How much do you use what you learned in the academy?

[CAL]

I've heard from several LEOs that you pretty much "throw out" what you learn in the academy as you won't really use what you learn their. They said that what you really need to know will be taught during FTO. What are your experiences?

[Shadowcop92]

Generally I tell my cadets that after they leave the academy they will remember portions of their training but things will change as we teach a generic way and once with their FTOs they will learn the departments way and so forth.

I have worked at several agencies and my first job as a rookie I did 12 weeks and only time i referred back to academy time was when I had to look up a law for a charge. Your FTO is who will show you all the things you need to know and you have to learn and implement that along with academy training. Other agencies I did abbreviated FTO time as I was considered an experienced offcier, that was mainly to olearn the city or county.

[Broke Hoss]

I usually tell my trainees that the academy provides a foundation that you will build on. I also encourage them to take techniques/ideas they learned in the academy, some they will learn from thier PTO's (they will have atleast 4) and find & adapt them to what works for them.

Your knowledge of penal laws & policy is what you use to make a decision and form a plan for solving a problem. You apply the knowledge you gained in the academy to the situations you encounter.

I have faith in our academy to train the rooks to have the knowledge; I look at my job as PTO to show them how/when to use it properly. Your field training should complement your academy training.

Your PTO should also be able to show you things that weren't taught in the class that will help you. You haven't been taught HOW to be a cop, just given the knowledge you need to squeek by.

[DD78]

Two of the most important things you will learn in the academy are the laws of your jurisdiction and officer survival tactics. You will continue to develop the latter during your FTO.

When you leave the academy you are BASICALLY TRAINED. This pretty much means that you hopefully won't get someone killed or make a complete ass of yourself during the FTO/Probationary period.

They are going to throw alot of shit at you over the course of your academy. Over the course of your first year on the job (and beyond to an extent) you are going to have to take that shit and seperate it into three kit bags.

1.) Stupid shit you'll never use. A perfect example of this would be the "shoot fighting" style that they taught us in the academy. It's retarded for job use and has never been used on the street in the history of policing I'm sure.

2.) Iffy shit that you might use or modify slightly. An example of this would be by the book handcuffing procedures that they teach in my academy. It's not really practical the way they teach it, but there are some good points in there that you can adapt on.

3.) Good shit you'll use often. This would be stuff like EVOC, felony stop procedure, positioning, interview stance, legal statutes, and motor vehicle code.

You'll go through the same procedure when you hit FTO and have to sort all that stuff into your three bags too. Some guys have bad habits, and some have good. Beware anyone who says "forget everything you learned in the academy". Unless your academy sucks, they likely have some serious problems with bad habits, operating way outside of policies, and officer safety.

This is the same thing you did when you hit your first unit after AIT. Some of the stuff you learned was useful, some was not, and other stuff was kind of useful. You found your way though. Your training does not end at academy graduation.

You still don't know crap then.

Your training is divided into three stages. Academy, FTO, Probationary Period. It will take a couple years before you are truly an independant and trained officer. That's when you become the police equivalent of an E4.

Learn well.

[CAL]

Excellent insight.

[Feet]

The basics will always be used but some things that I do not like or I am not a big fan of, I do not pursue them.
I think they teach you the "safe" way to do things in the academy and you will just have to modify what you learned with what is common practice with your co-workers.

[DD78]

The basics will always be used but some things that I do not like or I am not a big fan of, I do not pursue them.
I think they teach you the "safe" way to do things in the academy and you will just have to modify what you learned with what is common practice with your co-workers.

If your academy is like mine was, by the time you graduate the boogeyman is EVERYWHERE and on EVERY public contact a movie style bad guy with an M60 lurks around every corner.

While that in the back of you mind is a good thing, it's really out front when you get done. It will take some time to get your "spidey-sense" about when the shit is about to hit the fan.