FTO UPDATE SUMMARY

							                          POLICE TRAINING INSTITUTE
                            FTO UPDATE SUMMARY
                                 March 19, 2010


The PTI Field Training Officer Update meeting was held at the Department of Aviation,
Willard Airport on March 19, 2010. A sincere thank you to the 54 Field Training
Officers from 21 agencies who attended. This meeting is held each year to keep FTO’s
up to date on changes PTI has made to training as well as receive feedback from FTO’s
who work with the recruits once they hit the streets.

POINTS OF CONTACT

We updated PTI’s points of contact. The two primary changes we wanted departments to
be aware of were:

       Michael Metzler is now the Associate Director – Operations and oversees the
       Basic Law Enforcement program.

       All recruit related questions should first be directed to Chuck Deakin, the Basic
       Course Supervisor, at 217-244-6478 or cdeakin@illinois.edu. If Mr. Deakin is
       not available, then questions should go to AD Metzler at 217-333-5695 or
       mmetzler@illinois.edu.

HOUSING

PTI will be changing our recruit housing location in August, 2010. Recruits will be
housed off-campus at the Ashton Woods complex located near the intersection of First
Street & Windsor Road. This change is being made for a number of reasons:

       -   helps PTI reduce housing costs
       -   provides more flexibility in the # of apartments PTI maintains
       -   recruits will be able to park at the apartment complex
       -   apartments will have internet access and cable television

The change in housing will also move the recruits farther away from the distractions of
living in the middle of the college campus. The only downside to this change is that
recruit drivers will have to park a couple blocks farther away from our main classroom
facility and Bromley Hall where meals are served.

BLE MODEL AND SEQUENCING

Due to the upcoming changes in the recruits’ housing arrangements, the sequencing of
the instructional model is being evaluated for change. Some of the goals of these changes
include:




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       -   maintain the consistent flow of the Instructional Units within the model
       -   account for additional travel time from parking to meals
       -   reduce the number of uniform changes

The current junior class, BLE #2671 is working under a beta test of the new sequencing.

LEGAL UPDATE

Kelly Griffith, our in-house attorney, presented FTO’s with an overview of the law
blocks that are presented during the BLE. She also provided information on several new
laws. Attached to this summary is a copy of the Power Point presentation Ms. Griffith
used during her discussion of the new laws and recent court decisions.

FTO’s were also reminded about the new “Legal Update” portion of the PTI website. It
contains analysis of recent court decisions that directly impact law enforcement. This
portion of the website is updated whenever pertinent case law is established and has been
analyzed for its impact on law enforcement practices.

UPDATES

Overviews were provided on the training material covered and the delivery models
utilized in Vehicle Stops, Patrol Ops and Integrated Scenarios. No major changes
occurred over the past year.

FIREARMS

FTO’s were invited to observe a portion of the BLE Patrol Rifle program after the
meeting. The BLE Patrol Rifle program is a very popular add-on course designed to
provide recruits with training in the tactical application of a patrol rifle and to enhance
their overall gun handling skills through transition drills. This course is certified through
ILETSB. Director Fitzpatrick, as well as other academy directors around the state, has
approached ILETSB seeking to have patrol rifle incorporated into the basic course
curriculum.

PTI is also seeking feedback on a proposed “Patrol Tactical Rifle” (end-user) course.
Patrol Tactical Rifle is a 40hour course designed to provide officers with a sound
working application of the patrol rifle, as well as, the knowledge and skills necessary to
transition from the pistol to the rifle. This course will be an expansion of the BLE Patrol
Rifle add-on class and will satisfy as a prerequisite for Patrol Rifle Instructor.

If your department would be interested in such a course, please contact AD Metzler.

SUGGESTIONS and REQUESTS

Laptops - PTI is seeking feedback from departments about the feasibility of sending a
laptop to BLE with their recruit. The change in housing will provide the recruits with the



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ability to access the internet from their apartments. Some training (NIMS, LEADS,
Juvenile Officer etc) is available on-line. PTI may also develop study materials recruits
could access on-line.

Recruit Feedback - How is the current method of providing recruit feedback working
for you? Currently, e-mail updates are sent to department contacts after each exam. PTI
also sends out an end of course packet with the recruits’ DVD’s, reports etc. A
suggestion was made that the end of course information would be more valuable to
FTO’s if it were sent out a couple of weeks prior to the recruit returning to the
department. Some suggested PTI develop a system for posting recruit videos, reports and
other feedback on-line (either through our website or another medium such as You Tube)
where a department (through password control) could access it and reduce the need for
shipping out packets of information. This could potentially make the information
available in a timelier manner. What do you think?

SFST Log – A discussion was held regarding a log that officers are supposed to keep
documenting all the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) that they conduct. The
BLE recruits start this log during their 24 hour SFST training as per NHTSA guidelines.
PTI currently instructs the recruits to take the log home with them after graduation. They
are also instructed that they should continue using the log to document all SFST’s they
conduct once they are on the street. The log not only documents all the SFST’s they
conduct, it also documents the recruit’s training in conducting SFST’s. This log may be
requested by a defense attorney and used in a manner similar to K-9 logs.

The existence and the necessity of the log came as a surprise to some in attendance. PTI
is considering changing our practice of having the recruits take the log home with them.
DUI defense attorneys are increasingly seeking, as part of discovery, officers’ training
records. The recent McKown decision has brought SFST, in general, and Horizontal
Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), in particular, into the defense bar’s crosshairs. Again, we are
looking for your feedback. Should PTI begin collecting the SFST log sheets and sending
them to departments along with all the rest of the recruit’s BLE training records? Is it
better to have that portion of the officer’s training record within the department’s records,
or should we continue to place the burden on the recruit officer to maintain the
information?

Add-On Courses - We also asked for suggestions about other BLE add-on courses (and
certifications) PTI could offer recruits. Some suggestions were:

       -   Breath Alcohol Operator
       -   RADAR or LIDAR Operator

Please contact AD Metzler at mmetzler@illinois.edu or 217-333-5695 with any
suggestions or feedback you feel may be helpful.




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