\u201cBuilding A Better Cop\u201d<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/h1>\nMarla Friedman, Police Psychologist<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Born out of the academy, the Probationer is a blank slate. Mega assembly required running the gamut from appropriate deployment of de-escalation and tactical skills training, mental health and suicide prevention techniques, and development of a mentoring relationship, which transitions throughout their career and remains into retirement.\u00a0 This cradle to grave approach<\/em> (Badge of Life) supports the Officer at every stage and creates and sustains the safest working environment to consistently execute uncompromised law enforcement service delivery.<\/span><\/p>\nMany have asked, what is a Master Police Coach (MPC)? It is a Field Training Officer who has exceptional skills in the following areas:\u00a0 interpersonal relationships, jurisdictional geography and orientation, motor vehicle operation and the use of emergency equipment.\u00a0 These of course are some of the critical skills all officers need to know.\u00a0 MPCs excel in these areas and others.<\/span><\/p>\nThey are also proficient in state of the art electronic communications, directed patrol strategies, patrol tactics and officer safety, both physical and in the area of mental wellness and suicide prevention.\u00a0 They are expert enough to refer to a mental health professional when peer support has not solved the issue.<\/span><\/p>\nThe preceding skills merely scratch the surface. \u00a0They must have a thorough working knowledge of substantive and procedural criminal law, local ordinances, and case preparation for prosecution.\u00a0 Much of the public are unaware of what Probationers go through to earn solo patrol entrustment.<\/span><\/p>\nMCPc\u2019s must also exhibit the ability to process information with exceptional problem-solving skills, execute complex case building expertise as well as excellent report writing skills, and most importantly, help the Probationer master these critical skills.\u00a0 Finally, they have to thoroughly understand traffic enforcement, crash scene management and investigation.<\/span><\/p>\nThese are subject areas that all seasoned cops are expected to execute as they progress in their careers.\u00a0 So how do we take a Probationer just out of the academy and train them in all of these elements so they can become exceptional and self-reliant officers?<\/span><\/p>\nThat\u2019s where the Master Police Coach excels. \u00a0MPCs possess an understanding of the population they are working with.\u00a0 An MPC figuratively takes the performance pulse of their Probationer and flexibly adjusts instructional styles. <\/em>\u00a0Adult learners like efficiency, flexibility, practical examples, and goal-directed learning instead of theoretical lectures.<\/span><\/p>\nProbationers are adult learners and as such have varied life experiences and learning styles, which have to be understood and respected. The most effective Field Training Officers understand that the \u201cF\u201d represents Flexible<\/u> Training Officer <\/em>adaptive to the Probationer\u2019s learning style(s). Accordingly, it is imperative that MPCs are exceptionally pre-briefed with the Probationer\u2019s scouting report. <\/em>The scouting report<\/em> contains the most pertinent information about the Probationer\u2019s history immediately prior to their law enforcement career choice and runs the gamut from life experiences, jobs held, academic profile and extracurricular interests and hobbies.<\/span><\/p>\nThe interface of pre-employment psychological screening is a real win-win to minimize Field Training and Evaluation Process problems. Most reports provide essential insight into the Probationer\u2019s dominant learning style(s) as well as risk taking profile.<\/em> This is supplemented by the MPC\u2019s reports (cross-trained as Background Investigators) from the two (2) Mandatory Candidate Ride-Alongs during the pre-employment screening process.<\/span><\/p>\nCreativity and visual demonstrations of information are more effective than passive learning.\u00a0 Uniform Training Tasks<\/em> are imperative to insure consistency in training and <\/u>performance assessment, regardless of assigned Field Training Officer.\u00a0 This is vital because most Probationers are assigned to multiple Field Training Officers.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen MPCs train Probationers, they keep in mind the physiological concerns of this cohort.\u00a0 Shift work causes problems with sleep hygiene and decreased attention and concentration. The lack of exercise, tactical eating\/nutrition, and proper hydration decreases the Probationers\u2019 ability to learn, cognitively process information, and maintain energy throughout the shift.\u00a0 All of this collides with a normal personal life.\u00a0 Court calls, off-shift team training are among the sleep disruptors that have to be taken into account as well.<\/span><\/p>\nThe flexibility<\/em> of the MPC is a key factor with this group. \u00a0Addressing mental wellness by utilizing a holistic approach includes seeking psychological assistance before<\/u> problems emerge.\u00a0 Psychological difficulties like depression, substance abuse, anxiety, PTSI, and low self-esteem must be identified and addressed early on.<\/span><\/p>\nTraining Probationers can easily be compared to training an athlete.\u00a0 So, MPC\u2019s borrow concepts from sports psychology to enhance training.\u00a0 As the legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi said, Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.<\/em> \u00a0Trial and error are overrated as an adult learning method. \u00a0An MPC corrects and redirects the probationer when their performance is sub-par.\u00a0 The Master Police Coaches\u2019 ultimate goal is to turn out a self-reliant probationer by shaking out the civilian and building a cop to the bone one shift at a time. <\/em>\u00a0(Sokolove 1987) No hyperbole, a MPC makes it abundantly clear that uncompromised policing is the only acceptable standard.<\/span><\/p>\nPsychology has a concept called, the Yerkes-Dodson Law of Optimum Arousal which shows clearly on a normal bell curve that the optimal level of arousal, meaning best performance, is at the top of the curve.\u00a0 Too much arousal or anxiety interferes with maximum performance and too little, produces boredom and lack of commitment resulting in compromised policing outcomes.\u00a0 Striving for that sweet spot comes from the Probationer imagining and visualizing the goal and rehearsing it until they see themselves executing each task perfectly in their mind\u2019s eye. \u00a0Probationers will never hit a target they cannot see. <\/em>The mind is powerful and the beliefs they put in there will influence their subsequent behavior.\u00a0 This is true in all human endeavors. \u00a0Athletes talk about being in the zone<\/em>, that\u2019s what a great MPC shares with each Probationer along with the concrete principles of the Daily Observation Report.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nDiagram 1:\u00a0\u00a0 The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Optimum Arousal<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Yerkes-Dodson-law.jpg?resize=450%2C333\")
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Building a Better Cop <\/em>program also accepts the proposition that solid mental health enhances performance.\u00a0 So, as the Probationer advances though each Field Training and Evaluation Process Step with their MPC\u2019s the psychologist can assist by developing concrete statements to pass on to the Probationer to provide stress inoculation<\/em> and protective strategies to protect them from becoming overwhelmed with the sensory mix of sights, sounds and smells that are a daily part of police work.\u00a0 The Field Training and Evaluation Process is not a glorified ride-a-long.\u00a0 It is training at-the-speed-of-life to produce the finest officers that can be entrusted to solo patrol so, what are these stress inoculation strategies and how can the MPC prepare the probationer for the worst?<\/span><\/p>\nThe MPC not only trains the probationer to become a cop as a long term-career but be aware of all the \u201cfirsts\u201d that will confront the neophyte Officer during the formative initial 2 years on the streets.<\/span><\/p>\nThey include the frame-of-reference in order to process fatal crashes, suicides, homicides new and old, missing persons, dead bodies in general, humans screaming in pain, the smell of decomposing flesh, interpersonal violence cases, injured and dead children, death notifications, drug overdoses, conflict in the officer\u2019s own family and the list goes on in the Tsunami of humans at their worse.<\/span><\/p>\nFirst, old school responses to death, conflict, and the everyday horrors that can occur on the job.\u00a0 Most experienced police officers have heard the following from their Field Training Officers back-in-the day or from someone in the department.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cSuck it up! What did you think you were going to see?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cThis is the job, handle it or move on to another career.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cDon\u2019t show weakness, the bad guys can smell it.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cStuff your feelings and reactions down, that\u2019s the only way to survive this job\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cSuck it up, there\u2019s no crying in law enforcement\u201d. This female Probationer committed suicide pre-shift in the department\u2019s armory. Litigation against the department followed and the department was partially liable, based on this statement alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cDon\u2019t embarrass yourself or me with your overreaction. Dead bodies are part of what we handle. Get used to it.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \u201cYour OIS was legit, quit worrying about it.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Marrying appropriate and useful mentally healthy language provided by an experienced mental health professional with the training and permission<\/em> of the MPC can assist in altering the quality of the Probationers and eventually the independent cop\u2019s career for the long term.<\/span><\/p>\nNow if the Master Police Coach changes the above statements to these healthier alternatives we can expect less, maladaptive behaviors, negative emotional states, and faulty thinking.<\/span><\/p>\nHere is some language that the MPC can use to train the Probationer to handle these difficult, but common situations which will help protect Probationers from getting overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, anxious or getting full blown Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).<\/span><\/p>\nAfter a probationer sees their first dead body, the MPC might say, Wow, the first time I saw a dead body not at a funeral, I barfed at the side of the road.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0At my first autopsy, I fainted so be prepared to have strong feelings.\u00a0 <\/em>This is a normal reaction.\u00a0 As you continue in law enforcement, you will build up some defenses.\u00a0 However, you never want to be reaction free, we don\u2019t want you to be a robot, just a caring officer.<\/span><\/p>\nTime and experience will help you accept these things.\u00a0 However, they will change you.\u00a0 We all have changed.\u00a0 Expect it and inoculate yourself against it.\u00a0 Use Peer Support, private therapy, and chaplaincy programs freely.\u00a0 All effective and forward thinking Probationers do this now.\u00a0 This is the best way to protect us from becoming sick.\u00a0 Do it for yourself and your family<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nI recommend you, like me, go for an Annual Mental Health Check-in.\u00a0 This will give you a known therapist to turn to when things get overwhelming, and they will.\u00a0 This job changes you.\u00a0 You will see the worst of human behavior.\u00a0 We have to inoculate ourselves before<\/u> we break down, become depressed, have panic attacks, rely upon alcohol and drugs to numb us or from developing PTSI.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nSome officers develop PTSI, not from a single incident, but from multiple incidents over time. \u00a0These are traumatic events that are life threatening, dramatic and terrifying, like those examples described above.<\/span><\/p>\nMost commonly though, stress<\/em> is what you will experience daily related to internal department practices, problems with peers or superiors and other political situations that you have no control over.<\/span><\/p>\nThese are what sour the job for many.\u00a0 I hope you are comfortable enough with me or one of your other Field Training Officers to come to us and talk about these pressures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nLaw Enforcement is, and will continue, to change in multiple ways over the next decade.\u00a0 The combination of the Police Psychologist and the Master Police Coach is a new approach and we are on the forefront of making policing a career of integrity, ethics, health, and safety for officers and the public they protect and serve.<\/span><\/p>\nReferences<\/span><\/p>\nBadge of Life (2008) Police Suicide Prevention Program-The Annual Mental Health Check-In.<\/em>)\u00a0 Clark, Ronald, and O\u2019Hara, Andrew.<\/span>
\n California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (2014) Police Officer Psychological Screening Manual.
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nThe Police Chief Magazine (January, 2002) The Law Enforcement Candidate Ride-Along: A Supplemental Selection Tool<\/em> by Bruce A. Sokolove and Mark W. Field.<\/span><\/p>\nYerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908).\u00a0 The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation.\u00a0 Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 450-482.<\/span><\/p>\nCONTACT THE AUTHOR AT: \u00a0 Booklight@att.net<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Site Administrator:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nPlease share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nPlease join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.\u00a0 Also follow me on Twitter (https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinBlueMind<\/a>) for other articles and ideas, and YouTube at\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfjNw0510ipr3bX587IvAH<\/span>g<\/a> .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police Psychology | Master Police Coaches: \u201cBuilding A Better Cop\u201d Marla Friedman, Police Psychologist \u00a0 Born out of the academy, the Probationer is a blank slate. Mega assembly required running the gamut from appropriate deployment of de-escalation and tactical skills training, mental health and suicide prevention techniques, and development of a mentoring relationship, which transitions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168888],"tags":[17168797,17168831,17168995],"class_list":["post-5851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress","tag-training"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":682,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=682","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Fit To Be A Cop? How Much Testing is Enough?","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"POLICE PSYCHOLOGY | FIT TO BE A COP?\u00a0 HOW MUCH PSYCH TESTING IS ENOUGH? Laurence Miller, PhD BALTIMORE (Associated Press) \u2014 \"A psychological firm paid to evaluate troubled Baltimore police, including a lieutenant charged in the killing of Freddie Gray, is under investigation by the city and has been put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4600,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4600","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology: Be the Solution, Not the Cause","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"November 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology:\u00a0 Be the Solution, Not the Cause by Lt. Jason Childers, Texas We frequently hear about how stressful police work is, and the sacrifices we make in the service of our community is an oft-repeated narrative in police circles. The jerks we deal with on the street, the trauma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=2572","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"May 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY \u00a0 As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.\u00a0 What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3158,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=3158","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | Officer Involved Shootings – Collateral Damage","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Officer Involved Shootings - Collateral Damage Chief George Filenko, Round Lake Park Police Department It was early New Year\u2019s morning 2006. The phone rang jolting me out of a sound sleep. The gruff voice on the other end of the phone was then Task Force Commander Bill\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4137,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4137","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles: Animated Post","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles:\u00a0 Animated Post by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP, Sara Gaertner, Skylar Aumiller \u00a0 5 Principles to A Simpler Life as a Cop in animation. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Resilience"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Resilience","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168882"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-1wn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5925,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851\/revisions\/5925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Born out of the academy, the Probationer is a blank slate. Mega assembly required running the gamut from appropriate deployment of de-escalation and tactical skills training, mental health and suicide prevention techniques, and development of a mentoring relationship, which transitions throughout their career and remains into retirement.\u00a0 This cradle to grave approach<\/em> (Badge of Life) supports the Officer at every stage and creates and sustains the safest working environment to consistently execute uncompromised law enforcement service delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n Many have asked, what is a Master Police Coach (MPC)? It is a Field Training Officer who has exceptional skills in the following areas:\u00a0 interpersonal relationships, jurisdictional geography and orientation, motor vehicle operation and the use of emergency equipment.\u00a0 These of course are some of the critical skills all officers need to know.\u00a0 MPCs excel in these areas and others.<\/span><\/p>\n They are also proficient in state of the art electronic communications, directed patrol strategies, patrol tactics and officer safety, both physical and in the area of mental wellness and suicide prevention.\u00a0 They are expert enough to refer to a mental health professional when peer support has not solved the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n The preceding skills merely scratch the surface. \u00a0They must have a thorough working knowledge of substantive and procedural criminal law, local ordinances, and case preparation for prosecution.\u00a0 Much of the public are unaware of what Probationers go through to earn solo patrol entrustment.<\/span><\/p>\n MCPc\u2019s must also exhibit the ability to process information with exceptional problem-solving skills, execute complex case building expertise as well as excellent report writing skills, and most importantly, help the Probationer master these critical skills.\u00a0 Finally, they have to thoroughly understand traffic enforcement, crash scene management and investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n These are subject areas that all seasoned cops are expected to execute as they progress in their careers.\u00a0 So how do we take a Probationer just out of the academy and train them in all of these elements so they can become exceptional and self-reliant officers?<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s where the Master Police Coach excels. \u00a0MPCs possess an understanding of the population they are working with.\u00a0 An MPC figuratively takes the performance pulse of their Probationer and flexibly adjusts instructional styles. <\/em>\u00a0Adult learners like efficiency, flexibility, practical examples, and goal-directed learning instead of theoretical lectures.<\/span><\/p>\n Probationers are adult learners and as such have varied life experiences and learning styles, which have to be understood and respected. The most effective Field Training Officers understand that the \u201cF\u201d represents Flexible<\/u> Training Officer <\/em>adaptive to the Probationer\u2019s learning style(s). Accordingly, it is imperative that MPCs are exceptionally pre-briefed with the Probationer\u2019s scouting report. <\/em>The scouting report<\/em> contains the most pertinent information about the Probationer\u2019s history immediately prior to their law enforcement career choice and runs the gamut from life experiences, jobs held, academic profile and extracurricular interests and hobbies.<\/span><\/p>\n The interface of pre-employment psychological screening is a real win-win to minimize Field Training and Evaluation Process problems. Most reports provide essential insight into the Probationer\u2019s dominant learning style(s) as well as risk taking profile.<\/em> This is supplemented by the MPC\u2019s reports (cross-trained as Background Investigators) from the two (2) Mandatory Candidate Ride-Alongs during the pre-employment screening process.<\/span><\/p>\n Creativity and visual demonstrations of information are more effective than passive learning.\u00a0 Uniform Training Tasks<\/em> are imperative to insure consistency in training and <\/u>performance assessment, regardless of assigned Field Training Officer.\u00a0 This is vital because most Probationers are assigned to multiple Field Training Officers.<\/span><\/p>\n When MPCs train Probationers, they keep in mind the physiological concerns of this cohort.\u00a0 Shift work causes problems with sleep hygiene and decreased attention and concentration. The lack of exercise, tactical eating\/nutrition, and proper hydration decreases the Probationers\u2019 ability to learn, cognitively process information, and maintain energy throughout the shift.\u00a0 All of this collides with a normal personal life.\u00a0 Court calls, off-shift team training are among the sleep disruptors that have to be taken into account as well.<\/span><\/p>\n The flexibility<\/em> of the MPC is a key factor with this group. \u00a0Addressing mental wellness by utilizing a holistic approach includes seeking psychological assistance before<\/u> problems emerge.\u00a0 Psychological difficulties like depression, substance abuse, anxiety, PTSI, and low self-esteem must be identified and addressed early on.<\/span><\/p>\n Training Probationers can easily be compared to training an athlete.\u00a0 So, MPC\u2019s borrow concepts from sports psychology to enhance training.\u00a0 As the legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi said, Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.<\/em> \u00a0Trial and error are overrated as an adult learning method. \u00a0An MPC corrects and redirects the probationer when their performance is sub-par.\u00a0 The Master Police Coaches\u2019 ultimate goal is to turn out a self-reliant probationer by shaking out the civilian and building a cop to the bone one shift at a time. <\/em>\u00a0(Sokolove 1987) No hyperbole, a MPC makes it abundantly clear that uncompromised policing is the only acceptable standard.<\/span><\/p>\n Psychology has a concept called, the Yerkes-Dodson Law of Optimum Arousal which shows clearly on a normal bell curve that the optimal level of arousal, meaning best performance, is at the top of the curve.\u00a0 Too much arousal or anxiety interferes with maximum performance and too little, produces boredom and lack of commitment resulting in compromised policing outcomes.\u00a0 Striving for that sweet spot comes from the Probationer imagining and visualizing the goal and rehearsing it until they see themselves executing each task perfectly in their mind\u2019s eye. \u00a0Probationers will never hit a target they cannot see. <\/em>The mind is powerful and the beliefs they put in there will influence their subsequent behavior.\u00a0 This is true in all human endeavors. \u00a0Athletes talk about being in the zone<\/em>, that\u2019s what a great MPC shares with each Probationer along with the concrete principles of the Daily Observation Report.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Diagram 1:\u00a0\u00a0 The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Optimum Arousal<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Building a Better Cop <\/em>program also accepts the proposition that solid mental health enhances performance.\u00a0 So, as the Probationer advances though each Field Training and Evaluation Process Step with their MPC\u2019s the psychologist can assist by developing concrete statements to pass on to the Probationer to provide stress inoculation<\/em> and protective strategies to protect them from becoming overwhelmed with the sensory mix of sights, sounds and smells that are a daily part of police work.\u00a0 The Field Training and Evaluation Process is not a glorified ride-a-long.\u00a0 It is training at-the-speed-of-life to produce the finest officers that can be entrusted to solo patrol so, what are these stress inoculation strategies and how can the MPC prepare the probationer for the worst?<\/span><\/p>\n The MPC not only trains the probationer to become a cop as a long term-career but be aware of all the \u201cfirsts\u201d that will confront the neophyte Officer during the formative initial 2 years on the streets.<\/span><\/p>\n They include the frame-of-reference in order to process fatal crashes, suicides, homicides new and old, missing persons, dead bodies in general, humans screaming in pain, the smell of decomposing flesh, interpersonal violence cases, injured and dead children, death notifications, drug overdoses, conflict in the officer\u2019s own family and the list goes on in the Tsunami of humans at their worse.<\/span><\/p>\n First, old school responses to death, conflict, and the everyday horrors that can occur on the job.\u00a0 Most experienced police officers have heard the following from their Field Training Officers back-in-the day or from someone in the department.<\/span><\/p>\n Marrying appropriate and useful mentally healthy language provided by an experienced mental health professional with the training and permission<\/em> of the MPC can assist in altering the quality of the Probationers and eventually the independent cop\u2019s career for the long term.<\/span><\/p>\n Now if the Master Police Coach changes the above statements to these healthier alternatives we can expect less, maladaptive behaviors, negative emotional states, and faulty thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n Here is some language that the MPC can use to train the Probationer to handle these difficult, but common situations which will help protect Probationers from getting overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, anxious or getting full blown Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).<\/span><\/p>\n After a probationer sees their first dead body, the MPC might say, Wow, the first time I saw a dead body not at a funeral, I barfed at the side of the road.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0At my first autopsy, I fainted so be prepared to have strong feelings.\u00a0 <\/em>This is a normal reaction.\u00a0 As you continue in law enforcement, you will build up some defenses.\u00a0 However, you never want to be reaction free, we don\u2019t want you to be a robot, just a caring officer.<\/span><\/p>\n Time and experience will help you accept these things.\u00a0 However, they will change you.\u00a0 We all have changed.\u00a0 Expect it and inoculate yourself against it.\u00a0 Use Peer Support, private therapy, and chaplaincy programs freely.\u00a0 All effective and forward thinking Probationers do this now.\u00a0 This is the best way to protect us from becoming sick.\u00a0 Do it for yourself and your family<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n I recommend you, like me, go for an Annual Mental Health Check-in.\u00a0 This will give you a known therapist to turn to when things get overwhelming, and they will.\u00a0 This job changes you.\u00a0 You will see the worst of human behavior.\u00a0 We have to inoculate ourselves before<\/u> we break down, become depressed, have panic attacks, rely upon alcohol and drugs to numb us or from developing PTSI.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Some officers develop PTSI, not from a single incident, but from multiple incidents over time. \u00a0These are traumatic events that are life threatening, dramatic and terrifying, like those examples described above.<\/span><\/p>\n Most commonly though, stress<\/em> is what you will experience daily related to internal department practices, problems with peers or superiors and other political situations that you have no control over.<\/span><\/p>\n These are what sour the job for many.\u00a0 I hope you are comfortable enough with me or one of your other Field Training Officers to come to us and talk about these pressures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Law Enforcement is, and will continue, to change in multiple ways over the next decade.\u00a0 The combination of the Police Psychologist and the Master Police Coach is a new approach and we are on the forefront of making policing a career of integrity, ethics, health, and safety for officers and the public they protect and serve.<\/span><\/p>\n References<\/span><\/p>\n Badge of Life (2008) Police Suicide Prevention Program-The Annual Mental Health Check-In.<\/em>)\u00a0 Clark, Ronald, and O\u2019Hara, Andrew.<\/span> The Police Chief Magazine (January, 2002) The Law Enforcement Candidate Ride-Along: A Supplemental Selection Tool<\/em> by Bruce A. Sokolove and Mark W. Field.<\/span><\/p>\n Yerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908).\u00a0 The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation.\u00a0 Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 450-482.<\/span><\/p>\n CONTACT THE AUTHOR AT: \u00a0 Booklight@att.net<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Site Administrator:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.\u00a0 Also follow me on Twitter (https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinBlueMind<\/a>) for other articles and ideas, and YouTube at\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfjNw0510ipr3bX587IvAH<\/span>g<\/a> .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Police Psychology | Master Police Coaches: \u201cBuilding A Better Cop\u201d Marla Friedman, Police Psychologist \u00a0 Born out of the academy, the Probationer is a blank slate. Mega assembly required running the gamut from appropriate deployment of de-escalation and tactical skills training, mental health and suicide prevention techniques, and development of a mentoring relationship, which transitions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168888],"tags":[17168797,17168831,17168995],"class_list":["post-5851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress","tag-training"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":682,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=682","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Fit To Be A Cop? How Much Testing is Enough?","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"POLICE PSYCHOLOGY | FIT TO BE A COP?\u00a0 HOW MUCH PSYCH TESTING IS ENOUGH? Laurence Miller, PhD BALTIMORE (Associated Press) \u2014 \"A psychological firm paid to evaluate troubled Baltimore police, including a lieutenant charged in the killing of Freddie Gray, is under investigation by the city and has been put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4600,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4600","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology: Be the Solution, Not the Cause","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"November 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology:\u00a0 Be the Solution, Not the Cause by Lt. Jason Childers, Texas We frequently hear about how stressful police work is, and the sacrifices we make in the service of our community is an oft-repeated narrative in police circles. The jerks we deal with on the street, the trauma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=2572","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"May 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY \u00a0 As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.\u00a0 What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3158,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=3158","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | Officer Involved Shootings – Collateral Damage","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Officer Involved Shootings - Collateral Damage Chief George Filenko, Round Lake Park Police Department It was early New Year\u2019s morning 2006. The phone rang jolting me out of a sound sleep. The gruff voice on the other end of the phone was then Task Force Commander Bill\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4137,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4137","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles: Animated Post","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles:\u00a0 Animated Post by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP, Sara Gaertner, Skylar Aumiller \u00a0 5 Principles to A Simpler Life as a Cop in animation. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Resilience"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Resilience","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168882"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":5851,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-1wn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5925,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5851\/revisions\/5925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n\n
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\n California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (2014) Police Officer Psychological Screening Manual.
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n