Police Training Officer (Pto) Program

In recent years, many law enforcement executives have expressed concerns with traditional recruit training, specifically its overemphasis on evaluation of new officers and a lack of attention to creating a learning environment that promotes critical thinking and problem solving. Many agencies attempted to include contemporary issues (e.g., community policing, problem solving, and leadership) in their Field Training Officer (FTO) program. The FTO program, which [Page 280]began in the San Jose (California) Police Department in 1972, assists recruits in their transition from the academy to the streets. Most FTO programs consist of an introductory phase (the recruit learns agency policies and local laws), training and evaluation phases (the recruit is introduced to more complicated tasks confronted by patrol officers), and a final phase (the FTO may ...