October 27, 2011
The recruits had their first of six scenario days. Here’s how the day works.
Recruits arrive at the location early. Off-duty officers arrive to take part in the scenarios and are assigned their roles for the day (for example, complainants and suspects.) Recruits start receiving calls from dispatch and going to their assigned call simulation. A training officer is there to observe and evaluate. After the call is resolved the recruits, the training officer, and the officers who role-played review and discuss the call.
I arrived before the scenarios began, and the room was buzzing with anticipation. Some recruits were more relaxed, where others were noticeably nervous.
When the calls from dispatch started coming through their radios, you could sense excitement. A variety of scenarios were given to the recruits, from noise complaints to mental health calls. The recruits worked in partners, except for one recruit since there is an odd number.
I went with a few recruits to their different call simulations. Their professionalism impressed me, as did their knowledge. Once they went to the call and opened communication with the people in the simulation, they relaxed.
It was evident after all the classes up until this point, they have retained so much information and were able to process the scenarios quickly and react accordingly.
After being in class for six weeks, they have a lot of information memorized. I think the more important piece to their responses is their intuition and mental processes. It wasn’t learned from reading a textbook or listening to an instructor.
Exactly like how it is on the street, the recruits had no idea what kind of call they would receive until they were dispatched to it. Also like on the street, what the call initially started out as can turn into something completely different.
The couple times the recruits didn’t handle the call how they should have, they knew it as soon as it was done. More importantly, when the trainer asked they knew how to properly respond.
I look forward to seeing their subsequent call simulation days, as the scenarios become more serious and involved as the training evolves.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at recruitblog@edmontonpolice.ca. I’ll answer the best I can.