Page 36 - July August 2019 TPA Journal

“Certified vs Qualified” in

Instructor Credentials

By Chief James Pierson (Ret)

n the law enforcement training community, a great deal of emphasis is placed on “certifications,”
that is documentation of completion of training or tests taken and passed giving the instructor the
I“authority” to teach a specific topic. While the certification to teach a topic is necessary, it is not
the only factor to be considered.

When the questions are asked by an attorney while you are on the stand under oath, will your
answers confirm your credentials to the jury or cause them to have doubts?

Far too many law enforcement instructors attend a certification course and then return to their
agency where the demands of their regular assignment come back to the forefront. These instructors,
if training is a “part-time” assignment, may not teach the program in which they are certified on a
regular basis. Sadly, as training falls victim to schedules, short-staffing, and budget issues, the courses
presented by the certified department instructors are pushed to the side. In the area of defensive-
tactics training, some certified instructors may teach only twice in a year depending on their
assignments. If when the “teach” is the only time they train the skill, how “qualified”
will the jury believe they are?

Picture this as a closing argument from an attorney to a civilian jury: “Ladies and gentlemen, pretend
you are faced with a loved one rushed to the hospital in an emergency, a loved one who needs their
appendix removed. The doctor on duty was trained by someone who attended a course years ago.
For one week that doctor studied how to remove an appendix. After that course the trainer worked
in a nonsurgical area of the hospital for a year, not reviewing the course material until he gave a
short lesson on how to remove an appendix to the ER doctor. Exactly how qualified to you believe
the trainer was when he taught the material? With your loved one’s life on the line, how “qualified”
was the ER doctor based on this man’s instruction?”

If this line of questioning hits close to home for you as an instructor, there are things you can do to
make sure you are prepared.

1. Make sure your certifications are current. If the instructor-training you receive has a recertification
requirement or continuing education that must be maintained, keep them current. Most jury

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