Police Training & Education Records
Petaluma Police Department Training Records
Commencing January 1, 2020, Senate Bill 978 requires law enforcement agencies to "conspicuously post on their Internet Web sites" all "current standards, policies, practices, operating procedures, and education and training materials" that would otherwise be available to the public if a request was made pursuant to the California Public Records Act (PRA).
Below, you will find links to documents in compliance with Senate Bill 978. You will also find other documents related to professional accountability within in our organization as part of our continued effort to remain truly transparent and open.
Annually our officers review and train on policies for Racial Profiling, Immigration Policy, Bias-Based Policing, and Hate Crimes.
In the last two years, officers have received 32 hours of Crisis Intervention Training and 8 hours of Crisis Intervention Techniques. In 2020, all officers received an additional 8 hours of De-escalation Training. Our Defensive Tactics Instructors also received an additional 16 hours of training in De-escalation Instructor Course.
The below document has a breakdown of the police department's educational background.
Department Training
Throughout the year our staff receive a variety of formalized training. California POST offers a number of certified trainings on a variety of specialized topics throughout the California each year. Additionally, our department recognizes the importance of training and maintaining perishable skills. Every six weeks our staff attends a 9-hour platoon training day focusing on different topics. These topics often include arrest and control, firearms, tactical communications, and legal updates. Below are departmental trainings our staff have attended.
Briefing Training
These are field level trainings completed informal by supervisors and staff within their respective work groups, oftentimes completed during pre-shift briefings.
Field Training Program
The POST Field Training Program (FTP) model provides comprehensive guidelines and structured learning content to facilitate newly-assigned peace officers transitioning from an academic setting to field training where they gain hands-on experience forming the foundation of their career.
Professional & Leadership Development
As an organization we recognize the importance of continued education and professional development. We continue investing in the training of our leadership team by providing opportunities to attend leadership development trainings such as CPOA Leadership Development Course, POST Supervisory Course, Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI), POST Management Course, FBI National Academy, and POST Law Enforcement Command College.
The Leadership Development Course is an 80-hour POST certified course which provides the necessary building blocks to grow into and be successful in a position of leadership. Students establish a foundation to maximize individual and organizational growth. Exercises include group discussion, as well as project work to provoke self-awareness and relationship building. Students learn the basics of delegation, discuss values like power and authority, and end the academy with a workshop on promotion to sergeant.
The POST Supervisory Course is an 80-hour course must be completed within 12 months of promotion or appointment to a first-level supervisory position. The Supervisory Course is designed for the first line supervisor and covers topics such as interviewing, personnel evaluation, decision making and problem solving, motivations and discipline, psychological aspects of supervision, handling citizen complaints, preparing cases for disciplinary action, job stress, cultural concerns, handling critical incidents, etc. The objectives of the course are to develop the necessary skills and knowledge for the supervisor to effectively manage people, to orally communicate in an interaction situation, to evaluate people based upon a standard, to communicate orally and in writing, to handle complaints and ethical situations.
The Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI) is a program consisting of eight 24-hour sessions designed to stimulate personal growth, leadership, and ethical decision-making in California law enforcement front-line supervisors. Designed and implemented in 1988 through the efforts of California law enforcement professionals and top educators and trainers, the SBSLI is an intense program based on experiential learning techniques.
The POST Management Course is a 104-hour mandated course designed to assist supervisors transitioning to middle managers and must be completed within 12 months of promoting or being appointed to a middle management position. The instructional goals for this course focus on the transition to Lieutenant, leadership, community-oriented policing and problem solving (COP/POP), strategic planning, fiscal management, personnel issues, legal issues, critical incident management, ethics, risk management, media relations, personal and professional growth, and project presentations and reports.
The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers nominated by their agency heads because of demonstrated leadership qualities. The 10-week program—which provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science—serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.
The POST Law Enforcement Command College is a 14-month program designed to prepare law enforcement leaders of today for the challenges of the future. The primary goal of the Command College is to provide sitting law enforcement leaders a course with a focus on futures forecasting and innovation. Students are exposed to leaders in the field of forecasting, innovation, economics, media relations, political science, and organizational leadership from across the nation. The program is presented at a master’s degree level, based on student- centered adult learning theories, placing accountability and responsibility for success on the student.
We also encourage all of our staff continue with higher level educational opportunities. The below document has a breakdown of the police department's educational background.