Blog Archives

Police Morale For Supervisors

Presented by: Officer Mike Wasilewski, MSW & Althea Olson, LCSW

Poor employee morale is a serious problem facing law enforcement and one that, if not confronted and corrected, will threaten the mission, productivity, discipline, and even the integrity of a police agency. With stakes so high, it is only natural law enforcement managers make raising employee morale a top priority.

Or is it?

The reality is, many police managers refuse to acknowledge the issues or, if they do, adhere to the belief, “Low morale isn’t our problem! They can fix it themselves,” while perpetuating the culture that breeds it. For most cops, low morale has far less to do with what they see and experience on the street than the impact of politics, policies, and practices inside the station.

This training is for supervisors and managers who want to bring the “best cop” out of each officer, who understand the power and productivity of happy staff, and who want to do more than pay lip service to the heavy responsibility of effective leadership.


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Officer Mike Wasilewski, MSW & Althea Olson, LCSW

Mike & Althea have been married since 1994. Together they co-author two popular monthly columns for Officer.com & one monthly column for LawOfficer.com. They have taught together around the country and at the 2010 and 2011 ILEETA Conference & Expo to other police trainers.

Officer Mike Wasilewski, MSW, has been with a large suburban Chicago department since 1996. He holds a Master of Social Work degree from Aurora University and has served on his department’s Crisis Intervention & Domestic Violence teams. Mike is an adjunct instructor at Northwestern College.

Althea Olson, LCSW, has been in private practice in the Chicago suburbs since 1996. She has a Master of Social Work degree from Aurora University providing individual, couple, & group therapy to adolescents, adults, and geriatrics. Althea is also trained in Critical Incident Stress Management & is a certified divorce mediator.

Courses:

Police Morale For Supervisors 
Another Cop Killer
Crossing Police Lines: Living life 360º
Survival BEYOND the Street
Survival Skills For Police Marriages
Understanding and Responding to the Emotionally Disturbed Person
Treating Cops: What the client wants you to know (for the mental health professional)

Emotional & Relationship Survival for Law Enforcement

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Brian Kanicki

Brian Kanicki

Brian Kanicki

While the role of the police in our community has changed over the years, the prevention of crime has remained the number one priority. Yet, few law enforcement professionals ever receive any formal crime prevention training. Brian Kanicki has become one of our nation’s premier crime prevention trainers and experts. He is focused on delivering innovative and practical crime prevention courses for front-line law enforcement officers, as well as those assigned to crime prevention and community policing as their primary duty. His range of experience as a patrol officer, detective, and advanced crime prevention specialist enables him to integrate first-hand knowledge and experience to his training. Brian is committed to providing the best and most current crime prevention training possible.

He has developed several courses for law enforcement professionals and has trained hundreds of police officers throughout the US. His “Crime Prevention on Patrol” course has become a favorite among law enforcement officers and police administrators throughout the country.

Brian is a Michigan native and became a Police Officer in 1995. In 2013, after 18 years of policing in his home state, Brian and his family moved to Florida where he is currently working for a police agency in the Tampa Bay area. Brian is a certified Advanced Crime Prevention Specialist and Advanced C.P.T.E.D. Specialist.

Throughout his distinguished career, Brian has served as a patrol officer, detective, and a crime prevention officer. During his tenure with his department’s Crime Prevention Unit, he was charged with coordinating dozens of Neighborhood Watch groups and a Business Watch Program encompassing hundreds of businesses. He also oversaw a Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, working with landlords and property managers of rental communities, successfully reducing calls for police service within these properties by over 50%. Brian served as a School Liaison Officer and taught a law-based safety oriented program to thousands of students. Brian has also served as his department’s Public Liaison & Media Relations Officer. He has been responsible for developing and initiating numerous crime prevention programs throughout his community.

Brian has received advanced training in crime prevention, risk/threat assessment, and community policing initiatives and has also presented at hundreds of civic and community events, business groups, and neighborhood associations on a variety of crime prevention, security, and safety related topics.
In 2008, after seeing a glaring need for engaging and realty-based crime prevention training, Brian developed an in-depth crime prevention training series for law enforcement officers and began teaching police officers throughout Michigan. These courses were an immediate success and his teaching expanded nationally.

Brian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University, as well as an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Delta College. Brian is certified in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) from the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville and Advanced CPTED from the American Crime Prevention Institute. Brian also served as a regional trainer for the International Crime Free Association.

Courses:

Crime Prevention on Patrol
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Crime Free Multi-Housing
Residential Crime Prevention
Crime Prevention for Businesses
Crime Prevention for Religious Institutions

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Dave “Buck Savage” Smith

DaveAndBuck

Lieutenant Dave Smith

Former police lieutenant Dave Smith is an internationally known speaker, writer and law enforcement expert.  Dave attended United States Naval Academy and then completed his degree at University of  Arizona while fighting forest fires with the “Coconino Hot Shots.”  He began his police career with the Tucson Police Department and in 1978 he joined the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  As a career  police officer, Dave held positions in Patrol, SWAT, Narcotics, Training and Management. In 1980 he developed the popular “Buck Savage” video training series, was the lead instructor for the Calibre Press    “Street Survival” seminar from 1983 to 1985, and was instrumental in developing Calibre’s timeless “Tactical Edge” officer survival book.  Dave holds numerous instructor certifications in firearms, defensive    tactics, and human performance and is a proven expert witness and consultant.

In 1989, Dave joined the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN), developing and hosting cutting-edge police, security and public safety training as its Director of Education and was the general manager  of Calibre Press until January of 2002.  Dave continued to instruct the “Street Survival” seminar through 2012 as its senior instructor and he managed the most comprehensive update to the seminar since  2003.  Dave has authored hundreds of articles for publications including Police Chief, Law and Order, The Trainer, Police Marksman, the Calibre Press Newsline, PoliceOne and POLICE magazine.

Dave is currently the owner of “Winning Mind Seminars” and is a regular columnist for POLICE magazine and PoliceOne.Com.  Dave is also the Director of Video Training for the online Police One Academy.  He is available for conferences, training events, and consulting, and is the author of the popular book In My Sights. Dave can be reached via his website at www.jdbucksavage.com or on his Facebook fan page as “JD Buck Savage.”

Courses:

Winning Mind Seminar Series

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Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith (ret.)

Betsy Smith

Betsy Smith

Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith retired in 2009 as a 29-year veteran of the Naperville, IL Police Department. Beginning her career as a police dispatcher at age 17, Betsy became a police officer four years later and has held positions in patrol, investigations, narcotics, juvenile, hostage negotiation, crime prevention and field training.  She received her four year degree from Western Illinois University in 1991, and was a class officer and graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s School of Staff and Command in May of 2001.

As a sergeant, she supervised her department’s K-9 Unit, served as a field training sergeant, recruitment team sergeant, bike patrol coordinator, Crowd Control Bike Team leader, and supervisor of the Community Education/Crime Prevention Unit. Betsy served on the Elderly Services Team, the Crisis Intervention Team, and was a proud founding supervisory member of NPD’s Honor Guard Unit.

From 1999 – 2003 Betsy hosted various programs and was a content expert for the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN), is currently an on-air commentator and advisor for the Police One Academy and was a featured character in the Biography Channel’s “Female Forces” reality show. Betsy also serves on the Board of Directors for Safe Call Now, an organization dedicated to providing confidential support resources to first responders.

She has been a law enforcement trainer for over 20 years and was a content expert and senior instructor for the Calibre Press “Street Survival” seminar from 2003 through 2012.  Betsy is a popular keynote speaker at conferences and events throughout the United States, Canada and around the world. Since 1995, Betsy has authored hundreds of articles for law enforcement, government and civilian publications including Police Marksman, Law and Order, Police Chief, Law Officer, PoliceLink.com and LawOfficer.com. She served on the advisory board of Police Marksman magazine and is currently a featured columnist on both PoliceOne.com and Officer.Com.

Betsy is the creator of the only course of its kind for women in law enforcement, “The Winning Mind for Women” and is the owner of Dave Smith & Associates’ Winning Mind LLC. Together, Betsy and Dave develop and instruct cutting edge courses through Winning Mind Seminars and travel extensively, bringing their inspirational messages throughout the world. Betsy can be reached through www.pg-ti.com or through her website at www.femaleforces.com and you can follow her on Twitter as @SgtBetsySmith.

Courses:

The Winning Mind© for Women

The Winning Mind for Women Unleashed

“The Love/Hate Relationship Between Cops and Dispatchers” Improving the Dispatcher/First Responder Roles in Public Safety Organizations
Career & Officer Survival for Dispatchers

Men & Women Are Different, But They Can All Be Great Cops!

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Excited Delirium: Awareness, protocol development, investigation, and hands-on practical demonstration

 

Instructed by Lt. Michael Paulus, Michael Paulus Training, LLC

Course Description:

It’s four o’clock in the morning. The call comes in of a man, no shirt, sweating profusely, and

screaming unintelligibly. Five officers respond and after a few minutes of struggling to get

control of the man, the cuffs are on, but the man is dead.

This scenario has been repeated over and over in this country and around the world.

This full day course will give the attendee an awareness of what Excited Delirium is, what it

looks like, as well as common behavioral cues. There is a section on a possible response protocol

involving various stakeholders that will give the police department and the community a more

appropriate response to “a medical emergency that presents itself as a law enforcement

problem.”

There is an overview of investigative guidelines for the investigation of a Sudden Unexpected In-

Custody Death that appears to be an Excited Delirium incident. Lastly, there is a hands-on

practical section which seeks to show attendees a more effective way of bringing a person in the

throes of Excited Delirium under control. The goal is to reduce the length and intensity of the

struggle for the officers and the agitated subject.

OUTLINE:

Awareness of Excited Delirium, Characteristics of Sudden Unexpected In-Custody Death,

Behavioral Cues, Response Protocol.

Break

Building a multi-disciplinary response to a multi-factorial problem, identifying the stakeholders,

Decisions of each stakeholder, example of Champaign PD’s response protocol with EMS.

Lunch

Hands-on practical application of the Multiple Officer Control Tactic, how to work “smarter- not

harder” when controlling a person with superhuman strength, no sense of pain, and seemingly

unlimited endurance.

Break

Investigation of suspected Excited Delirium Sudden Unexpected In-Custody Deaths, why the

investigation will start out as a Use of Force incident, identifying the necessary medical

indications of a possible Excited Delirium death.

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Lt. Michael Paulus

Michael Paulus

Michael Paulus

Michael Paulus is in his 25th year with the Champaign (IL) Police Department and is the
current Southwest District Commander in the Patrol Division. Throughout his career he
has served in a variety of assignments, including Field Training Officer, Patrol Sergeant,
SWAT Team Firearms Instructor, SWAT Team Sniper, Training Unit Sergeant, and the
Training and Development Lieutenant prior to his return to the Patrol Division.

His training experience includes being a Master Firearms Instructor, he is in charge of the
Department’s Control Tactics Cadre, he was a Standardized Field Sobriety Testing
Instructor for 10 years, he is the Department’s Field Training and Evaluation Program
Commander, and has a Master Trainer Certification from Langevin Learning Services.
Lt. Paulus completed the Force Science Institute Certification course and has the title of
Certified Force Science Analyst. Lt. Paulus has also been trained in Forensic Analysis
by the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death. Lt. Paulus is also a graduate of
the School of Police Staff and Command (Northwestern University Traffic Institute).

Lt. Paulus has given presentations to the Illinois Sheriff’s Association, the Illinois
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners
Association, and the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association
(ILEETA) on excited delirium awareness, response, and protocol development. He has
presented two times at the annual Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death
Conference in Las Vegas, NV. He is scheduled to present, with Dr. Thomas Scaggs and
Mrs. Laura Scarry, at the 2011 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference
in Chicago in October. Lt. Paulus is also scheduled to present to the 2011 Illinois
Tactical Officers Association (ITOA) conference in November. He has held one-day
classes throughout Illinois and delivers a three-hour block of instruction as part of the
State of Illinois certified Crisis Intervention Team training. Lt. Paulus is also scheduled
to conduct trainings around the country this fall and winter.
His presentations include the Champaign county-wide response by law enforcement
and EMS which includes field sedation, by authorized paramedics, using Ketamine or
Versed.

Lt. Paulus was instrumental in developing and coordinating the implementation
of this protocol in Champaign County.

Courses:

Excited Delirium: Awareness, Protocol Development, Investigation And Hands-On Practical Demonstration
Excited Delirium Multiple Officer Control Tactic (MOCT) Train-The-  Trainer 

 

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Career & Officer Survival For Dispatchers

 

 

Career & Officer Survival for Dispatchers

 The Dispatchers Guide to Officer Safety & Survival

 from the Other End of the Radio

 

Cops and dispatchers are trying to do essentially the same job from two very different locations and perspectives; we often have separate rules, dissimilar shifts, and frankly, neither one of us truly understands the other, but we’re all trying to serve our community and keep it, and ourselves, safe.  This one-of-a-kind interactive, multi-media training course will give public safety and private security dispatchers the opportunity to truly see, hear and feel what is happening on the street and learn how their actions, instincts and expertise can play a vital role in police officer safety and survival.  We’ll help you understand “cop-speak” and learn how to “expect the unexpected,” all while learning to survive and thrive in the unique communication center atmosphere. This course will also help dispatchers learn to improve their own careers and enhance job satisfaction with proven methods they can utilize immediately.

This course will provide insight on:

  • Helping dispatchers understand officer survival tactics on and off the street
  • Understanding the unique stressors dispatcher face on every tour of duty
  • Applying “Warrior Ethos” to the dispatch function
  • Why “survival” is minimalistic and we must train to WIN!
  • Bringing the “Not Today!”© mindset into the communications center
  • Defining respectful and “tactical” communication techniques
  • Bringing dispatchers and officers together before, during and after a critical incident, and during day-to-day operations
  • How you and your personnel can communicate effectively within your organization…really
  • Helping personnel develop successful leadership skills, regardless of rank or assignment
  • Why dispatchers need to think about their own safety, both on and off duty
  • Helping employees avoid the victim-based mentality that can develop in a high-stress environment and learn to become a true optimist

Over 170 police officers are killed in the line of duty each year; sixty thousand are assaulted, and over sixteen thousand suffer injuries.  A dispatcher can be a police officer’s life-line in a dangerous encounter.  This training will give even the most seasoned dispatcher new insight into their impact on a patrol officer’s daily mission as well as their survival, and will help individual students regain the enthusiasm for their chosen career in public safety.

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Courtroom Success

Presented by:  GCD

Website: www.gangcombatdynamics.com

This one day course is specifically designed to prepare police officers and detectives of all ranks for effective and successful courtroom testimony in high profile related cases.  Blocks of instruction will include:

  • Physical considerations for courtroom testimony
  • Mental preparations
  • Case file preparations
  • Reading the Jury
  • Courtroom security during homicides
  • Murder for hire investigations during trial
  • Successful operations in locating and tracking uncooperative  victims
  • Victim and witness preparations
  • Handling Defense attorneys

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C.R.I.M.E. 123 Interviewing & Interrogation

“Make WORDS your most valued WEAPON”©

Take one day to learn skills you will use everyday! C.R.I.M.E 123  is an easy bulletproof approach to criminal interviewing & interrogation.

With the growing conflict between interview and interrogation companies and concerns with using their specific multi-step method or structured technique, we deliver the solution with C.R.I.M.E. 123.  Our main objective is to provide today’s professional interviewers with a simple, proven and effective “approach” to the ever-changing and complex world of truth seeking and custodial interrogation.

Today’s professional interviewers must be able to perform at the top of their game and get the truth from a diverse range of dangerous and elusive suspects while respectfully following their agencies policies and procedures.  Get trained in the bulletproof approach that bulletproofs the interviewer, the agency and the confession

C.R.I.M.E 1-2-3 is here. So get in, get it and get out


 

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