Special Program—Trinidad-Tobago
Penn State University Offers Police Transformation Training
For Trinidad & Tobago National Police Services
On July 18, 2005, the Penn State University Justice & Safety Institute began to conduct training of supervisors and trainers of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). This training will occur over several months and will serve over 1,000 TTPS personnel. This training program is part of the organizational transformation initiative overseen by Professor Stephen Mastrofski of George Mason University.
Penn State will provide three types of training. The High Impact Supervision course of study will be offered to up to 800 first-line supervisors. It is designed to enhance the supervisory skills of persons serving in corporal and sergeant positions.
A second course of study will develop the teaching skills of up to 75 TTPS officers who will subsequently conduct future training courses at the Police Training College. This curriculum will introduce effective, high-participation adult training techniques suitable for a wide range of police training topics.
A third course will be the Police Executive training program, designed to develop skills for persons serving in middle and upper-level management positions. A sampling of training topics includes supervision, leadership, problem solving, performance measures, and critical incident management.
The High Impact and train-the-trainers courses began in July 2005, and the Police Executive program will commence several months later. All programs are specifically designed for the law enforcement environment and have been customized to meet specific TTPS needs.
Trinidad and Tobago Police Ceremonial Mounted Guard...Port of Spain
Penn State’s Justice & Safety Institute, headed by Donald Zettlemoyer, has a 35-year history of training law enforcement professionals. The Institute has provided services to such agencies as the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. (MPDC), the Newark Police Department, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office of Colorado. The Institute also operates a police academy at the main campus of Penn State. During the last year, Institute programs have received awards for innovation from the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) and the Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE).
The Penn State instructors are recognized experts in the fields of law enforcement and education. Their law enforcement experience extends across such agencies as the Detroit Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the U.S. Marine Corps. Joining the group are members of Penn State Management Development who will assist in the Instructor Development Academy. The international experience of the instructors includes assignments such as Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Columbia, China, Egypt, Greece, and Mexico.