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One’s
education does not stop with the completion of the basic law
enforcement academy. Police Officers are re-certified
every four years by the completion of forty hours of
mandatory retraining. Training topics that are required
include Human Diversity, Domestic Violence Investigations
and Juvenile Sexual Offender training. The Training
Coordinator assigns, schedules and documents all training an
officer or member receives whether inside or outside of the
department. Training and certification records are audited
by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal
Justice Standards and Training Commission. Work
schedule modifications along with the city’s tuition
reimbursement program are two ways the department encourages
all employees to continue their formal education.
The
Stotz-Patterson Training Center is located on the north
shore of Lake Idylwild in Winter Haven. This six-acre
piece of city owned property was approved during 1998 as a
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) training site.
With this certification, the department can now host
authorized FDLE training courses for department employees
and other law enforcement agencies. The
Stotz-Patterson Training Center is fully equipped with an
outdoor firearms range, Emergency Response Team (ERT)
obstacle course and K-9 training course.
The training center is staffed by a full-time Training
Coordinator who is responsible for scheduling in-service
training and the coordination of a schedule for specialized
and advanced law enforcement training. |
