Become the Ideal Supervisor

Supervisor Course Topics and Descriptions

View our full list of Police Supervisor Training Courses, available as individual classes and part of the subscription.

Click on any class title to be taken to its description. 

"I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Mr. Pangaro for well over 15 years. He is a dynamic instructor and a highly regarded member of our adjunct training cadre here at the Ocean County Police Academy."

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Crisis Intervention and Verbal De-Escalation

In any type of crisis call that your officers respond to, how the first officer on the scene handles it can make a life-saving difference. Our 2-day course combines classroom training led by an experienced FBI trained crisis/hostage negotiator with the use of professional role players to bring the training to life.

Crisis Intervention and Verbal De-escalation Training provides law enforcement professionals with time-tested communication skills proven to help de-escalate volatile situations. These skills when used by police officers significantly enhance the agency’s professional image and relations with the community.

This impactful course gives an overview and the basic elements of critical communication skills and negotiation techniques. Verbal De-escalation is what we use during a potentially dangerous, or threatening, situation in an attempt to prevent a person from causing harm to us, themselves, or others. This 2-day course will teach the verbal de-escalation/communication skills (for crisis and other day-to-day situations) to assist officers in the routine performance of their job in situations such as: assisting someone with a possible mental illness, domestic disturbances, dealing with children, assisting victims, helping traumatized witnesses, and even diffuse and dissuade potentially suicidal/violent subject from reacting to stressors with violence.

Topics covered:

  • Quickly evaluate any interaction to determine whether de-escalation efforts are reasonable to consider, tactically practical, and likely to be successful
  • Strategies for ensuring personal safety
  • Behavior Escalation Stages
  • Using tone, body language and appropriate words
  • Understanding physiological changes during aggression

Domestic Violence: Understanding Abuse Dynamics and Conducting Investigations

This program, taught by a female, Captain Donna Roman Hernandez (Ret.), covers AG guidelines but goes beyond that covering the personal story of survivorship and victimization of 35 years at the hands of her father, a sheriff’s officer. By sharing her own story, students get a unique and real insight into understanding the victim mindset, the coercive control model of abusive relationships, and how the PD should handle a DV investigation between law enforcement personnel.

Domestic violence is a complex crime. Responding law enforcement officers must be equipped with an understanding of the nuances, dynamics, and course of conduct of intimate partner violence/abuse to effectively address the victim’s needs and to hold the offender accountable with a thorough and comprehensive investigation.

This course will help the student to understand:

  • Victim-centered, trauma-informed response when officers respond to domestic violence incidents whether it be the first time or the 10th time.
  • How to recognize the physiology of trauma
  • The nature, dynamics, cycle, and patterns of domestic violence
  • The signs and symptoms of abuse and its physical, emotional, and physical effects on victims and families
  • How to identify the common characteristics and mindset of batters and victims (Coercive Control model)
  • How to assess strangulation
  • How to understand the short and long term impact of violence on children
  • How to identify the primary aggressor
  • How to conduct victim-centered interviews and investigations and support systems available for victims.
  • Sexual Assault Incident Report
  • Investigative Strategies
  • Victim Coping After Sexual Assault
  • Report writing considerations
  • Trauma-Informed Victim Interviewing
  • Suspect Interrogation
  • Working with Vulnerable Populations

Effective Police Response to Traumatized Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

This course will identify the police officer’s role in responding to the specific needs of children exposed to domestic violence in the home setting to help save their lives.

Officers will learn:

  • A Victim-centered, on-scene, proactive protocol for effectively responding to the needs of children in stress
  • How to provide trauma-informed, developmentally-appropriate responses to traumatized children
  • Identification of who has been exposed to violence and trauma
  • Developing a safe environment to help children and family members re-establish a sense of security and stability
  • Providing advocacy resources for victims

A highlight of the course is a child survivor’s perspective about how the exposure to domestic violence impacted her personal life and as a police commander.

ETHICS

This block of training is designed for everyone who works with other people or provides a service to anyone where ethical behavior is valued but required. In a modern workplace, the need for every person involved to not only understand what it means to be ethical but to actually live by a code of ethical behavior and behave properly is paramount to an organization’s success.

One of the biggest problems people have when coming to grips with understanding how ethics fits into the workplace and in their lives is that this topic is really all about concepts, thoughts, and ideas. Understanding and living an ethical personal and work life means you really have to recognize the essence of the concepts and ideas and then put them into action when you interact with other people. It’s about figuring out what you believe about right and wrong and how you will behave based on your beliefs. 

Internal Affair Investigation

The investigator will gain an understanding of police ethics, barriers that may hinder ethical behavior, and common types of police misconduct. We will also guide you through the legal requirements surrounding internal affairs investigations. From your department’s policies and relevant administrative laws to the legal issues related to record-keeping and the releasing of information to the media, you will be informed of the latest rulings and accepted procedures.

In addition, this course will provide effective techniques to prepare for and conduct interviews of complainants, witnesses, and anyone in your agency accused of wrongdoing or improper behavior. Since many of these cases do not have solid evidence, the outcome often depends upon the skills of the interviewer.

Course Topics include:

  • Police ethics
  • Policies, rules, standards, and procedures
  • Misconduct and discipline
  • Complaint processing
  • Preparing for and conducting interviews
  • Legal issues and case law
  • Record-keeping requirements

Fairness and objectivity are crucial to the success of an internal affairs investigation. This course will provide the investigator with the ability to accomplish that task.

Supervision, Leadership & Mentoring

The course will emphasize situational analysis as a supervisor. Supervisors will also be instructed on how to handle: shift responsibilities, citizen complaints, uniform inspections, documentation practices, and employee reviews. Segments will be given on presentations, training, conducting a proper briefing, and MOI practices and public relations.

This course will provide concepts and tactics of solid leadership and mentoring practices:

  • The critical shift
  • The rigors of leadership
  • Leading as an executive
  • How to help employees overcome deficits
  • Dealing with a difficult employee
  • Interpersonal relationships
  • Setting standards
  • Enforcing guidelines with compassion
  • Setting and monitoring standards and expectations
  • Leading and managing crisis situations and critical incidents

The Wounded Officer: The Aftermath of a Shooting

This training discusses the aftermath of a shooting and the physical, emotional and psychological effects on the wounded officer, their loved ones, and police department/colleagues. Also discussed are:

  • The physiology of trauma
  • Law enforcement post-traumatic stress
  • The signs and symptoms of PTSD
  • Mental health wellness strategies for the wounded and responding officers and their police departments
  • Wounded officer peer support groups
  • Officer safety measures

 

This training includes an award-winning police documentary produced by Captain Donna Roman Hernandez that features three New Jersey police officers emotionally describing what it felt like to be shot, the aftermath of their shootings, how they survived and post-incident lessons learned.