I have been Air Force SF for almost 6 years now, and as I have been posting on here from time to time about, I am pursuing civilian LE when I get out in 6 months. We heard at work tonight that our academy gained Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation, and now I am wondering if that means anything for applying to police departments.
What does FLETA accreditation entail? Is it just saying that the Federal government officially recognizes the SF Academy, or does it mean more? Any input would be greatly appreciated!
http://www.fleta.gov/Can't say for sure, but I'm thinking it may set the stage for those who have graduated from the academy to pursue reciprocity certification in those states/agencies which permit it. Since it's a fairly recent accreditation, I wouldn't bet on most states' POST commissions reacting to this information very quickly.
you are probably going to want to go through a civilian LE academy. A lot of stuff the .mil LEO's do would be a complete disaster on the street.
I don't think civilian departments will ever accept any accreditation of MIL training as a substitute for state mandated POST training. There are just too many training and procedure issues. To give a leg up on application and preference? Sure.
Back when I was in they used to offer up CA POST classes to MIL guys interested in pursuing a career in LE or in areas that had concurrent jurisdictional areas on base. Back then the commanders were very wary of any joint training leading to possible Posse Comitatus issues from overzealous troops.
Originally Posted By 1911greg:
you are probably going to want to go through a civilian LE academy. A lot of stuff the .mil LEO's do would be a complete disaster on the street.
I completely agree. I would never trust the training we have gotten in the .mil to hold me over in the civilian sector.
So it pretty much looks like FLETA just makes your training look better on paper? Does anyone in a FLETA certified field know what this means as far as putting it in a resume? I am going to talk to our Office of Special Investigations guys the next chance I get as I see that they are on the list too... maybe they will know more about how it translates into the civilian world.
I got certified in Florida as an out of state officer. Had to send my air force security police training records to the state Criminal Justice Standards Comittee and have them reviewed to determine if I met the requirements to attend the out of state officer certification course offered at a local college academy. Then I had to take and pass the state exam.
I dont think it would be much of a problem, IF the officer went to an agency that had a reputible FTO training program. I was part time at the agency that I was hired at and still had to complete (and pass) the 4 month FTO program. I could see an officer going to a smaller agency with a quickie FTO program and low call volumes being a problem.
Originally Posted By floridacop:
I got certified in Florida as an out of state officer. Had to send my air force security police training records to the state Criminal Justice Standards Comittee and have them reviewed to determine if I met the requirements to attend the out of state officer certification course offered at a local college academy. Then I had to take and pass the state exam.
I dont think it would be much of a problem, IF the officer went to an agency that had a reputible FTO training program. I was part time at the agency that I was hired at and still had to complete (and pass) the 4 month FTO program. I could see an officer going to a smaller agency with a quickie FTO program and low call volumes being a problem.
Same here, I took my primary academy training in SC after I retired from the Army (non-MP). In 2003 I came to Florida and took the 90-hour high-liability course for Out-of-State/Federal Officers, passed and took the state exam. We had a few Military Police guys in the class as well IIRC.
All we did was USE OF FORCE, DEFENSIVE TACTICS, FIRST RESPONDER, and EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS. We got NO legal training in Florida law/legal procedures. Was not too difficult to make the switch from SC to FL.
I think if a guy/gal understands the Constitution and the legal concepts/protections granted therein, learning a different state's way of doing business is not that big of a deal so long as they get a good FTO.
