Field Training Officer
Our FTO certification course turns FTOs into expert teachers.
Field Training Officer
Our FTO certification course turns FTOs into expert teachers.
We are the only California POST- Certified private presenter of FTO courses in California and the only course recommended by LEFTA, the world’s leading FTO software program. We are based in San Jose, California where the “San Jose Model” FTO concept was invented.
The reason our FTO program is so highly rated is that we teach our FTO students how to be expert teachers. After sending your FTO to our course, they are going to return to your agency the skills to not just evaluate, but to actually teach and mentor your trainees. They will learn specific ways to save a struggling trainee so you can reduce the number of trainees who fail your FTO program.
Whereas other FTO courses are known for being dry, and focused mostly on liability, we use dynamic instructors who employ the modern science of teaching and learning in a relaxed and enjoyable way. The instructors are passionate about giving your new FTO all the tools he or she needs to teach, evaluate and document a trainee’s performance.
This course is POST-certified in California and Idaho.
Contact Us to discuss POST certification in your state.
Here are 7 reasons that our students say FTOs need to take this course:
- Spend five days teaching, evaluating and documenting instead of listening to a dry lecture
- Leave the course confident you’re doing it right
- Expert instructors show you modern teaching techniques
- Get lots of practice evaluating and teaching trainee role players, not watching outdated videos
- Lots of examples of evaluation reports and plenty of practice writing them
- Learn specifically how to apply the number scale to rate trainees. You’ll also learn specific ways to teach de-escalation, mental health responses, case law and more
- The course is dynamic and fun. No “Death by Power Point”
Most agencies struggle with hiring and retaining quality recruits. Having well trained FTOs can make the difference between recruits successfully passing the Field Training Program or not.
Most agencies talk about the FTO being one of the most important positions in the department, but then don’t put much thought into the specifics of the training course they attend. They simply find an FTO course that has an opening for their FTO to attend and wait for them to come back with a certification. Unfortunately, some of the FTOs we polled didn’t feel adequately prepared by the certification course they attended. Consider what happens when an unprepared FTO is paired up with a struggling trainee?
You invest a lot of time and money into hiring a recruit, and your FTOs are responsible for getting those recruits through the Field Training Program. Their ability to teach, evaluate and document can make all the difference, especially when it comes to remediating a struggling recruit. Your FTOs are preparing your new officers to be the future of your department so FTOs need the proper training to do so.
Upcoming Presentations:
We asked experienced FTOs and program supervisors what they would like to see in a modern FTO Course and here’s what they said:
- Give specific examples of how to use the Standardized Evaluation Guideline Number Rating Scale and how to write Daily Observation Reports and Remedial Training Plans
- Use live trainee role players to make it realistic (no outdated videos and handouts)
- Have expert instructors show the FTOs how to use specific teaching strategies
- Do away with the old “Death by PowerPoint”-type presentations
- Specific info about liability laws and what they can and can’t write in evaluations
Our course solves every issue the seasoned FTOs identified. We know how important hiring and retaining new officers is to your agency so we designed a course that ensures FTOs are ready to move that trainee successfully through the Field Training Program. For those trainees who must be let go, our course teaches FTOs how to thoroughly document the matter and avoid liability for the agency.
What are students are saying about the FTO Course:
Your Instructors
Steve “Pappy” Papenfuhs is a retired Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department. Pappy has 29 years’ experience including assignments as an FTO Sergeant, Training Sergeant Detective Sergeant and SWAT team member. He is a human-factors researcher and certified Force Analyst. He often testifies as an expert witness in high-profile use of force cases. Pappy is an expert instructor with decades of experience who is constantly researching effective teaching strategies aimed at ensuring learning has occurred. Watch Steve discussing law enforcement training and our FTO Training program.
Dominic Gamboa is a retired Police Officer with the San Francisco Police Department and current Reserve Police Officer with the Santa Clara Police Department (CA). Dom has decades of experience including assignments as a Training Officer assigned to the San Francisco Police Training Bureau and a Patrol Foot Beat Officer in the challenging Tenderloin district. He served as a Special Consultant to the California Commission on POST analyzing the way Field Training Officer courses were conducted. Dom brings years of experience in both teaching and course design. His command over how a learner learns, and how to inspire law enforcement learners have earned him a reputation as an expert instructor.
Eddie Chan is a current FTO Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department in California. Having over a decade of experience supervising and training FTOs and recruit officers, Eddie understands the unique challenges that FTOs face when training recruits. Not only is San Jose the birthplace of the FTO concept, it’s also a big department that cycles a lot of recruits through the program. Eddie has spent the last ten years in the FTO program, so he has seen nearly every issue before. One of the things our FTO students like best about Eddie is that he gives them specific and practical tools that really work.
A Message from our FTO Instructors for Training Managers and FTO Supervisors:
“Teaching law enforcement officers is our passion, which is why we dedicated our careers to training cops. The reason we got together to take on the challenge of creating the best FTO course is because we know just how important it is. We have poured all of our law enforcement and teaching experience into this course and we can confidently say there is simply nothing else like it out there. Your FTOs are going to leave our course fully prepared and confident.”
Our FTO courses are popular because they are modern and effective. We choose to partner with LEFTA because they are the only FTO records management system that meets that standard.
If your FTO program still uses paper binders, we highly recommend you check out why more than 300 agencies and over 50,000 law enforcement officers at local, state and federal levels are using their software. See what LEFTA’s system can do for your FTO program by clicking here.