I adamantly agree. I’ve been trying for years to get officers to train grappling and to get my admin on board with it. Like any skill it has to be practiced on a continual basis. That means officers might need to train on their own time just as they should with their firearms. Many officers do not want to go train on their own time. The response I get from my command is that just because it’s my “hobby” and enjoy doesn’t mean everyone else does or will. It’s getting frustrating.
I hear you! I think that this is the an area where a lot of work is needed. Telling officers to train on their own time is not a solution for the field. Some officers will take personal responsibility and that is great, but if you want general proficiency, the agency needs to require it and create the time to do it. It is simply unreasonable for an agency to identify a deficiency and then tell the officers to fix it on their own time.
My view is that policing needs to become a training culture (much like the fire service) - where training is something that happens every day. A change toward this will be expensive and difficult, but if we want to increase proficiency in the many areas where it is currently lacking, this is the only way to go.
I adamantly agree. I’ve been trying for years to get officers to train grappling and to get my admin on board with it. Like any skill it has to be practiced on a continual basis. That means officers might need to train on their own time just as they should with their firearms. Many officers do not want to go train on their own time. The response I get from my command is that just because it’s my “hobby” and enjoy doesn’t mean everyone else does or will. It’s getting frustrating.
I hear you! I think that this is the an area where a lot of work is needed. Telling officers to train on their own time is not a solution for the field. Some officers will take personal responsibility and that is great, but if you want general proficiency, the agency needs to require it and create the time to do it. It is simply unreasonable for an agency to identify a deficiency and then tell the officers to fix it on their own time.
My view is that policing needs to become a training culture (much like the fire service) - where training is something that happens every day. A change toward this will be expensive and difficult, but if we want to increase proficiency in the many areas where it is currently lacking, this is the only way to go.