VA Police Recruits Graduate from First Mobile Training Course
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is hailing the success of a new pilot program to train VA Police Officers at off-site locations, away from the main VA Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The program is designed to “fill the training and certification needs of VA Police Services, augmenting the training that is done at the primary training facility.”
Thirty-eight (38) recruits graduated after complementing training at the Santa Fe College Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville, Florida. The recruits are the first group to successfully complete the VA Police Officer Standardized Training (P.O.S.T.) course, away from the main academy.
The first trial involved newly hired recruits from the Veterans Integrated Services Network 8 (VISN 8), or the VA Sunshine Veterans Network, which serves veterans in the southeast and the Caribbean.
The VA launched the pilot program in conjunction with the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SG VHS).
A mobile training team (MTT) from the main academy led the training, which covers everything from first aid to active threat response to techniques around veteran centered policing. Recruits are also tested on their ability to react to different scenarios including arresting a suspect, disarming an assailant, and working with mental health crisis.
“The MTT hosted by North Florida South Georgia VHS is a pilot program that has never been attempted for the POST course,” said William Grymes, police service compliance officer for NF/SG VHS Police Services. “Through mutual partnership, North Florida-South Georgia VHS was able to provide 7 certified Law Enforcement Instructors and multiple role-players using the minimum amount of instructor cadre from the VA LETC.”