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Show Makings of a police officer What does it take to be a cop? Besides a lot of dedication to occupa-policemen occupa-policemen are now required, out of ."cessity, to undergo extensive train- g programs and continue training iroughout their careers in law enforcement. enforce-ment. The necessity for properly trained ; l ice officers was recognized by the ernal City Police Department some me ago, but was subtly reminded of its aportance when the city lost $23,500 in law suit where the city was charged ah not properly training their officers .1 a 1976 incident. The city is planning ' appeal the case. Since 1976, standards for training new ficers have improved both on a state id local level. A newly hired officer on the Vernal ,iy Police Department is first given in-s in-s auction on the proper use of deadly rce. He is required to take a course . id qualify by actual shooting on a fir-range fir-range before he is issued a weapon. ; also receives 24 hours of instruction i the use of the PR-24 (night stick 1 .Tore he goes into field training. Also during the initial hiring period f " ; 'k I V i the officer receives 40 hours training in radar, 24 hours in use of a breath analysor and 15 hours in first aid. During field training a new officer is paired with a senior officer who explains ex-plains police policy, trains the new officer of-ficer and gives him a practical demonstration of the procedure. Regular reports on field training are periodically given a superior officer who determines when the new officer is ready to be issued a vehicle. Usually it is within three to four months. After the officer completes field training and before he enters the police academy, the new officer is never assigned to a serious situation without being accompanied by a seasoned officer, of-ficer, Robert T. Downard, Vernal City Police Chief, said. Patrol schedules are coordinated so that a seasoned officer is always on duty du-ty with a rookie, Downard said. The Vernal City Police Department is intensifying their training program by adding 50 hours of training prior to field training. Also the department is going to implement a field training manual and a manual for those being trained. In the present training procedure, a new officer has an excess of 200 hours of practical training before he enters the Utah Police Academy where he undergoes a 6-week training period. An officer must graduate from the academy within 18 months or he isn't hired. The reason new recruits aren't immediately admitted to the police academy is there is a 9-month waiting period. Downard said. After the officer graduates from the academy he is required to continue training. Over 800 hours of in-service training is offered by the policy department depart-ment and the officers are required to take 300 hours yearly. Also all officers in the department are required to score 80 percent or higher in an annual certification cer-tification test, which is a written test and also a physical fitness test. "An officer could receive as much as 400 hours in-service training a year," Downard said. r - imnmiiim n iipjiih-hwhi '""' - mmmfmmummmt.mmimmmmmmmmvwt w.iwmi n.i.mi i 1.1111 mun 1-- - REPORT WRITING is an essential part of field training and Office David Free, left, instructs Brad Watkins, new police officer, how to fill out the forms. WALTON'S WEDDING Members of Ihe former CBS family saga. "The Waltons," are reunited, this time on NBC for "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain." airing on the NBC Monday N'Qht at the Movies. MONDAY, FEBRURY 22. The romantic drama, set in the years following World War II. focuses on the wedding plans of the now-adult Erin Walton (Mary McDonough) and Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens) . The reunion episode also features fea-tures a romance between veterinarian vet-erinarian Jonesy (Richard Gilhland) and Mary Ellen Walton Wal-ton (Judy Norton-Taylor) . CHECK LISTINGS FOR EXACT TIME MUGGABLE MARY Karen Valentine (pictured) portrays Mary Glatzle. a divorced mother who becomes a decoy cop in the street crime unit of the New York City Police Department, in "Muggable Mary." a new made-for-TV movie, ainrg on the CBS Thursday Nioht Movie on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Miss Valentine won an Emmy for her performances in the series, "Room 222." and has since expanded her career in many directions. CHECK LISTINGS FOR EXACT TIME 19B2 ConWos lrw - ir r'l'TP w" f 1 ;:-V " If v ' ; ' . """II ;- i-Q-rjr ..... . ' t v . i 1 Y '" : ' SGT. DAVID FREE instructs Brad Watkins on the proper procedure for making a routine traffic traf-fic stop during field training. New police officers ) M ( - . y i) ) 5V j j fit-. " I jee. ... . - .1:.' r - .rJ JV. J,- undergo several months of field training before they are issued a vehicle. V..' ' f " ; - f ' ' ' , ,: JJ, V . . . -r- - '-"ill ' I ( s. 4 I, ; - -. - - xW-- - - " - " vj ROOKIE BRAD WATKINS observes a traffic stop for an expired safety inspection during field training exercises. |
