NCJ Number
144821
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper describes Italy's investment in training for the state police, a training project, the training of trainers, new teaching methods for initial training, inservice training, and foreign language training.
Abstract
Currently, Italy's training institutes, organized according to the regulations approved by ministerial decree on March 9, 1983, have a capacity of approximately 8,000 spaces compared with 5,400 in 1981; moreover, compared to 1981, there has been a 100-percent increase in training courses and an 86-percent increase in specialization courses. Two basic recommendations from training experts were made in the spring of 1989: that training stem from the knowledge and skill needs of the actual working environment and that teaching correspond more with the demands of active service. From these recommendations a new system of experimental training has emerged with a focus on the training of trainers and on a new type of teaching during initial training. The training of trainers is intended to optimize the learning situation, guide the choice and use of teaching aids, and permit the mastery of the testing instruments. In the experimental course the teaching innovation involves exposing the trainee to a school experience that parallels a real-life situation. This involves analysis of typical cases with the assistance of experts who have effectively dealt with such situations in actual police practice; the experiencing of situations that parallel real-life policing situations; and simulations of interactions with peers, superiors, and the public. Every police officer is expected to spend 12 days a year in the updating of operative techniques, shooting practice, and the latest regulations. Foreign language training is provided for those who, in the course of their normal duties, must be able to communicate correctly. English is taught, because it is appropriate for more than 70 percent of communication needs in Italy.