Training Section

ABOUT THE TRAINING SECTION

Keeping the skills and techniques of officers up to date and giving officers the chance to take non-mandatory classes to increase their skills is the mission of the Seattle Police Training Section. The training section includes Mandatory Training, Advanced Training, the Range (firearms training), and the Field Training Officer sections.

ADVANCED TRAINING

The Seattle Police Department's Advanced Training Program is regarded as one of the top training programs in the country. Some of the most recent Advanced Training Programs are:

Street Skills

“It’s as real as it gets,” commented an officer on completing the newly improved Street Skills training class. Street Skills began as a two day course that focused on “high-risk, low-frequency” events such as high-stress driving, and shooting tactics. Officer response to the initial, volunteer class was so positive, that it has been expanded into a mandatory four day course. Street Skills now covers a wide variety of new skills and refresher courses, such as defensive tactics, handcuffing, and demonstration management. The course also focuses on “Best Practices,” addressing customer service, why complaints occur and how to reduce them, and the perceptions of police officers and citizens. By the end of 2001, 216 patrol officers had attended the four day course and 153 detectives had attended an abbreviated two day course.

Rapid Intervention Training

Prompted by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and subsequent “copycat” incidents, a two day training course called Rapid Intervention was created to provide patrol officers with skills that will afford them a greater chance of successfully resolving similar incidents. Rapid Intervention is the tactic of deploying coordinated police resources where the potential for mass casualties exists, with the goal of rapidly containing the threat, and preventing the further loss of life or great bodily harm. By the end of 2001, 297 officers had completed Rapid Intervention training.

FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM

Ensuring that future patrol officers are well trained is taken very seriously by the Department, and Field Training Officers (FTO) play a vital role in this training. After graduating from the 4.5 month Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy, and spending one month in additional training on specific Seattle laws and policies, student officers are assigned to three different FTOs with whom they work for a total of four months. During the four month process, FTOs make detailed "Daily Observation Reports" to evaluate how the student officer handles everything form major events to minor routine tasks. At the end of the four-month period, all of the student's report and tests are reviewed by the Field Training Unit, and a recommendation is made of their status, followed by a six-month probationary period where they work alone but are periodically checked on by an FTO.

The Advanced Training program teaches an Defensive Tactics course to