CAREER PATHS
SUPPORT DIVISION
The Salina Police Department's Support Division is responsible for overseeing most of the ancillary services necessary to keep line units operating. It is run by Capt. Paul Forrester.
The Support Division provides services and support personnel who make field operations possible, and contributes to the effective management of department resources. The division commander also has the responsibility to prepare, monitor, and manage budget activities for the department, ensuring that sound fiscal management techniques are followed.
TRAINING &
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Sgt. Tim Brown leads the Training Unit at Salina Police Department.
The Training Unit is committed to providing our agency with a structured program of coordinating both local and outside training to department personnel and facilitating community training programs. Sworn officer are mandated by the Kansas Peace Officers’ Standards & Training (KSCPOST) and the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) to complete a minimum 40 certified hours of training each year.
New officers attend a 14 week academy at KLETC or a week long Reciprocity class for previously certified officers. Our partnership with KLETC has made the process of training officers a simple endeavor; whether a newly sworn officer or a veteran officer seeking continuing training. After graduating from KLETC, recruits attend two weeks of Post Academy classes within the department to prepare them for a 15 week Field Training Program. Training is at the core of any officer committed to serving their community.
The Training Unit also coordinates the department’s College Student Intern Program, management of the School Resource Officer program, and the annual Citizen’s Police Academy and Advanced Citizen’s Police Academy.
It is the goal of the Training Unit to streamline the overall training process; making it easier to organize and provide quality training to not only the employees of the department but community wide.
SCHOOL RESOURCE
OFFICER PROGRAM
The Police Department's School Resource Officer (SRO) Program involves the assignment of three full-time uniformed police officers to Salina's middle and high schools. Capt. Paul Forrester is in charge of the SRO Program.
The School Resource Officer (SRO) program provides an increased level of effective interaction between the Police Department, students, school officials and parents. This partnership between the Police Department and School System facilitates the rapid resolution of minor problems before they become big problems. While each SRO is a fully trained police officer with arrest authority, their primary focus is working with the school administration to maintain a safe learning environment.
A typical day for an SRO may include consulting with a principal about a discipline issue, investigating the circumstances surrounding some lost property, intervening in a minor conflict between students or providing advice to a troubled student.
FIELD TRAINING
OFFICER PROGRAM
The Salina Police Department's Field Training Officer (FTO) Program is both a continuation of the police officer selection process and an intensified training system for newly appointed police officers. Sgt. Tim Brown heads the FTO Program and supervises 10 Field Training Officers. The FTO Program is intended to ease an officer's transition from the academic setting to the performance of general law enforcement patrol duties of the department.
Although officers graduating from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) have received a thorough introduction to basic law enforcement subjects, those officers cannot be expected to immediately function as an experienced officer. New officers receive two weeks of post academy instruction, taught by FTOs who cover multiple topics. Upon completion of the post academy, new officers receive an additional 15 weeks training and evaluation in the field, under the watchful eye of an FTO, where they can learn from officers who have already gained a great deal of practical patrol experience. The FTO Program introduces a newly assigned officer to the personnel, procedures, policies, and purposes of the department and provides the initial formal and informal training specific to the day-to-day duties of police officers. It is an important component of the recruit's growth, and is designed to compliment academy classroom training.
By the time the recruit completes the Training Academy and the FTO Program, the department has a substantial amount of time and expense invested, and the FTO Program greatly enhances the likelihood that new officers will
succeed in solo field assignments.
