Police Training in Practice: Organization and Delivery According to European Law Enforcement Agencies 2 25 that they are not alone in particular aspects of training they struggle with and can be invited to join forces with other agencies to try and find improvements or solutions. These functions of a cross-organizational overview of training practices will be particularly salient if gained from the perspective of the actual law enforcement agencies and their personnel who conceptualize and deliver the training. In addition, the law enforcement agencies’ perspectives will benefit researchers on police training as it allows them to focus on current and practically relevant training areas that may necessitate further (scientific) attention. Evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence go hand in hand (or at least they should). As such, an overview of the intricacies of police training as experienced by law enforcement personnel such as training instructors is important and informative for police practitioners and researchers alike. Manning (2009) eloquently argued that “police practices are well understood within the police world, and the reporting, designed for external audiences, is a shadowy figure” (p. 462). To shed light on the world of police training, we aim to gain insights into the commonalities and differences of European training practices and identify their strengths and challenges according to those who conceptualize, organize, and provide the training. Gaining insight into the strengths and challenges of police training as experienced by European law enforcement agencies will provide police practitioners and researchers an opportunity for optimizing the current state of police training. MATERIALS AND METHODS Research Design We utilized a qualitative research design to investigate the current state of police training at six European law enforcement agencies. We conducted individual interviews with police coordinators and instructors with the aim to identify strengths and challenges in police training. Prior to conducting the interviews, we requested and received training-related material such as training and assessment manuals, lesson plans, training protocols, and training policies. We have studied these in detail to familiarize ourselves with the content and context in which police training takes place at each of the six law enforcement agencies. Reviewing the training-related material provided input for the interview guides and provided the interviewer with information on the language use and job-specific terminology expected from participants. Participants In total, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted on training sites at six European law enforcement agencies. The agencies were located in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden,
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