Instructors: Mike Wasilewski & Althea Olson

Going home at the end of the day is the goal of every good cop, and mastery of the tactical skills necessary to physically survive a long career is key. But knowing how to survive the job emotionally is a too often neglected component of officer safety, and the very tactical skills that keep you alive on the street may even threaten you away from it.

“Survival BEYOND the Street” examines how a law enforcement career threatens officers’ home and personal lives, wearing away at officers’ ability to fit in with the society they are sworn to protect and leaving broken personal relationships in its wake. We then teach a practical and reality-based approach, focusing on skill development and practice, designed to teach off-duty survival skills, fix damaged relationships, solidify intact ones, and demonstrate how a well-rounded individual can be a better cop. The importance of balance, healthy detachment from work, and developing the “whole person” is emphasized.