EP 10 Police Training Revisited - Meeting the Demands of Conflict Training in Policing

It is important to recognize the value of highly contextual training to equip law enforcement officers to be professional and adaptive decision-makers. However, the majority of current training practices often develop officers who lack the ability to transfer static skills into the highly dynamic operational demands that they face.   In this interview, Dr. Mario Staller, professor at the University of Applied Sciences of Police and Public Administration North-Rhine Westphalia in Aachen, Germany, talks about the importance of officer adaptability towards the context of  highly realistic use of force scenarios and why it is important to not strip the solution space from the problem in the training context. Topics covered in this interview include the definition and application of the Constraints Led Approach, how best to implement the CLA into a learning environment while considering appropriate design methodology. In addition, the critical importance of including aspects of high context relevance from the criterion environment into the training will be discussed. This interview contains helpful practical insights on how trainers should design effective training and communicate with their students for optimal retention and transfer of skills.  This is a call to action for law enforcement trainers to change curriculum and design into a CLA oriented training program.