evaluation form that focuses on his or her overall progress through the FTO program.
Difficult Situations for FTOs
FTOs typically encounter several challenges when working to develop recruits into competent officers. Time management can be difficult, as most FTOs are still tasked with performing the same police duties as their trainees, along with a host of administrative responsibilities that include the completion of detailed training records and documentation. FTOs may spend an inordinate amount of time on patrol, trying to balance their training responsibilities with their normal law enforcement duties.
Even with all necessary tools in place, not every FTO experience is a good one for the recruit officer. Some recruits may be extremely resistant to the concept of disciplined learning and show little patience for the training process. Others may learn in such a structured or disciplinary environment that they struggle to develop the independent decision-making skills for patrol work . When it comes to some recruits, FTOs may find it difficult to focus on one method of learning when a particular recruit is either unusually slow or fast in grasping new information. Finding a way to tailor the training process to the learning styles of recruits while also staying on a pre-established schedule can prove quite challenging.
Some FTOs may question their training regimen, suspecting that twists or short cuts to the training process may disrupt the typically deliberate rhythm of the FTO program. Adding to the stress of the job is the fact that FTOs must often answer to their superiors for the less-than desirable progress made by their trainees. In cases where a trainee is not suited for police work, the FTO must decide how to approach the situation regarding the recruit’s continued employment and whether continued training is warranted.
Advantages of a Proper FTO Program
Each subject of the FTO Program has a job to do. The Field Training Officer should train his or her recruits as well as they can. The Recruit Officer should learn as much and as quickly as they can. But the more important job is that of the field training manager. Now, it is reasonable to suppose that one of their jobs is to manage the FTO Program, but that is not what I have in mind.
We are not talking about who is implementing the program and who is making sure that it is going smoothly and getting relevant supervision. Wisely built FTO programs offer benefits to all involved, including:
Officers assigned as FTO’s — The FTO will enjoy new prestige at work. They will look good to their families. (My wife thought I looked good back in the day because I had an actual badge off of an actual cop that I worked with.)
Recruit Officers — The recruit officer will no longer be under the "thumb" of a field training officer who is just trying to get them through the training. Rather, they will be working hand in hand with an officer who is specifically tasked with teaching them everything they need to know to become a competent and responsible police officer. The recruit will never forget that you as the field training supervisor put someone in charge of their successful transition into the ranks of established and experienced police officers.
Agency Management and Supervising Officers — The FTO Program will reflect well on you for developing it and capitalizing on the beneficial effects of this type of police officer job training and evaluation. Supervising officers will appreciate the weight regulation that the program brings to the evaluation process in their command, and they will admire the quality of the police recruits that you present to them.
Your community leaders and citizens should be grateful to have the likes of you bringing them to the forefront of the police hiring process. The potential for community relations reward is huge. Not only will the FTO Program enhance your department’s ability to choose from the best applicants precisely suited to police work, but they will also serve as role models in your community as they descend from the status of trained police recruits toward that of a fully functioning police officer. Their contributions to the safety of your community are incalculable.
Effects of Technology on FTO Training
As technology continues to play an ever-increasing role in our lives, so too is it starting to have a significant impact on the role and function of the FTO. FTO training has proven to be difficult to standardize due to the innate differences between each department. While the foundation of FTO training continues to be learning on the job, FTO’s are increasingly turning to simulation tools and online courses to begin the learning process even before their trainees get out into the field.
By taking advantage of simulation tools, FTOs are able to provide FTO training for new recruits that doesn’t require them to actually get into potentially dangerous situations. An example of such a tool is the new Taser Virtual Reality Simulator. Embedding real-life scenarios in a computer-generated environment , this training program visually immerses trainees in different scenarios in which they may find themselves. The trainee is able to experience a realistic environment in which they actually draw their weapon and interact with other people. A key component to the program is that it takes place in an avatar-reality experience that enables police officers to re-live the situations again and again until they become second nature.
Furthermore, the use of online training modules are also beginning to replace classroom sessions as a way to impart information to a new hire. These online training modules allow the new hire to complete the learning process on his or her own schedule. Additionally, digital performance tracking tools enable FTOs to easily keep track of a new hire’s progress in the program and to store that data in a secure location.