Garner Police Department Annual Report 2018 Published July 2019 | Page 11

D epartmental T raining
A
LL SWORN OFFICERS employed by the
Garner Police Department are required to
complete annual classroom, firearms, and
practical training to maintain their North Carolina
certification as law enforcement officers. North
Carolina requires 24 hours of in-service training
every year (including 18 hours of classroom and 6
hours of firearms); however, Garner police officers
received 39 hours of mandatory classroom training
in 2018. Department personnel also attend external
training aimed at expanding their knowledge and
expertise. As a department, in 2018 Garner police
officers completed approximately 4,734 hours of
training beyond the mandated in-service or re-
certification training.
The Garner Police Department is one of the first
law enforcement agencies in North Carolina to
have implemented a mandatory fitness program
for all sworn employees. The Personnel and
Training Sergeant manages the department’s
fitness program that was fully implemented in
2012. The program requires all sworn personnel
to complete the North Carolina Police Officer
Physical Abilities Test (POPAT) at or below the
state standard at least once each year. The
Department has seen significant improvement
in the overall health and fitness levels of our
employees since the implementation of the
program. State standard for part one of POPAT is
six minutes or less and part two is three minutes
or less. Our department average for all employees
completing POPAT in spring 2018 was 4:45 on part
one, the apprehension component, and 2:02 on
part two, the rescue component. Four out of 67
sworn employees failed to meet the Department’s
fitness standard on their initial test in 2018 and
were retested. All but one sworn employee met
the Department fitness standard on their retests.
Employees continue to be afforded opportunities
to work out on duty to improve their fitness.
BODY-WORN CAMERA PROGRAM
The Garner Police began partial implementation
of the body-worn camera program through state
grant funding in 2017. A separate federal grant
allowed the Police Department to complete
Regular firearms training is an important component of
the Garner Police Department’s overall training regimen.
full implementation of the body-worn camera
program in August 2018. In conjunction with the
“in-car” Mobile Video Recorder (MVR) systems,
the use of the body-worn camera system provides
for accountability and consistent review of officer
performance and allows supervisors to assess
training needs and accurately investigate any
complaints received. All sworn police officers are
issued body-worn cameras.
This equipment is a valuable tool, not only in
the prosecution of traffic violations and criminal
offenses, but in the evaluation of officer tactics
and performance and for training and complaint
review purposes. Garner police officers record all
citizen interactions, including traffic stops, calls for
service, and incident calls.
GARNER POLICE DEPARTMENT 2018 ANNUAL REPORT
11