Police1’s “What Cops Want in 2025” survey is very clear about the deficiencies in law enforcement training. The responses from 1,260 officers show that a startling 23% had no training beyond the academy and over 30% rarely if ever train in defensive tactics. Over 40% described their current trainings as “ineffective” in real applications.
Here are six steps to develop and deliver training that addresses the realities that officers face on the street.
Training must be effective
Too often department trainers focus on their personal preferences or whatever “flavor of the month” training is considered tacti-cool at the moment. The only way to determine the effectiveness of training is to analyze it by the results. The command and training staff should be talking to officers and watching their body-worn cameras to judge the actual, not the advertised, outcome under the stress of real situations.
Police trainers also need to understand the effects of stress and how that impacts both performance and decision-making. What looks good on the training mat may fall apart on the asphalt. Training needs to be constantly evaluated and changed based on results, not rhetoric.
Focus on delivery
Every trainer needs to take an instructor development class that includes the science of how people learn and the best ways for those learners to retain the information. We are always short of training time. By understanding the best delivery methods you save time and get the best results.
Tear down the silos
Silos are built when we train in isolation. In most academies, empty hand control, baton, TASER, etc., are all taught separately. That training fails to create a link between the skills that officers are required to have in a dynamic use of force situation.
Officers need to practice increasing and decreasing levels of force based on the changing behavior of suspects. Officers also need to be skilled in transitioning from one tool to another in the case of a failure or a change in suspect behavior.
Empty-handed skills and de-escalation skills should be combined in all use of force training. The St. Paul (Minnesota) Police Department’s use of force incidents and injuries to both suspects and officers dropped dramatically when the skills were practiced together in simulated scenarios (see research paper below). Prior to that they had been practiced in separate scenarios. That unrealistic separation resulted in more frequent uses of force on the street.
Emphasize team tactics
Four officers with four separate plans, attempting to control a violently resisting suspect, guarantee that at least three of the plans will fail. It also increases the likelihood of officer and suspect injury and an escalation of force.
Multiple officers who have practiced as a team to control a suspect are much more likely to accomplish that task. If one officer wraps the legs and two officers each grab an arm and guide the suspect to the ground in a coordinated effort, the suspect is more likely to be controlled.
Increase frequency
In the Police1 “What Cops Want in 2025” survey, almost 80% of the officers said they only trained defensive tactics annually or less.
Any motor skill starts to deteriorate when it isn’t used. In as little as a few months the ability to perform a physical task will fade, according to research from Force Science and others. Quarterly training will improve performance. In the St. Paul study, trained tactics use were seen to steadily decline as time passed since training and spiked back up directly after training sessions.
Short roll call training sessions can also be used to keep skills sharp. Simply drawing a training pistol five times each day before shift has benefits according to trainer Jamie Borden. Those repetitions resulted in faster draw times allowing officers more time to shoot during qualification, resulting in higher qualification scores.
Make training realistic
A lecture, perhaps followed by a multiple-choice test, does not prepare officers to respond to the complex, rapidly changing situations that they face on a daily basis. Realistic training does.
Whether it is virtual reality, a video simulator or live role players or training partners, realistic training is essential for effective training, provided it is properly designed and implemented to ensure that it results in officer confidence and competence. Again, trainers need to attend current training on how to effectively conduct reality-based training to ensure that the training sticks.
Understanding what happens out on the street allows trainers to focus on the most needed areas of training. When asked what specific tactic officers used when they were assaulted, 91% answered empty hand control. In a sudden assault there isn’t time to draw a tool off your belt and create the distance to use it.
Good training should emphasize empty-handed responses to sudden assaults to train officers to quickly shut down the attack and move to control the suspect. That training should provide a mix of grappling and striking skills since a violent confrontation may require both.
Empty-handed skills and de-escalation skills should be included in all use of force training. St. Paul PD use of force incidents and injuries to both suspects and officers dropped dramatically when the skills were practiced together in simulated scenarios. Prior to that they had been practiced separately. That unrealistic separation resulted in more frequent uses of force. Over 60% of those surveyed said simulation training made them better at de-escalation.
Effective training isn’t easy. It takes training, time and knowledge of how best to train officers. Use these suggestions to raise your level of training to the level that your officers deserve in their training.
Tactical takeaway
Short, frequent and realistic scenario-based training builds officer confidence, improves decision-making under stress, and reduces both officer and suspect injuries.
