Gene L. Wriggelsworth, Sheriff
Field Training Officer / Corrections Training Officer
All Ingham County Sheriff Office employees are required to go through a training program. The first two weeks are an orientation, of the Corrections and Field Services Divisions. After Completing the orientation, depending upon their work assignment, they will either start a 8 week Corrections training program or a 14 week Field services training program.
The Corrections Training Officer’s Program (CTO) is first of its kind for Michigan Sheriff Departments. The program was developed and field tested at the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office. The on the job training program lasts for 8 weeks, which consists of 5 steps. Step 1 of the training exposes the new recruit to all aspects of the training and requires the recruit to perform 25% of the work. This step is 2 weeks in length and upon completion, and review of command, the recruit will advance to the next step. Step 2 is also 2 weeks in length and the recruit is required to perform 50% of the work load. Step 3 & 4 are 2 weeks combined in length and the recruit is required to perform 75-100% of the work load. Step 5 is considered the Shadow step in which the training officer is dressed in plain clothes and is available for questions and safety reasons while the recruit is performing at 100% of the work load.
The evaluation aspect of the program is entirely behaviorally driven and training checklists help to standardize the training and evaluation process. Daily feedback discussion is performed after each training day and this insures that the recruit understands what he/she needs improvement on and the positive aspects of that days performance. After the 5 step program is successfully complete, the recruit is placed into the working matrix schedule. The recruit is then advanced to Step 6, in which a supervisor tracks the performance of the recruit until that person is off probation.
Those officer’s assigned to the Field Services division will be trained in all aspects of the Road patrol. Their training will begin in Step 1, where they will be assigned to a Field training Officer (FTO) for 4 weeks. During that time the recruit will be expected to complete approximately 25% of the work load, which may include: Driving, Radio Transmission, Geographical Orientation and Minor Reports.
During their Step 2 training they will be assigned a different FTO for an additional 4 weeks. During this period the recruit will enhance their patrol techniques and be expected to perform 50-75% of the work load. They will then advance to Step 3, in which they will be assigned a new FTO for another 4 weeks. During this period the recruit is expected to perform 80-100% of the work load. After the recruit completes Steps 1,2 &3 they will be passed on to Step 4 where they will be assigned the same FTO that they had in Step 1. They will spend 2 weeks in this Step and the FTO will be dressed in plain clothes and expect the recruit to perform 100% of the work load. The FTO is there to evaluate how the recruit has progressed through the training and if he/she can complete the everyday requirements of a road patrol officer.
The Ingham County Sheriff’s Office hosts 2 CTO/FTO seminars per year. These seminars are 3 days in length and is geared towards the certifying of Command and Deputies as training officers. This program helps to lay the foundation for departments who are in need of training enhancement.
