Issue link: https://let.epubxp.com/i/149261
TRAINING "What they found out was that (individual) accuracy and the officers' proficiency…diminished (because) you were no longer handling your weapon on a routine basis," Meeks says. He believes agency heads need to reassess cuts in their training budgets and find better ways to mitigate those reductions. "I think many of our executive leaders in law enforcement have not been able to harness this balance," he says. Meeks also believes that keeping training current, relevant and accessible should be one of an agency head's priorities. He says supervisors with fewer dollars may want to find unconventional ways to train their officers, such as using time that might otherwise be used less productively in order to squeeze in extra training. "We bought video training tapes… designed for that 15 to 20 minute brief- ing or roll call," he says. Other agencies use the time to refresh officers on changes in the law, reinforcement of skills, introduction of new weapons, changes in criminal behavior and review both the law and departmental policies. ...failure to train at all and the failure to properly train (which sound similar, but are really two different things) can be fatal to an agency. From the other side of the fence To critically evaluate the importance of good training to police agencies, consider the views of one of the country's leading policy liability consultants and expert witnesses. G. Patrick Gallagher of The Gallagher-Westfall Group has testified in dozens of lawsuits against law enforcement agencies. Gallagher also audits and reviews departments often working both with the agencies and their insurers to keep risk at manageable levels. "I say you have to worship at the altar of performance because policies, training, supervision, discipline, review and revision are inputs, and the only output that we want is high-level performance," Gallagher says. He says civilians don't necessarily correlate new policy manuals and training to better policing: they simply want to see the results of those components with more competence and fewer lawsuits. Gallagher says many departments simply don't understand this concept. One area of training that's often neglected, says Gallagher, and which "I see cars FLYING past my house every day!" Sound Familiar? You know what she says, now fnd out what the evidence says with the JAMAR Radar Recorder. USED EFFECTIVELY BY POLICE NATIONWIDE • Address Speeding Complaints • Fast and Easy to Install • Covert 'Black Box' Collection • Keeps Personnel Off Roads JAMAR Technologies, Inc. Circle 65 on Reader Service Card 12 Law Enforcement Technology August 2013 www.officer.com • Speed and Volume Data • Clear, Easy-to-Read Reports • Reports Designed for the Public • View Demo at www.jamartech.com www.jamartech.com 1-800-776-0940 • sales@jamartech.com 1500C Industry Road, Hatfeld, PA 19440