Early Intervention Programs

Law enforcement agencies across the United States are facing increased scrutiny for failure to identify and correct misconduct infractions by their officers. Many police agencies have implemented tracking systems that identify patterns of behavioral concern by their officers like sick time abuse, multiple use of force complaints, excessive resisting arrest charges, continuous loafing or sleeping on duty, and continuously missing court.

An early intervention system or employee development program is designed to identify and correct these behavioral issues prior to the issue occurring. The systems or program should have effective methods for providing supervisory assistance and guidance to the officer. The program should seek to identify stress-related symptoms and techniques to reduce the stressors. Specific performance measures and expectations should be addressed with the officer so that the officer is aware of the areas that will be monitored and that need improvement.

Several topics and risk factor will be discussed during this class to include negligent hiring, negligent retention, and negligent training. Students will participate in both classroom lecture and hands on “in box” scenarios during this training course.

Class topics will include:

• Ways to protect officer and department from inappropriate behavior
• Pros/cons of performance reviews
• Identifying stress-related symptoms
• Stress management techniques
• Identifying training issues related to misconduct
• Options available for coaching vs. discipline
• Identifying appropriate means of documentation
• Recognizing consequences of negligent hiring, negligent retention and negligent training

This class is open to all certified law enforcement officers.