If you’re interested in a career as a law enforcement officer, you can earn various certifications. Each of these can help you build a unique set of skills in a particular area, making you more competitive for a job.
To ensure that their officers receive the training they need, some law enforcement agencies have decided to rethink traditional methods of teaching their police officers.
Criminal Justice
Criminal justice involves the study of law enforcement certifications, court systems, and corrections. Depending on your interests, you can pursue a career in these fields or use the knowledge and skills you gain in criminal justice coursework to help others.
A bachelor’s degree in criminal justice is a four-year course of study that includes general education courses and specialized classes related to your chosen specialization. During your studies, you’ll explore subjects like juvenile delinquency, criminal investigation, and ethical behavior in criminal justice.
You can also choose to earn a master’s degree in criminal justice. In this program, you’ll take several advanced courses in criminal justice and other topics, such as psychology, sociology, and political science.
Many jobs are available in criminal justice, including a police officer, crime scene technician, paralegal, and probation officer. These positions can be private or public and pay various salaries.
Those who work in the criminal justice field often interact with people at their worst moments. It is essential to have empathy and understanding of how people feel in these circumstances and to be able to help them resolve their problems.
If you’re interested in a career in criminal justice, you should consider getting involved in your local community to get hands-on experience. Volunteering, job shadowing, and even doing a police ride-along can give you valuable insight into life in the field. You’ll also be able to make connections with potential employers and build your resume. Taking part in a study abroad program or domestic exchange program can also be helpful. It can help you learn how other countries approach issues in the field.
Firearms
Firearms are weapons that the pull of a trigger or the action of an internal mechanism can fire. There are two basic types of firearms: long guns (muskets or arquebus) and handguns.
Law enforcement agencies must provide training and qualifying in firearms as a part of their primary law enforcement officer training, even after graduation from the police academy. This may be every three months, six months, or another period determined by each agency.
While marksmanship is a core component of this training, it is only one aspect of firearms training. Other elements, such as judgment training, shoot-do-n’t-shoot exercises, and department policy understanding, are also assessed during this phase.
The standardized course of fire used to qualify POST-certified officers is based on the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) guidelines. It is designed to ensure that LEOs have the proper skills to use their firearms safely. It also includes instruction on gun handling, the physics of shooting, and safety practices.
For law enforcement officers, these qualifications are crucial as they use their firearms to protect lives and the community. These tests must be conducted safely and with the proper equipment.
The National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association is a professional membership-based organization providing basic and advanced firearms instructors certifications. Its website offers information, networking opportunities, and professional development. The association is dedicated to supporting the firearms instructors who help keep our communities safe.
Emergency Response
Emergency response is the actions law enforcement and public safety agencies take to save lives and reduce economic damage from emergencies such as natural disasters, crime, and terrorism. These efforts include hazard mitigation, disaster management and response, and recovery and rehabilitation.
Whether you’re a first responder or someone who supports one, there are many ways to improve your skills and learn about emergency preparedness. For example, you can join the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which offers free training in essential disaster response.
Another way to strengthen your skills is through the NSCC Emergency Response Pathway. This program offers entry points into career training in firefighting, disaster response, public safety, and rapid medical response.
For example, emergency medical response courses cover topics such as CPR, using a tourniquet, and what to do when injured. You can also take classes on coping with environmental hazards, responding to emergencies, and terrorism.
These courses can also help you prepare for a potential disaster, such as preparing a site plan and documenting your building’s systems, including ventilation, electrical, water, and sanitary systems, and emergency power supplies. Developing this information can ensure that emergency responders are ready to stabilize an incident when they arrive.
While some emergencies are life-threatening, others can be less serious and are often caused by human or animal behavior. Knowing how to protect yourself, your family, and your pets during an emergency is essential to help prevent injury and death. Taking shelter and keeping calm in an earthquake, moving to the basement with your pet in a tornado, and safely leading horses away from a wildfire are all safe responses that can save lives.
Crisis Management
Crisis management is identifying, understanding, and responding to events that could damage people, property, or processes. These can be internal and external issues like data breaches or customer service problems. It can also be related to broader concerns such as global pandemics, terrorist attacks, or mass violence.
Law enforcement officers are often in a position to deal with crises at a local level. This can include divorce and child custody battles, workplace violence, or people struggling with mental illness.
For this reason, law enforcement officers must have the skills to manage and respond to crises safely and empathetically. This can be achieved through various methods, including active listening and developing empathy and rapport with individuals in crisis.
Another way to deal with crises is by creating crisis teams. These teams comprise critical individuals in charge of various aspects of the response and recovery process. For example, a post-crisis team may include legal and health and safety representatives to help resolve the situation promptly.
These teams can also be staffed with experts in communication and emergency preparedness. These specialists can quickly disseminate accurate information about the event and reassure the public.
Many companies have crisis teams in place, typically including members from operations, finance, human resources, and legal representatives: these teams execute a company’s crisis management plan and public response.
Communication
Communication skills are critical for law enforcement officers, whether they need to investigate crimes, de-escalate situations, participate in crisis prevention, or write memos and reports. It also is an essential part of the process when collaborating with fellow officers, subordinates, higher-ups, community members, and victims’ families.
Effective police communication focuses on verbal and nonverbal techniques to connect with people. This includes using the 80-20 principle, where officers spend 80% of their time listening and 20% of their time talking before expressing what they hear with their words.
Body language is another crucial aspect of communication. The officer’s posture, stance, facial expressions, eye contact, and voice tone are all nonverbal signals that help others understand what the officer is saying.
Practicing these skills can reduce stress and put others at ease. It can also help officers respond to calls calmly and quickly, even under extreme pressure.
Good police communication can improve a department’s relationships and overall work culture, helping build community trust. It can also ensure that all officers have access to the same information at any time, regardless of where or what devices they are using.
A police officer’s ability to communicate effectively is also critical for ensuring that investigations are completed, and reports are accurate. This can help to avoid legal complications and other issues that may arise during an investigation.
Effective police communication is critical to the job and can be boosted by implementing policies that reinforce positive communication skills. These policies can include sharing alternative communication protocols in an emergency, including switching to 800 MHz radios, landlines, or even hand signals in case verbal communications are impossible.
