20190719-90101-26

The Decatur County Sheriff's Office (DCSO), which includes a Patrol & Investigations Division and the Decatur County Detention Center, employs more than 20 merit deputies and special deputies who regularly use force on the street or within the Decatur County Detention Center. Except for basic academy training, deputies have received minimal training on use of force and decision-making under stress. Given the relatively young and inexperienced workforce, the DCSO needs at minimum an eight to 12-hour training program that addresses decision-making under stress and provides deputies additional tools to use when forced to make use of force decisions and maintain officer and public safety. Given the increased public scrutiny, even in small rural communities like Decatur County, Indiana, we need to ensure our deputies are making sound decisions based facts, the law and safety considerations.

An eight to 12-hour training program that addresses use of force decision making on the street and inside the Detention Center is needed. Further, to maintain shift coverage and ensure we reach the maximum number of staff, a program that could be delivered over two days would work best for the DCSO. Ideally, the program would address current and emerging use of force trends, legal foundations of reasonable force, the science of human performance and decision-making, making decisions under stress, articulating and reporting the use of force and dealing with the aftermath of use of force incidents. Given our current generation of deputies and their preferred learning style, the DCSO would request a program that includes facilitated group and class discussions, case studies, video analyses, and a review of best practices.