DOCJT 2020 Course Book Includes New Courses, Traditional Favorites

Nov 4

Nov 4 DOCJT 2020 Course Book Includes New Courses, Traditional Favorites

The Department of Criminal Justice Training recently released its 2020 Course Book including improved training and new courses for law enforcement and dispatchers.

“Traditionally, DOCJT offered around 210 to 220 law enforcement in-service classes annually,” said Steve Howard, DOCJT Criminal Investigations Branch Manager. “In 2020 we are offering over 260 classes, which includes 19 new courses.”

In addition to updated curriculum for standard courses such as the Police Executive Command Course and Kentucky Drug Investigations, DOCJT instructors and staff have developed courses to meet current demands. They are:

School Resource Officer II
Drug Investigative Techniques
Law Enforcement Training Officer
Collision Scene Investigation
Basic Chaplains Course
Contemporary Policing in the 21st Century
Patrol Weapon Operations
Individuals in Crisis
Auto Theft Investigations
Patrol Rifle Deployment
Enhanced Handgun Performance
Less-lethal Options for Patrol
Active Shooter
Advanced Traffic Stops
Hidden Highways: Criminal Interdiction

“The addition of these and multiple firearms and tactical courses have increased the variety of training from which officers can select,” Howard added. “DOCJT still offers many updated courses from past schedules, such as Academy of Police Supervision, Digital Photography and many more. But this year, we are not only updating, but also adding a larger variety and selection of opportunities for officers and dispatchers alike.”

Beginning Feb. 2, 2020, the Public Safety Dispatch Academy (PSDA) will take on an entirely new look. The academy length will change from five weeks to four weeks with new pre-requisites for admittance. Incoming students must have completed their Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) certification before arrival, for example.

Week one of the PSDA will primarily include classroom work. But after that, DOCJT Telecommunication Section Supervisor Duane Bowling said training shifts decidedly toward hands-on practicals for the remaining three weeks. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of week three, in particular, will be high-stress, high-level, multi-faceted training designed to embed students in the realities of working in a dispatch center.

“We have consolidated down the academy, but we have put in a lot more hands-on training than has ever been done before,” Bowling said.

As technology continues to evolve, Bowling said much of the changes to dispatch training are being made to modernize what is offered to DOCJT clients. New ways to contact 911, such as via text and video, and the narrowing in of GIS mapping technology is becoming prevalent in the field.

“The technology we are trying to use, the training we are doing, along with re-vamping the academy is going to give the state of Kentucky that push to lead the nation again for telecommunications,” Bowling said. “We want to be that model once again for the other states to come to and say, ‘We like what you’re doing, show us what you’re doing.’”

DOCJT’s Telecommunication staff presented the changes to the 2020 PSDA curriculum along with the announcement of new in-service courses during the October Telecommunications Advanced Leadership Kentucky (TALK) conference where the news was well-received, Bowling said.

Among the new courses are: