Advanced and Specialized Law Enforcement Courses

Counter Ambush Tactics

Law Enforcement ambushes have become an all-to-frequent event, accounting for upwards of 20% of officer fatalities. Tactics for countering these attacks are now critical to officer survival. This physically challenging, 40-hour course immerses students in    methods for addressing and preventing a variety of ambush situations. Through a   series of intensive practical drills and multi-media presentations, students will master techniques for countering ambushes. As this is an instructor-level course, students will also be prepared for developing and presenting counter-ambush training.

Topics covered include:

History and overview of L.E. ambushes, Ambush types and tactics

detecting and preventing ambushes, vehicle-based counter-ambush tactics

dismounted counter-ambush tactics, single and multiple officer responses

vehicle ballistics demo, dry drills, force-on-force and live-fire exercises

course development and methods for training others in counter-ambush skills

Course Equipment Requirements:

Holster and belt (duty, tactical or concealed may be used) 

Duty gear (including handgun & 3 magazines)

Motor vehicle

600 rounds of handgun ammunition with RECEIPT

Eye & ear protection for the range

Body armor

Clothing suitable for force-on-force    training

Protective gear for Simunition/UTM exercises

Note:   This is a physically challenging Instructor level course.  Students should be prepared for a variety of ambush situations.

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or (813) 253-7952.

Crisis/Hostage Negotiations Level III

Pre-Requisites: Students must have completed Basic and Intermediate Hostage Negotiations to register for this course.

The third in a series of three progressive courses, Crisis Hostage Negotiation – Level III (Advanced) prepares you for the most complex and challenging aspects of crisis negotiation – leading crisis negotiation teams and managing crisis incidents. We will take you from policy development, to recruiting, selecting, and training crisis negotiator teams, to media management, managing legal risk, and conducting operational and psychological debriefings.

We will start out with an in-depth look at policy development for crisis negotiation teams and addressing a number of issues including responsibilities, procedures, training, and critical liabilities related to policy.  Selecting the right personnel to serve on a negotiation team may be the most important decision a team makes; we will discuss the core competencies of effective crisis negotiators and methods for their selection.

Negotiating a crisis incident involving a fellow officer is among the most complex threats facing a law enforcement agency – you will learn about police socialization and the evolution of a crisis including pre-incident indicators and high risk factors.  We will select a contemporary issue for presentation, highlighting the most current trends, technology and techniques.

In a continued discussion of abnormal psychology, you will learn how to recognize Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and techniques for negotiating with a PTSD-effected subject, specifically as it relates to combat veterans in crisis.

In keeping with the advanced nature of this course, students will plan, facilitate, and evaluate a culminating scenario-driven practical exercise. Student performance will be carefully evaluated and in-depth feedback will be provided during a comprehensive after-action debriefing.

Students will also participate as a member of a small group responsible for developing and presenting projects in one of five topic areas:  Case study preparation, team selection, training facilitation, scenario writing or policy development. This course is available for Mandatory Retraining only.

NOTE: This course is trained in accordance with guidelines established by the National Council of Negotiation Associations.

This course is not authorized for salary incentive

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.  There is no free street parking

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or (813) 253-7952.

Force Science 

Advanced Instructional Methods

How individual officers respond during such incidents is heavily underpinned by how the officers were trained. This places an immense responsibility on law enforcement trainers and use of force instructors.

Bad training exists and should be categorized as education built without the foundational research and science in neurology, cognition, and motor learning principles. Training is both art and science.

The Methods of Instruction – Training Practical Professional Policing Skills course fills a critical void in modern-day law enforcement training. During this intensive course, participants will be challenged by diving into paradigm-breaking scientific principles that can be immediately and directly applied to their academy or agency training program.

This learner-centric course utilizes an adult learning, problem-based approach. Individuals can expect to do a minimum of 20 hours of pre-class reading/viewing and assignments in addition to 24-hours of in-class instruction. Successful completion of this course requires the student to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the material and its application in a variety of contexts.

At the end of this course, participants will have a broad understanding of identifying critical training needs and building and instructing an evidence-based training program to address the essential skills required by law enforcement. In addition, instruction will include developing realistic, verifiable, and justifiable course training standards (CTS) to guide future teaching while protecting the agency and trainers.

The course is immensely challenging. It requires a willingness of the participant to leave behind strongly held biases and traditionalism and embrace a growth mindset.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or (813) 253-7952.

Shifting to a Leadership Mindset

This customized No-Nonsense Leadership 40-hour training class is designed to help those that are new in their position of leadership to hit the ground running, while developing and honing the skills they need in their leadership roles. The class will also impart high-level leadership insight and strategies for the more seasoned leadership attendees. This information will give them the ability to make better decisions, and proactively handle conflict.

DAY 1:  For the opening day of the training, we will discuss No-Nonsense strategies, basics and wisdom truths of leadership that set the course for leaders to be effective.

DAY 2: During this portion of the training, we will discuss how effective leaders make decisions, delegate authority effectively, and communicate to get things done. We will discuss the power of an effective team and how to lead your team through conflict.

DAY 3: During this segment, we will discuss how to effectively lead through and manage the inevitable changes that will take place in the workplace. We will discuss the power of habits and examine habits that can either make a leader or break a leader.

DAY 4: For day four we will tackle the issue of workplace politics. We will understand how uncommon, no-nonsense leaders lead in highly political work environments without losing their integrity. We will begin our assessment debrief by reviewing our behavioral assessments to see “HOW” we do what we do as a leader.

DAY 5: Day five is a complete assessment review. We will review Tri-Metrix assessments to understand each participant’s behavioral style, what motivates them to action, and their level of Emotional intelligence.

**WORKSHOP PREREQUISITE: Attendee must complete a two-part on-line assessment PRIOR to the class. We will debrief the assessment during class. This assessment is a mandatory part of attending the class for development.

AT THE END OF THIS TRAINING SESSION PARTICIPANTS WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO:

• Communicate effectively and professionally resolve conflict.

• Engage and interact more effectively when encountering difficult people behavior and situations.

• Respond professionally vs overreacting unprofessionally when conflict arises.

• Consistently communicate through conflict situations to get desired results for the organization and their teams.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or (813) 253-7952.

Stress Management CJSTC course #050

This 40-hour salary incentive course is designed to enhance the law enforcement, correctional and correctional probation officer’s ability to deal with stressful situations that are inherent in the criminal justice profession. A general awareness of the causes and types of stress, as well as ways to resolve stress, should lead to more effective job performance and employee retention. 

This program will provide officers with the tools to help manage their stress. Those attending will be exposed to the benefits of physical fitness, stretching, nutrition, meditation and other stress reducing strategies. Attendees should bring work-out clothing, a towel and plenty of water. 100% attendance is required and participants must achieve a minimum score of 80% on the written exam to receive a certificate of completion. 

Course topics include: 

• Identifying Stress 

• Stress Reaction 

• Personal Stress Management Techniques 

• Resources for Stress Management

• Nutrition in Managing Stress

• The Role of Physical Fitness in Managing Stress 

• Dealing with Critical Incident Stress

• Substance Abuse

• The Role of Family and Friends 

Sergeant Glenn Wilson (Retired)

Sergeant Glenn Wilson retired from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in 2017 with over 29 years of service. Glenn served as a supervisor in Field Training, Strategic Enforcement, Child Protection, Environmental Lands and the Underwater Search & Recovery Team where he and his co-workers experienced workplace stressors on a daily basis. This prompted him to create and instruct courses in fitness, compassion fatigue, traumatic stress, stress management, and self-care practices. He has travelled around the country teaching stress management techniques to first responders and who work with traumatized victims. Glenn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Florida, is a certified Florida Department of Law Enforcement Physical Fitness Trainer, and a Cooper Institute trained Law Enforcement Fitness Specialist. Glenn is the Lead Instructor for G-Force Training LLC.

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge.

In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or (813) 253-7952.