Field Training Officers

This Saturday, on Behind The Blue Curtain, we are discussing Field Training Officers (FTOs).  Assigned to be mentors to new officers fresh out of the academy, FTOs are supposed to guide rookie officers through the daily rigors of the job and reaffirm the lessons they learned during their training.  However, too often these veteran officers tell the men and women under their care to forget everything they learned at the academy and do the job their way.  This Saturday we will examine how this kind of ego-driven mentality only creates greater opportunity for misconduct to grow and spread throughout the ranks of a department. We will discuss what an FTO should be and how departments can better guranatee that they're using the right people for the job.  We'll address the systemic issues that make the problem of FTOs just another link in the chain of bad policing.  And we'll talk with Heath Till, an Austin,Texas-based entrepreneur and activist, who will help us delve into some of the socioeconomic issues that are a big part of the problem.

Join us Saturday at 11AM Eastern/10AM Central! The call-in number is (646) 716-4621 and press 1 if you would like to join the conversation.  Please be mindful of your background noise.