The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office prides itself on providing the most up-to-date and advanced training available to deputies in order to fulfill the Sheriff’s vision of total professionalism through training and by example. Upon graduation from a POST academy, where basic law enforcement theory is learned in a controlled environment, the new deputy begins their journey through the Field Training Program (FTP) as a new deputy.
The FTP is approximately a six month long training program that allows a trainee to apply their skills in the real world under the close supervision of a Field Training Officer (FTO). Each FTO is handpicked from the Patrol Unit as deputies who are well rounded, experienced, responsible, and who demonstrate the Sheriff’s standards of a deputy. After being selected, FTOs are sent to a specialized school where they are trained in modern teaching methods, adult learning techniques, and supervisory skills. FTOs have frequent meetings where they discuss the progress of each individual trainee and collaborate on different ways to adapt the training program to meet the trainee’s needs.
Each trainee is paired with a Field Training Officer who closely supervises them one-on-one and facilitates their training. The FTO and trainee work together in the same car, every shift and respond to as many calls for service as feasible in order to expose the trainee to a variety of different real world scenarios. The trainee is routinely quizzed, challenged, and must demonstrate their judgment and decision making under the watchful eye of each FTO. Each trainee is evaluated by their FTO daily on their knowledge, attitude, and performance, and is provided with written documentation on their progress.
The FTP is divided into five segments called phases and each phase provides a steady progression in independence. The final two weeks of training is referred to as the Shadow Phase. During the Shadow Phase the trainee demonstrates to their FTO their ability to handle each call for service as a solo patrol deputy.
Field Training Officers
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Operations
Completion of the program is rewarding to all involved and is celebrated department wide.
Aside from training new deputies, FTOs are required to attend Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) courses with regular updates. FTOs are often called upon to provide in-service training to veteran deputies in order to ensure that all the newest legislation and law enforcement practices are being implemented on the ground level. FTOs meet frequently and collaborate with the FTO supervisor to ensure the program is meeting or exceeding our goals. Our community gained many new, exemplary deputies this year due, in part, to the efforts of the Field Training Program.
Hiring and training new deputies has a long
lasting impact on our community and agency.
Many of our new employees will retire here after
25-30 years of service. The training the deputy
receives during the FTP charts the course for
their entire career. Trainees eventually become
trainers, supervisors, and administrators. The
success of this program is keenly felt by the
hundreds of citizens encountered daily. The
way deputies enforce laws, keep peace, improve quality of life, and uphold civil liberties
begins with the training received. The level of
enforcement, care, and professionalism FTOs
instill in new deputies will continue to resonate
through generations of El Dorado County
citizens.
From the initial date of application to the final
day of the FTP can take on average of two years
for a new hire to complete. Much time, money,
and effort has been placed into sifting through
the many applicants who apply to this agency
every month and selecting just the right
personnel to train into Sheriff’s Office Deputies.
This agency considers the community to be
made up of the best men and women in the
world and for that reason excellence is
demanded from the deputies who serve here.