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Honolulu's Stripes
HONOLULU'S STRIPES:
TRAINING FOR SERGEANTS
By
Robert D. Prasser
Captain
Honolulu, Hawaii, Police Department
In today's legal climate, it is imperative that police
sergeants be prepared not only to face the challenges of
crime in their districts but also to manage their personnel
more effectively. All too often, newly promoted sergeants
receive only an orientation and a review of departmental
regulations before they are placed in their new assignments
to either "sink or swim." (1) In police departments throughout
the country, this is often wryly referred to as "Holy Ghost"
training--somehow they will get the job done with minimum damage
to the department and few lawsuits.
While not discounting divine intervention, the Honolulu,
Hawaii, Police Department realized that recently appointed
sergeants require additional training to rise to an increased
level of professionalism, in view of today's ever-litigious
society. Department officials recognized that sergeants on
today's police forces need basic skills in management and
supervision, counseling, public relations, and other areas that
were previously delegated to mid-level managers and above. (2)
With these issues in mind, they developed a new training program
for sergeants. This article discusses how that training
program--STRIPES (Supervisory Training Regimen In the
Preparation and Education of Sergeants)--was developed and
implemented.
TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT
The first step in developing the new program was to form a
committee of top supervisors and managers from various divisions
within the department to assess the needs of a sergeant training
program. This committee had a "blank slate" to plan a program
that would produce highly trained sergeants, who were recently
promoted to that rank, and eliminate those officers who were
ill-suited for the position.
After reviewing the existing sergeants training program,
committee members devised a survey to determine current training
needs. This survey, which was sent to all executive and
mid-management personnel, requested feedback on potential topics
to be included in the program, as well as any other relevant
comments or ideas. The committee members then formulated
recommendations and goals, developed specific class titles and
practical exercise concepts, and estimated the number of hours
needed for each area of training.
In their recommendations to the chief, the committee
proposed that the new program:
* Provide basic information and develop skills needed by
sergeants to become effective supervisors
* Demonstrate a commitment by the department to this type
of training
* Require a serious commitment from the trainees
The committee also recommended that the number of sergeants
promoted at any one time be kept to a manageable number.
Although some of the available classrooms seat 60 officers, the
committee recommended that, for learning purposes, classes be
limited to 30 officers.
THE STRIPES PROGRAM
The STRIPES Program lasts approximately 20 days and
includes a variety of training tools that both challenge and
stimulate the trainees, including classroom instruction and
lectures, mock scenarios, and written examinations. In order to
make the program as professional as possible, instructors from
within the department who are expert in particular fields
augment the existing training staff.
STRIPES is significantly different from the previous
training program. The STRIPES curriculum includes eight areas
of concentration.
Officers are graded on a pass/fail basis, with a penalty of
demotion for failing the program. This system not only
motivates the officers to learn but also identifies those
officers who should be removed from the program because they
have not mastered fundamental supervisory skills.
The program is designed to help sergeants succeed. There
are two comprehensive exams given throughout the training that
provide a foundation for each officer's evaluation. However, in
addition to the exams, performance during practical exercises is
also considered. The decision to pass or fail officers is based
on their overall performance.
In the past, most sergeant training was done in the
classroom. However, because police officers tend to be
practical, task-oriented individuals who need more than
classroom lectures to keep their interest, practical exercises,
such as mock scenarios, were incorporated into the STRIPES
Program.
MOCK SCENARIOS
Mock scenarios are highly structured exercises that expose
the officers to a variety of difficult situations that require
them to use their acquired skills and knowledge, as well as
their experience, in order to resolve the incident successfully.
For example, in one mock scenario, sergeants are required to
manage their personnel and resources at a difficult crime scene,
such as a felony assault with arrests at a crowded bar.
Participants in the scenario are given specific instructions on
how to perform, and the sergeant trainees must quickly develop
an understanding of how to deal with difficult people, including
witnesses, the media, and even department personnel. Other mock
scenarios might include counseling an employee for chronic
absenteeism, marginal performance, or substance abuse, or
handling an internal affairs investigation that deals with
citizen complaints.
Mock scenarios are also used to complement classroom
lectures. For example, in conjunction with the classroom
lecture on disciplinary procedures, officers conduct a mock
internal investigation that requires a considerable time
commitment, possibly even some of the officers' off-duty
time. This exercise is extremely valuable to newly promoted
sergeants because it allows them to assemble a complex,
often-litigated report before they are required to complete
such an investigation in the field.
All mock scenarios take place in a realistic setting in a
mock crime scene building. A panel of evaluators with expertise
in various areas, such as homicide or internal affairs
investigations, observes the scenarios behind one-way glass. The
exercises are graded, and the results are placed in each
officer's portfolio for feedback and documentation purposes.
Every effort has been made to make the STRIPES Program as
complete and effective as possible. However, important to every
program is an evaluation phase that provides valuable feedback
from its participants.
PROGRAM EVALUATION
To determine whether the goals of the training program are
being met, the training staff developed an extensive evaluation
form to be completed by the sergeants in the STRIPES Program.
This 16-page evaluation form lists each course in the
curriculum, with a separate evaluation for each instructor.
This allows the training staff to isolate problems with either
courses or instructors and also allows them to evaluate the
overall effectiveness of the program.
The evaluation form is given to the sergeants at the
beginning of the training so they can record their comments and
ideas as the course progresses. This way, sergeants have
adequate time to make written comments while their assessments
of both the course content and instructors are fresh. Because
they are not under time constraints to complete the evaluations,
they are more likely to give specific written suggestions and
comments for improvement.
To supplement the evaluation of the newly promoted
sergeants, the training staff, after each graduating class, also
conducts a self-critique concerning the effectiveness of the
program. The staff uses the sergeants' evaluations to generate
discussion, and unsolicited suggestions and comments from the
various field commanders are also discussed at this time.
PROGRAM REVISIONS
In order to keep the program both dynamic and credible, all
courses are subject to change, deletion, or modification when
feedback indicates that a change is needed. This was the case
when the field training phase was removed from the program.
Initially, the STRIPES Program included field training in both
patrol and desk assignments. This phase of the training allowed
newly promoted sergeants to train alongside experienced ones in
order to gain valuable insights and training in their new
positions. In theory, this concept was fine. However, feedback
indicated that the actual practice was falling far short of the
concept.
To begin, the time allocated to desk and field training was
too limited to allow the sergeants to gain any real insight into
their new positions. In addition, it was impossible, in such a
short time span, for the sergeants to develop any kind of
supervisory rapport with the officers temporarily working for
them.
Another problem that surfaced in the field training phase
was the diversity of assignments that sergeants have after
completing the program. In the Honolulu Police Department, the
rank of sergeant is the same as detective. Therefore, newly
promoted sergeants are assigned to either field sergeant or
detective slots. To further complicate the issue, these
sergeants or detectives are assigned to a number of different
positions, such as desk or field assignments, patrol or
administrative assignments, and uniform or plainclothes
assignments.
Evaluations and critiques of both sergeants and their
counterparts in the field indicated that the field training was
too generic and too short to be of real value. Therefore, this
phase of the training was eliminated. Instead, sergeants now
receive on-the-job training in their specific assignments.
Feedback from the evaluation phases of each class has resulted
in other changes being made to the program. The STRIPES
curriculum has also undergone several revisions since the
training committee made its initial recommendations to the
chief.
The courses originally recommended by the training
committee formed the curriculum for the first STRIPES class.
The initial curriculum included over 180 hours of training.
With each subsequent class, however, the feedback from both the
sergeants and the training staff has resulted in curriculum
changes, in an attempt to meet the needs of both the trainees
and the department.
The current STRIPES curriculum includes 136 hours of
training. Many of the courses now offered are a direct result
of the feedback received from previous classes. Other courses
are the result of recommendations made by the training staff, as
well as those made by officers in the field.
CONCLUSION
The STRIPES Program meets the initial training goals of the
Honolulu Police Department. To date, no sergeants have failed
to complete the training. Department officials believe that the
pass/fail format of the training has contributed greatly to the
success of the program in that it forces the sergeant to meet
the standards of the department or face the possibility of
demotion. Other than in recruit training, most departments
continue to hold inservice classes without establishing a
measurable standard to determine the training's effectiveness.
The STRIPES Program eliminates this problem by using graded
exercises and exams.
In all probability, a newly promoted sergeant will, at some
point, fail to complete the training and be demoted to officer
status again. (3) When this happens, there will be the
potential for a legal challenge to the department. However, if
officers are retained at ranks for which they are unqualified,
everyone suffers. (4) It calls into question the competence and
integrity of the department as a whole. This, in turn, lowers
morale within the department and diminishes community confidence
and trust in the police.
The curriculum of the STRIPES Program will inevitably go
through further revisions, changes, and improvements. By
remaining flexible, however, and continually updating the
curriculum as the need arises, the primary goal will be met--to
prepare newly promoted sergeants for the challenges that await
them.
FOOTNOTES
(1) K. Culbertson and M. Thompson, "An Analysis of Supervisory
Training Needs," Training and Development Journal, February
1980, p. 62.
(2) Doug Goodgame, "Training Priorities for First Line
Supervisors in Municipal Law Enforcement: A Contrast of
Opinion," Journal of Police Science and Administration, vol. 6,
No.2, June 1978, p. 2.
(3) Thomas Paglia, "Field Training for Supervisors--The Next
Step," Field Training Quarterly, Fourth Quarter 1987, p. 10.
(4) William J. Bopp, Police Personnel Administration, 2d. ed.
(Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1980), p. 135.
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