Training Command - Queensland Police Service - Queensland ...

An important addition to the residential courses commencing
in April 2010 was the ‘Visiting Fellow’ initiative. Inspectors from
Queensland and interstate attend for the duration of the course
and share their experiences, insights and fellowship. Inspector Paul
Carrett from Major Events and Incidents Group, New South Wales
Police Force, attended as Visiting Fellow in October 2010, and
provided the following account.
When the offer was made for me to attend the Incident Command
Course, my immediate thoughts were, “what could I offer?” No
matter what I ended up giving to the course, the trip turned out to
be one of the most rewarding experiences in my 22 years as a police
officer.
It quickly became apparent that this team of dedicated people
exuded professionalism.
With quite a number of years experience in teaching incident
command to senior police, it was pleasing to see that the course was
following what I call the two guiding principles for running senior
police courses.
The first principle involves hearing it from the horse’s mouth. The
use of subject matter experts in such courses is imperative, and
fortunately this course had an abundance of such experts, supported
by relevant visits to specialist units and into the field at times.
The second principle involves keeping the participants active, and
this is where I found the course impressed most. There was a good
mix of tabletop exercises and virtual reality exercises that kept all the
participants on their toes.
As it turned out, much of what we spoke about during the course was
put into practice earlier this year with major flooding and cyclones.
Such events prove the value and absolute necessity of ensuring our
police commanders, at whatever level, have the skills to deal with
such events.
By Inspector Paul Carrett, New South Wales Police Force
Senior Sergeant Graham Seabrook, Officer-in-Charge at Longreach,
attended the residential in 2010, and submitted this account of his
experiences with the unit.
As a practical person, it was a discouraging thought—reading and
doing assignments. The other concern I had, was that I last worked
‘on the road’ in 1999 and this course was about incident command.
From day one I found the staff very approachable. The atmosphere
was one of respected learning with a positive enthusiasm on behalf
of unit staff to share knowledge, welcome past experiences, and
truly value input. The feedback from experienced Special Emergency
Response Team operatives after exercises was invaluable.
The importance of making a firm decision and explaining the reasons,
and allowing staff to understand those reasons, was stressed. The
recording of decisions cannot be underestimated and is something I
have continued with in all aspects of my duties.
Ultimately, my experience at the two week Incident Command Course
was a very positive one with real life practical learning and I would
urge other officers to consider this if they haven’t done it, or go back
and do it again as a refresher.
Longreach District staff also appreciated the delivery of the two-day
workshop by the Incident Command team in June 2011.
By Senior Sergeant Graham Seabrook, Longreach
Keeping on track for
career success
With the Initial Service Training finally completed, a police
officer is entitled to feel as though he or she has reached a
significant milestone in their working life. With a career in the
Queensland Police Service however, this is just the first step on
a rewarding and wide-ranging education and training journey.
The second branch of the Education and Training Command
is the Senior Leadership and Development Program (SLPDP).
Within this branch, the journey starts with the Constable
Development Program, delivered over three years.
Beyond that, Senior Constables enter the Management
Development Program and are eligible for promotion
to Sergeant, Senior Sergeant and finally Inspector, after
progressing through each of the program’s three levels.
For Inspectors and above, the senior leadership suite offers
a mix of courses, conferences, workshops, study tours and
in some cases outplacements, to broaden the professional
leadership and management repertoire of more senior officers.
Superintendent Mark Plath, SLPDP, said the professional
development continuum of training and education programs
was designed to take all police officers beyond their initial
service training and experiences.
“All officers need specific knowledge and skills as they progress
through the ranks and various roles,” Superintendent Plath said.
“Most of this knowledge and skills are acquired through
workplace experiences and mentoring by supervisors and
is widely recognised as important in the skill development
process, but it also relies on good supervision.
“Contemporary knowledge and skills are very dynamic, so
education and training programs are designed to introduce
officers to new legislation, new policies and procedures,
new ideas and new ways of providing better supervision and
leadership.”
Superintendant Plath explained the SLPDP training was based
on a curriculum that offered critical reflection, case studies and
the analysis of current issues and trends; and could be delivered
across most working environments.
“Where feasible, practical and sustainable, distance education
is complemented with residential components. All educators
and trainers recognise the value added to learning through
face-to-face sessions,” he said.
The SLPDP comprises a range of units that deliver programs
not only for rank progression, but for key specialist skills.
These include investigations and intelligence training, incident
command training and officer-in-charge training.
Superintendent Plath said QPS staff members were also well
catered for with a range of programs.
“Our staff members are a vital part of the Service and the
opportunities provided to them enhance the standards within
the organisation as a whole,” he said.
“We are very fortunate within SLPDP to have teams of highly
enthusiastic and committed professionals who devote their
efforts to the development of police and staff members across
the QPS.”
As told to Paula Hedemann, Media and Public Affairs Branch
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