In-service and Department Training

Training is very valuable to our department’s ability to perform well. As we consistently strive to provide exceptional service and be responsive to community concerns, we are committed to providing contemporary training and development to all our staff. The department's training mission is accomplished by making sure the officers receive the highest degree of training in a variety of required and recommended disciplines.

Officer training is a team effort that requires many hours of dedication by the trainee and the trainer to expand their skills and knowledge. Training must be adequate and relevant to address the change in laws, technology and equipment improvements as well as the changes in demographics and crime trends.

In-service training is keeping officers up to date on various topics that they need to know in order for them to carry out their jobs. These training courses cover the essential subjects of new procedures, technology, communication, and areas that affect the officer’s job functions. The goal of in-service training is for officers to take what they learned in the classroom and training settings and relate it to what they do in the field.

In-service training may be obtained from a variety of sources, which include and are not limited to internal department training, training received from an institution of higher learning, such as a university or community college; workshops; seminars; specialized schools; and certain video/online-based training materials.

Menlo Park suggests basic skilled training courses for officers. These classes are to enhance and expound on some of the skills officers received from the police academy and are meant to be completed within the first five years at the police department. The six basic classes, in no particular order, are (a) interview and interrogation, (b) basic traffic collision investigation, (c) drug influence and recognition, (d) standardized field sobriety tests, (e) radar operation, and (f) crisis intervention training (CIT). 

In addition to POST required training, peace officers are required to be in training compliance with federal and state mandates. Federal mandate guidelines from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other federal entities include blood borne pathogens, aerosol transmissible diseases, flying while armed, terrorism awareness, and other broad area training topics that may include emergency disaster or incident management that impact all law enforcement agencies within the United States. 

State training mandates for peace officers include first aid and CPR, racial profiling, legal updates, gas mask fit testing and training, vehicle pursuit, temporary holding facility training, and domestic violence update. The state training mandates are constantly changing like federal training mandates due to legislation, case studies, advancement of technology and trends.