The WILL to Train

Much of this column comes from what I have learnt while training with Brian Willis. For those of you that don’t know Brian he is a former Calgary Police Officer that retired after a 25 year career. For his last 9 years he was the head use of force trainer for the agency.

I am sure that most of you will agree that one of the biggest complaints you hear from co-workers and other members of your chosen profession is that you don’t get enough training. This is possibly one of the biggest complaints that anyone in security and law enforcement has. At my agency a few years back the training department decided to do something about that. They came up with a few days when they could access the training space we had and invited officers to come in for 4 hours, either on a morning or in the afternoon. Officers could stop by and practice their skills in the presence of instructors…Only one problem. No one showed up.

After talking to many officers I discovered what the problem was. People wanted everything to be on agency dime and time. They refused to train on their own time if they did not get paid. For those of you that agree with that sentiment then let me ask you this.

When has your agency ever responded to a call? When has your agency ever been injured or killed?
The agency does not respond to calls…but you do. They agency will never be injured or killed…but you might be.

In the ideal world we would receive top notch training with full pay at least once a week. However this will never ever happen. The best I have ever heard of is a police agency in Illinois that does firearms training once a month. More then likely your agency trains it officers upon first hire. Some now provide training annually. To overcome this I challenge every officer, supervisor and manager reading to take it upon yourselves to train on your own time with your own money. After all the money you have was earned by going to work everyday and coming home safely. At least invest some of it back into work and making sure you come home safe. It doesn’t even have to be just physical skills training that you do. Read work related books, websites and magazines on your own time. Most security magazines now have free digital editions. Take a little time out of your day to practice some of the physical combat skills that may save your life.

I know this sound like a tall order but consider the following:

• 1 hour of reading a day equals 364hr’s (you can take Christmas Day off) or 9 forty hour weeks of learning. The same applies to listening to education CD’s while driving to and from work instead of listening to the radio.
• 10 mins of physical training a day, 4 days a week, 48 weeks a year (lets assume you take a 4 week vacation) equals 32 hours of training a year which is more then some annual physical training classes.

I am sure any of our members that work in a correctional environment will tell you that the bad guys are training every day. They work out and swap trade secrets. They know police combative programs better then most street officers.

Can you afford not to take a little time out of your day and work toward improving yourself?

Stay safe,

Chris

P.S.

Here is a list of things that I would recommend to start with.

Websites/Magazines

• Police and Law Enforcement - PoliceOne.com andCorrections News, Products, Training, Careers at CorrectionsOne
• Also check out PoliceOne.com - Original Law Enforcement Videos about Survivor Stories, Officer Safety, Physical Fitness and More
• Law Enforcement & Police – Police News, Training, Equipment & Jobs – LawOfficer.com
• Canadian Security Magazine - Home Page
• Homepage | Security Management
• Campus Safety Magazine
• Winning Mind Training (Brian Willis’ company.) Home Page
• Excellence in Training
• Warrior Spirit Books
• Force Science
• http://www.css.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/cprc/index-eng.asp
• Homepage | Security Management
• ASIS International: Home Page

Books

• On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and Peace By Lt. Col. David Grossman
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking By Malcolm Gladwell
• Sharpening the Warriors Edge: The Psychology & Science of Training By Bruce Siddle
• Training at the Speed of Life, Vol. 1: The Definitive Textbook for Police and Military Reality Based Training By Ken Murray
• The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker
• Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement: A Guide for Officers and Their Families by Kevin M. Gilmartin
• Parapolice: A Revolution in the Business of Law Enforcement by Ross McLeod
• Re-imagining Policing in Canada by Dennis Cooley