SIOUX CENTER, IA – While the state of Iowa already has in place mandated annual training for certified police officers working within the state, the Sioux Center Police Department (SCPD) has been going above and beyond with their annual training regimen resulting in officers being better informed and prepared for what their service to the community entails.
When it comes to the differences between great, mediocre, and even bad police officers, the two greatest contributing factors typically revolve around integrity and training. While the SCPD can’t exactly teach or instill a moral compass in officers, what the department can do – and has been doing – is keeping officers up to date on their training.
Regarding the SCPD’s particular training of their officers, Sgt. Jack Brundell notes that the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) only mandates officers attend 12 hours of training per year, whereas his department takes things significantly further.
“We’re only required to have 12 hours a year; that’s all that ILEA makes us do. But we do much, much, more,” Sgt. Brundell stated, adding, “I’m at 106 hours of training this year. Some of us get over 100 hours of training a year. But even the lowest amount is well over 30 hours of training.”
Sgt. Brundell pointed to two private companies helping keep their officers up to speed on a myriad of things from adhering to use of force techniques that operate within the confines of the law as well as relevant legal precedents established by the courts.
“Lexipol is really good,” Sgt. Brundell stated regarding one of their preferred providers, further adding, “They have a team that follows each state, and as each state pumps out new state law or federal law they will update our policies. The biggest, newest example is the use of force. Over the last couple years, they have changed a lot of federal and state policy.”
When it comes to staying up to date on state and federal court rulings that can help ensure officers stay out of legal hot water and also make certain citizens’ rights are respected during police encounters, Sgt. Brundell mentioned Police Legal Sciences as being an effective tool in their training.
“We don’t have law degrees,” Sgt. Brundell said, highlighting how court cases within Iowa and at the federal level can drastically impact how policing is conducted all while officers could potentially be oblivious to these critical cases if they’re not habitually monitoring court decisions.
“Police Legal Sciences gives you the case, details of what happened, and they dumb it down to what you can and cannot do anymore,” Sgt. Brundell said of the provider, noting that in “a perfect world” every officer would have a law degree but the reality is “that’s not going to happen with the price and stuff like that.”
Sgt. Brundell says their chief of police, Josh Koedam, is very encouraging when it comes to officers seeking additional training and has established a healthy budget for said endeavor. Additionally, Sgt. Brundell says Chief Koedam fully supports officers within the department, which consists of 11 full-time officers and three reserve officers, to become instructors of various disciplines themselves.
“We actually have a lot of people that are passionate about training us and local law enforcement,” Sgt. Brundell stated, adding, “Because we’re kind of stuck up here in the northwest corner, we don’t get many instructors. So, we’re trying to help out ourselves and local law enforcement.”
When it comes to the differences between great, mediocre, and even bad police officers, the two greatest contributing factors typically revolve around integrity and training. While the SCPD can’t exactly teach or instill a moral compass in officers, what the department can do – and has been doing – is keeping officers up to date on their training.
Regarding the SCPD’s particular training of their officers, Sgt. Jack Brundell notes that the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) only mandates officers attend 12 hours of training per year, whereas his department takes things significantly further.
“We’re only required to have 12 hours a year; that’s all that ILEA makes us do. But we do much, much, more,” Sgt. Brundell stated, adding, “I’m at 106 hours of training this year. Some of us get over 100 hours of training a year. But even the lowest amount is well over 30 hours of training.”
Sgt. Brundell pointed to two private companies helping keep their officers up to speed on a myriad of things from adhering to use of force techniques that operate within the confines of the law as well as relevant legal precedents established by the courts.
“Lexipol is really good,” Sgt. Brundell stated regarding one of their preferred providers, further adding, “They have a team that follows each state, and as each state pumps out new state law or federal law they will update our policies. The biggest, newest example is the use of force. Over the last couple years, they have changed a lot of federal and state policy.”
When it comes to staying up to date on state and federal court rulings that can help ensure officers stay out of legal hot water and also make certain citizens’ rights are respected during police encounters, Sgt. Brundell mentioned Police Legal Sciences as being an effective tool in their training.
“We don’t have law degrees,” Sgt. Brundell said, highlighting how court cases within Iowa and at the federal level can drastically impact how policing is conducted all while officers could potentially be oblivious to these critical cases if they’re not habitually monitoring court decisions.
“Police Legal Sciences gives you the case, details of what happened, and they dumb it down to what you can and cannot do anymore,” Sgt. Brundell said of the provider, noting that in “a perfect world” every officer would have a law degree but the reality is “that’s not going to happen with the price and stuff like that.”
Sgt. Brundell says their chief of police, Josh Koedam, is very encouraging when it comes to officers seeking additional training and has established a healthy budget for said endeavor. Additionally, Sgt. Brundell says Chief Koedam fully supports officers within the department, which consists of 11 full-time officers and three reserve officers, to become instructors of various disciplines themselves.
“We actually have a lot of people that are passionate about training us and local law enforcement,” Sgt. Brundell stated, adding, “Because we’re kind of stuck up here in the northwest corner, we don’t get many instructors. So, we’re trying to help out ourselves and local law enforcement.”
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