Editor’s Note: This article is part of Police1’s Training Week, which explores how agencies can improve knowledge retention, prevent skill decay and ensure officers can apply what they’ve learned under pressure. Thanks to our Training Week sponsor, T4E.
Training is one of the first things squeezed when an agency runs short on people and money. Minimum staffing has to be covered, overtime has to be justified and the hours left for anything beyond state-mandated in-service often amount to a few blocks on the quarterly calendar.
That leaves instructors with a hard allocation problem. The skills most likely to injure an officer, generate a lawsuit or lose a case in court are frequently the ones performed least often on the street, and they are also the ones that decay fastest without repetition. Deciding what gets those few hours means deciding what does not.
Police1 posed two related questions to readers on Facebook: If an agency has only a few hours each quarter for training, what should instructors prioritize? And what skills can officers reasonably be expected to develop and maintain on their own?
Start with what is already going wrong
Rather than name a favorite discipline, several readers said instructors should first identify where their own agency is losing.
“Coordinate a quarterly meeting with prosecutors to determine what issues are getting cases kicked. Then consult with your training [department] to develop ways to fix it.”
Others described the same idea as a matter of risk math, arguing that limited hours belong to the tasks officers almost never perform but cannot afford to perform badly: “Skills/tasks low in frequency, but high in risk/liability.”
One respondent put the diagnostic approach more bluntly.
“Whatever your department sucks at the most. Tailor [training] toward your greatest needs.”
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Hands-on control skills
When readers did name specific disciplines, defensive tactics and physical control came up more than any other category, often described in terms of the exact situations that result in injuries or complaints.
“Self-defense, handcuffing resistant subjects, removal of resistant drivers from cars.”
Others built longer lists around that same core, adding building search tactics, traffic stop tactics, standardized field sobriety testing and legal review. Several argued that a narrow focus leaves officers unprepared for the range of calls that turn dangerous.
“Instructors should prioritize critical incidents/situations. Go through situations for better response, whether it’s firearm training, defensive tactics, vehicle [extractions,] verbal and physical de-escalation and mental health ... tactical techniques, as well as driving. Doing the state minimum is not enough.”
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Not every priority must be tactical
A group of readers pointed to an area that seldom makes the quarterly schedule at all: the aftermath of the calls officers are being trained to survive.
“Mental health. Releasing trauma. Talking about incidents, normalizing not being OK after a traumatic event and asking for help.”
‘A few hours’ isn’t enough
Some readers argued that the scenario itself describes a leadership failure rather than a training puzzle.
“If an agency only has a ‘few hours’ per quarter for training, then they need to reprioritize staffing, scheduling and everything else to create MORE than ‘a few hours per quarter.’”
Another framed it as a career decision rather than a curriculum decision: “If they won’t invest in your training, don’t stay.”
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Physical skills belong to the officer
The second question shifted the focus from agency responsibility to what officers can reasonably develop and maintain on their own. Readers set a high bar, pointing to physical conditioning and many of the same perishable skills they had just said departments routinely underfund.
“Most advanced physical skills, like shooting and fighting. Pursue advanced training on case law [and] driving.”
One reader narrowed it to a single discipline: “Everyone should learn jiu-jitsu.”
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For some, the entire question had one answer.
“All of it … If you want to be treated as a professional, then you need to act like one and be constantly improving and educating yourself.”
Several tied self-directed training to survival rather than professionalism: “Any skill that they want to help them prevail when the department isn’t there for them. No one cares more about you and your family than you do, so train and prepare like it.”
One response combined both arguments and named the stakes directly.
“Officers need to invest personal time into fighting, shooting and driving. I believe most departments (definitely mine) do the bare minimum training in these areas and it’s not only a huge liability — it can also get you killed.”
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Judgment and communication
Not every self-directed skill readers named involved a mat or a range.
“De-escalation skills. Not everything has to be a hands-on confrontation.”
Others described a decision-making habit officers can build without equipment, a budget or an instructor.
“Ability to analyze situations and consequences of taking [versus avoiding] certain actions.”
One answer needed only a few words: “World-class listening. Empathy.”
