1. Be a sponge
Recognize you’re new and everybody else will almost certainly know
more than you. Accordingly, ask as many questions as you need to before
entering your final phase of training when your FTO will merely be
shadowing you and is no longer a resource for answering your questions.
2. Be eager to learn
In addition to asking a question, it’s probably more important to be
the type of employee that wants to learn and challenges themselves to
constantly be learning in our ever-changing career. For instance, if you
take on a case where the investigation requires a search warrant, tell
your FTO you want to pair up with a detective and help write the search
warrant. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you, take the initiative.
3. Don’t get cocky
Few things are more frustrating than a new officer who thinks they
know everything when they’ve been an officer since breakfast. Humble
yourself and make your bones during field training without bragging or
pretending you’re Supercop.
4. Accept criticism and praise without being defensive
You’re new and you’re going to mess up, often. The purpose of the FTO
criticizing you is not to merely inform you, but to improve you so it
doesn’t happen again. Making mistakes is expected. The key is to not
make the same ones repeatedly. When you’re criticized, your FTO is
letting you know you didn’t meet an expectation, which is extremely
valuable for you to be informed of so you know exactly where the bar is
set. If you’re able to offer a mere explanation of your actions, without
being defensive and while remaining receptive to the criticism you just
received, that may be appropriate. Similarly, if you’re given praise,
don’t gloat or let it go to your head … say thank you and know that’s
the expectation from then on.
5. “Look sharp, act sharp, be sharp”
The all too familiar line from the TV series “Southland.” There are
documented interviews in the FBI’s LEOKA (Law Enforcement Officers
Killed in Action) report which state numerous felons imprisoned for
murdering law enforcement officers did so simply because “they knew they
could.” Some felons specifically stated the officer’s uniform and/or
boots appeared unkempt, which caused them to assume the officer was lazy
and cared about their job as much as their uniform. This is of course
untrue and no excuse for the felons’ actions, but it’s important to note
that something as menial as the creases in your uniform shirt can have
an impact on how a suspect responds to your command presence.
On a lighter note, your field training evaluation will likely have an
“appearance” category, so press your uniforms, shine your badge and
polish your boots often, if not daily, because that’s an easy category
to score points in. A former Recruit Training Officer once told me the
academy is where the best snapshot of you will occur. You’ll be fit,
focused and non-complacent. As officers, we tend to let ourselves slip,
however gradually, after we leave the academy and there’s no longer
academy staff keeping us in line. I personally challenge you to stay
fit, know your stuff and remember that complacency kills.
6. Be respectful
Simply put, everybody is “sir” or “ma’am” unless you are told to call
them something else. Even then, maybe let them tell you a couple of
times before you stop. Respect both seniority and rank. Understand the
senior guys with a few years left before retirement are not lazy, in
fact they’ve likely spent the last 25 years doing exactly what you’re
hoping to. Let them have their coffee and respond to their beat calls;
you can go chase “Johnny Troublemaker” over fences and know the senior
guy will still be there to help. Respect rank, regardless of your
opinion of the person.
7. Switching FTOs
When you pass a field training phase, you’ll get another FTO. One of
the most frustrating things you can do is tell your current FTO that you
did something a certain way because your last FTO told you to do it
that way. There are a million ways to do this job and achieve the same
result, count yourself lucky you’re going to experience a mere three to
four ways of doing it with your FTOs. The point is to expose you to
different ways, so that if you pass the program, you can take what you
liked and add it to your bag of tricks. So if your current FTO tells you
something different than your last FTO, that’s fine, do it.
8. Roll with the punches
Coworkers may have fun at your expense. As the new guy who enjoys
pranks and comedy, I always found it amusing. In fact, I’ll humble
myself with a quick story and maybe it’ll foreshadow the shenanigans you
may encounter as the new guy. I was fresh off training and took a
burglary where the suspect defecated in the victim’s toilet and didn’t
flush it. Knowing (mostly) excrement doesn’t contain usable DNA, I
photographed it and left it alone. My sergeant, after reading my report,
called me into the office, where he and a former Crime Scene
Investigator spent the next 20 minutes convincing me I had left valuable
evidence in the toilet. Even worse, because my department was out of
“collection kits,” I’d have to make due with a plastic bag and a plastic
spoon. I got halfway back to the house after calling to tell the victim
not to flush her toilet before my sergeant called me, nearly in tears,
telling me I didn’t in fact need to scoop poop out of a toilet with a
plastic spoon. If you’re thinking “Wow, what an idiot!” that’s fair.
When I got back to the station, my sergeant wrote “Doo Doo Collection
Bag” on the bag I took and placed the plastic spoon inside. That bag
still hangs from my locker today, even at my new agency. So, roll with
the punches and see the humor in things, even if you’re the victim!
9. Keep your FTO happy
This one comes at the end of the list because it was more important
for you to retain the above items first before I tell you to keep your
FTO fed and caffeinated … but do it. Find out how your FTO likes to ease
into their shift or wind down. Whether its food, coffee or tea, find
out and if possible, get your FTO what they need. Some FTOs don’t care
about any of those frills and just want you out there doing your job. If
that’s the case, pack a Red Bull and stay busy.
What if you’re a lateral transfer? As somebody who has lateraled to a
different agency, I can tell you my approach was nearly identical to
what it was when I was a new guy. I did just about everything the same
way, but if my FTO, a senior guy or a supervisor told me to cut it out
because I wasn’t a “boot,” I’d oblige and silently appreciate their
gesture. I was fortunate enough to land at an agency where my lateral
FTO experience was great; they treated me like an experienced officer
and respected my time on the job. If you find yourself having a
different lateral experience, try embracing the “new guy” way again
because things like “be respectful” and “Keep your FTO happy” will never
lead you astray.
Often times, trainees leaving the academy feel as if they know
everything because they’ve conquered the academy experience. Do not fall
into that trap. The reality is the police academy prepares you to enter
a field training program, it doesn’t guarantee you’re ready to succeed
in it. That responsibility falls on your shoulders. Strive for success
and embrace being the new guy; be humble, be hungry and be the hardest
worker in the room. Upon completing field training, take pride you’ve
landed amongst the closed ranks of law enforcement because it’s the
greatest job on Earth.
About the Author
Officer Samuel Miceli is a police officer with the Santa Clara Police Department in Santa Clara, California, and is assigned to the patrol division. Officer Miceli has approximately four and a half years on the job and still considers himself the new guy
