So, you’ve been hired? Congratulations. You’ve made it through a demanding hiring process and into a profession that asks a great deal of the people who choose it.
You passed the background investigation, completed the psychological testing and arrived for your first day of work. If your agency wears Class B uniforms, there is a good chance you have the top button of your shirt fastened.
Please undo that. It is your first day, not your senior photo.
As with most agencies, now begins the demanding process of field training. Our agency uses a 10-week program in which new officers work both days and nights. The goal is that, when we finally turn you loose, you will be prepared to handle the responsibilities of the job with confidence and sound judgment.
Field Training Officer programs are necessary, demanding and occasionally uncomfortable. They are also surrounded by myths, rumors and unnecessary stress. New officers often arrive having heard stories from academy classmates, former employees, internet experts and maybe even an uncle who worked security at a mall in 1997.
Not all of that advice is useful.
After several decades in corrections, I would like to dispel a few common myths about making it through FTO.
Myth 1: “Don’t speak”
Some officers believe a new hire should remain silent unless specifically asked a question. I believe that does trainees a tremendous disservice. If the culture discourages you from speaking, how are you supposed to ask questions?
Obviously, we do not want you arguing with inmates, correcting veteran officers or providing command staff with your 10-point plan for restructuring jail operations before lunch on your first day. There is a time to speak and a time to listen. FTO is where you begin learning the difference.
Your communication skills must be coached just as much as your tactics and procedures. You must learn to speak effectively over the radio, communicate with fellow officers, give lawful directives, document incidents, and speak comfortably with supervisors and command staff.
Command is not to be feared. It should be respected. They are people too, even if their days sometimes seem to run primarily on coffee, meetings and emails marked “High Importance.”
You cannot become an effective officer by remaining silent. Ask thoughtful questions. Participate in briefings. Practice radio traffic. Learn how experienced officers speak to inmates without escalating minor issues into major confrontations.
Communication is one of your greatest tools, and FTO is where you begin learning how to use it.
Myth 2: “If I mess up once, I’m finished”
You messed up. Congratulations. You are officially one of us.
Everyone makes mistakes. Whether you have been in corrections for five minutes or 30 years, mistakes happen. The difference between a new officer and an experienced officer is not that the experienced officer never makes mistakes. Experience teaches us how to recognize problems sooner, correct them and avoid repeating them.
A good FTO will help you identify the mistake, understand why it occurred and develop a plan to prevent it from happening again. A good FTO does not manufacture failure or spend the remainder of the program reminding you about every mistake you made during your first few weeks.
Every shift should begin with a reasonably clean slate.
That does not mean every mistake receives the same response. Errors involving safety, security, inmate accountability, restraints, weapons, medication or facility access must be treated seriously. If you compromise safety, expect a direct conversation about it. Listen. Do not immediately become defensive or shut down. Correction is part of the learning process.
I have yet to meet the perfect trainee. I have, however, met several who were convinced they had very little left to learn. Those can be challenging shifts for everyone involved. Make the mistake once. Learn from it. Do your best not to repeat it.
Myth 3: “My FTO hates me”
Probably not.
Most FTOs genuinely want trainees to succeed. Your success strengthens the shift, improves facility safety and eventually gives everyone another capable officer they can rely on.
That does not mean every FTO-trainee pairing will be perfect. Some officers are better teachers than others. If an officer was reluctant to take the role, does not enjoy teaching or relies too heavily on sarcasm instead of instruction, the pairing may be difficult.
FTOs should be officers who are invested in developing others and in the agency’s mission.
At the same time, do not expect your FTO to become your best friend. You are there to learn, and your FTO is responsible for evaluating whether you can safely perform a difficult job. That requires honest feedback, including feedback you may not enjoy hearing.
Sometimes your FTO will be direct. Sometimes the correction will sting. Before deciding it is personal, ask yourself whether the criticism is accurate and whether there is something useful you can take from it.
If you and your FTO get along naturally, great. If you do not, remain professional and focus on learning. Corrections will eventually require you to work effectively beside people whose personalities are very different from yours. Consider this practice.
Myth 4: “I’ll just do what I did at my old agency”
Previous experience can be tremendously valuable. We are glad when a new officer already understands inmate behavior, radio procedures, restraints, report writing and institutional operations.
What becomes less useful is hearing, “At my old agency, we did it this way,” every time a different procedure comes up.
One of the challenges an FTO faces with an experienced new hire is helping that officer adjust habits that may not fit the current agency. Some differences are minor. Others involve policy, facility design, staffing, equipment or local operational expectations.
As the trainee, remain flexible.
We establish standards, though that does not necessarily mean there is only one acceptable method for every task. Once you understand our policies and expectations, you may discover a more efficient way to accomplish something. If your method is safe, lawful and within policy, it may be worth discussing. But learn the agency’s expectations first.
Build credibility. Understand why things are done the way they are. Then bring forward ideas for improvement.
Myth 5: “I can’t work nights”
You probably can, even if nights are not your preference.
Night shift is not a mythical wasteland where time stops and officers communicate only through energy drinks and distant radio traffic. It is simply a different operational environment, and you need to experience it because facilities do not stop having problems when administrative offices close.
In fact, some of the most challenging situations seem to arrive precisely when staffing is reduced, administration has gone home and the nearest supervisor has just started eating dinner.
Working nights teaches self-reliance. You may manage medical emergencies, intoxicated bookings, fights, suicide concerns, cell extractions, transports and complaints that apparently could not wait until morning. You also learn the important difference between being tired and being unable to function safely.
You cannot always maintain the same social schedule while rotating between days and nights. Your body may briefly feel as though you have flown to Europe without getting to enjoy the trip. You may need blackout curtains, a quiet room, reasonable nutrition and family members who understand that calling you at noon can be the night-shift equivalent of calling them at 2 a.m.
Night shift is not a punishment. It is part of the profession.
Learn how to function there because someday the facility may become chaotic at 3:17 a.m., and your team will need you ready to respond.
Myth 6: “The inmates need to like me”
No. They need to understand what they can expect from you.
New officers sometimes confuse rapport with friendship. Rapport is useful. Friendship can compromise professional boundaries.
You should be respectful, consistent and professional, but you are not there to become part of anyone’s social circle.
Inmates will pay attention to you. They may notice what irritates you, what earns a reaction, whether you enforce rules consistently and how much you want their approval. Some will test boundaries openly. Others may do so through compliments, seemingly harmless requests, personal questions or stories intended to build an inappropriate level of familiarity.
You are not the first officer they have met, but you may be the newest.
Treat people with dignity. Explain decisions when circumstances permit. Avoid unnecessary arguments and never use humiliation as a management strategy.
At the same time, maintain professional boundaries. Do not discuss personal information that could compromise your privacy or safety, including details about your relationships, finances, home address or work schedule.
You can be fair without being permissive. You can be firm without being cruel. The best officers are often respected because everyone understands where they stand.
Myth 7: “The radio will save me”
The radio is an important tool. It is not a substitute for awareness and sound tactics.
Learn to use it before you desperately need it. Know your call sign, facility terminology, emergency traffic procedures and the location of the emergency button. Practice speaking clearly and briefly.
When something serious occurs, the rest of the shift needs your location, the nature of the problem and the assistance required. They do not need the full story while the emergency is still unfolding.
Do not grab the radio and begin with, “So, basically, what happened was …” while another officer is fighting for control of an inmate. State the location. State the emergency. Request assistance.
Also remember that a radio cannot compensate for poor positioning, complacency or failure to watch your partner. Technology helps, but awareness remains one of your most important tools.
Myth 8: “I should already know this”
No one expects you to know everything. We do expect you to learn.
The academy provided a foundation. FTO teaches you how the job functions when several problems occur at once, the phone is ringing, booking is filling up, an inmate wants to speak with a supervisor and someone has misplaced equipment that was “definitely right here five minutes ago.”
Take notes. Review policy. Ask questions.
If your FTO explains something, make a genuine effort to remember it. Asking twice is understandable. If you repeatedly need the same explanation, take a closer look at how you are retaining information and what you can do differently.
There is no shame in saying, “I don’t know.” There can be serious consequences when you pretend you know and then improvise.
Confidence is valuable. False confidence creates unnecessary risk.
Myth 9: “Correction means I’m failing”
Correction is one of the purposes of the program.
A trainee who cannot accept feedback will struggle in corrections. You will be evaluated, redirected, questioned and sometimes told that your approach was ineffective.
That is not automatically an attack on your character. When delivered appropriately, it is professional development.
Do not respond to every correction with an excuse. Listen, acknowledge the issue and apply the lesson. If there is relevant context your FTO needs to understand, explain it professionally rather than reflexively defending every decision.
FTOs carry responsibility too. Feedback should be specific, timely and connected to an observable action. “You’re terrible” teaches nothing. “You failed to maintain visual contact with your partner while the cell door was open” identifies a behavior that can be corrected.
There also needs to be an understanding of generational differences on both sides. Newer officers can learn a great deal from the experience of those who have spent years navigating difficult situations, changing policies and the realities of institutional work.
At the same time, veteran officers should recognize the knowledge and abilities younger officers bring to the job. They may adapt quickly to technology, process information differently and bring new perspectives to longstanding problems.
Experience and innovation should complement one another, not compete with each other during briefing.
Myth 10: “Once FTO ends, I’ve made it”
Completing FTO means you have demonstrated the ability to perform the job without continuous supervision. It does not mean you have mastered corrections.
Your FTO program may last 10 weeks, but your real education will last your entire career. You will encounter new personalities, threats, policies, legal standards and situations that cause even veteran officers to stare silently at one another before saying, “Well, I’ve never seen that before.”
Remain teachable.
Watch experienced officers, but do not blindly imitate them. Ask why they do what they do. Study policy. Improve your report writing. Maintain your physical skills. Learn to recognize manipulation, mental illness, medical distress and genuine fear.
Develop the judgment to know when immediate action is necessary and when slowing things down is the safer option.
Most importantly, become the kind of officer others want beside them when the radio erupts.
FTO is stressful because the job carries real consequences. Your decisions affect inmate welfare, officer safety, facility security and public trust. That pressure should not paralyze you, but it should remind you that the work matters.
You will make mistakes. You will have uncomfortable conversations. You will work when you are tired, deal with people you do not especially like and occasionally wonder whether the entire building coordinated its problems specifically for your shift.
Stay h umble. Ask questions. Accept correction. Take care of your partners and learn something every day.One day, sooner than you expect, a nervous new hire will arrive with a spotless uniform, a notebook and the top button of their Class B shirt fastened.
Please tell them to undo it. It is their first day, not a senior photo.