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ON THE JOB NEWS DISCIPLINE RANGEMASTER JUST HANDED DOWN MISSION CRITICAL SYSTEMS Risk Management Through Regressive Field Training, Part 2 Making FTO an elite assignment…again By Randy Means and Cindy Scott imagine anyone more dangerous than an FTO who is defcient in this Randy Means is a partner in Thomas & Means, a law firm specializing area; 5) emotional intelligence and entirely in police operations and administration. He has served the national law self-control where an offcer who is enforcement community full time for more than 30 years and is the author not high functioning in this area is of "The Law of Policing," which is available at LRIS.com. He can be reached likely to screw up all of the above; directly at rbmeans@aol.com. 6) physical ftness since at least modest levels of physical ftness Sergeant Cindy Scott is a 23-year veteran and 13-year supervisor in the Alexanand ability are necessary to safe dria, Va. Police Department. She currently heads her agency's Tactical Training and effective police work, espeUnit and Field Training Program. She is also a certified Force Science Analyst, cially in its most critical moments. physical fitness instructor and an Air Force veteran. She may be reached at Along with physical ftness are: sindies9@gmail.com. 7) mental ftness where an FTO www.thomasandmeans.com whose main concern is where to eat at the next break, or who is cyni(Ed. Note: Part 1 of this restoring FTO prestige article is in the May issue of LAW cal and negative, will not help in the training process, and and ORDER. Go to www.hendonpub.com, click Resources, then Article Archives.) naturally, an administration hater is not who is needed here; 8) maturity/wisdom since the adult brain is not fully formed in most males until the mid-20s, and for several years thereafter is like a new toy; testosterone levels are still dangerously high in males in their 20s, so surely, it is necessary that an FTO be able to think properly; 9) law enforcement experience and this should be non-negotiable, o be a Field Training Offcer (FTO) used to be part of an for obvious reasons; and 10) a strong work ethic and as elite cadre of very special law enforcement experts. In fact, it was with experience, this should be non-negotiable. often said that the Field Training Offcer was the most important person in a law enforcement agency. So, why wouldn't today's law Incentives to Join the Elite enforcement agencies treat the Field Training Offcer position as an So, the solution is found in using FTOs who are between elite assignment? And why isn't a highly coveted position, as it once good to great in all of the above areas. But what if an was in many agencies? There are many answers to these important agency doesn't have enough of these supercops to staff questions, of course, but the most common answers are insuffcient. the FTO function? Prioritization becomes necessary, of The progressive answer may be "regressive" in a sense: a return to course. First, if there are veterans working in patrol who "the way things used to be." have the right stuff but just don't want to be FTOs, the matter must be incentivized. One would hope the fact The Solutions that this may be the most important job in the profession Though these problems are prevalent, solutions are possible—but they reand make the greatest contribution to positive legacy quire leadership initiative and commitment, even if temporary unpopularmight be incentive in itself. ity is a possibility. So, starting at the top: What skills and traits defne an elite If that isn't enough, consider: 1) pay incentives for FTO? The answer is this question: What skills and traits are most critical to those who serve and serve well; 2) a requirement that good police work, including risk management? one put in a solid stint as an FTO before one is eligible That answer could be a top 10 list: 1) Integrity: The highest priority is for special assignments, promotion or other things that honesty and fairness, including lack of inappropriate bias; 2) expert knowlpeople wish for; 3) preference in subsequent shift assignedge of law and authority, or lack of authority, offcers must know what ments, training schools, vacation schedules and other they can and cannot do under law and policy and act accordingly; and 3) things people wish for; 4) a general requirement that all strong human relations and interpersonal skills. No skill set makes a greater veteran offcers rotate through FTO assignments and this contribution to offcer effectiveness, safety and risk management in general. could be applied to plain-clothes investigators as well; The sub-requirements here are empathy, compassion and patience. 5) a corporal (or similar) rank in which all corporals are Other top 10 skills and traits include: 4) tactical soundness and it is hard to FTOs; 6) various other forms of signifcant professional T 16 LAW and ORDER I June 2013