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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1963)
Sports Training Part of Job MEDFORD Tribune Features SUCTION B MEDFORD. OREGON, SUNDAY, MAY 12, 1963 PAGES 1 to U Area Law Enforcement Officers Attend Wide Range of Courses By PEC HUTCHINSON Mail Tribunt Staff Writer During the past several weeks, Medford police of ficers and officers with neighboring law enforcement departments,- have been attending classes in various phases of police work. A recent advanced class series is but one of a num ber of ways in which police departments continue train ing its officers after they have passed recruit training and probationary period. Much has been written about the training programs of such giants as the New York City Police department where academies train the new officers and college , courses are available for studying toward a degree in police science. The Medford police department has 40 officers (in cluding two policewomen) and six records clerks. H . operates on a budget of slightly more than $330,000. Need for Training Discussed The need for an advanced training program for the local department was discussed by Chief of Police Charles P. Champlin after he returned from the FBI National Academy in 1953. Now the department has a program of continual training for officers, which Champlin considers to be ' one of the best in the state for a department its size. He noted that it also has served as a morale builder for the department. One of the greatest improvements cited by the chief went into effect in 1961. This is the police training school for new officers conducted by Oregon state police at Camp Whithycombe. The school is for two weeks with the training under the supervision of a committee of the Oregon Association of City Police Officers. A member of the committee is Medford Police De tective Lt. Lyle C. Perkins, who is now in Washington, D. C,. attending the FBI National Academy. Two Weeks of Training The school for new recruits consists of two weeks of intensive training, and at the present is scheduled on an "as needed" basis. Instructors are from Oregon state police, FBI, sheriff's and city police departments and members of other federal agencies and the District Attorney's association available upon request. Champlin said plans are being discussed with the idea of lengthening the school. The city pays $25 per week per man at the school for room and board. The committee which supervises the training is com posed of a representative from the Oregon Chief of Police association, state police, Oregon State Sheriffs association, and the special agent in charge of the Port land FBI office. Recruits serve six weeks of on-the-job training be fore being sent out alone, Champlin stressed. He added that the new men are issued weapons only after they have passed approved fire range tests. Money Is Stumbling Block Money is generally the stumbling block in setting up advanced training programs, Champlin continued. Staffs are generally not sufficient to allow officers to attend classes during working hours. Desired classes attended by only a few officers prove to be too expensive. This cost item was overcome with the establishment of the annual advanced school for officers held in 15 Oregon cities each spring. It is one of many held to im prove the quality of the state's small town police officer. . The advanced school is sponsored by the Oregon As sociation of City Police Officers and the Oregon State Sheriffs association. Cooperating with them in providing , instructors and materials are the FBI, Oregon state po lice, League of Oregon Cities, and the bureau of mu nicipal research and service of the University of Oregon. During the past 10 years, the department has inte grated into its training program classes taught by the groups already mentioned, and the League of Oregon Cities, American Red Cross, Medford Chamber of Com merce, Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone company, 548th Ordnance Detachment of the U. S. Army, Med ford High school, Medford city administration, and larger city police departments in Oregon. Agencies Will Conduct Classes Most of these agencies will conduct classes for po lice departments upon request, Champlin explained, something the local department has made use of in building the advance training program. , ...jj..- .. iL-il I If 1- ' -j I $ 1 in &Lj h ! Part of the -Medford police department's training program is a major case crime school, held by the federal bureau of investigation at the request of the local department. The school ends with a moot court. During cross examination, errors in investigation, the importance of properly identifying evidence and accurate note taking by officers were noted. Two local attorneys and a judge volunteered their time for the "trial" which was held in a Jackson county circuit court to establish the atmopshere of an actual trial. (Knackstedt photo) The majority of the classes are conducted at no additional cost to the department, the chief continued. The department budgets $200 per year for association membership fees. The amount is based on population. Travel expenses for Officers attending schools away from Medford also arc included. When 'individual officers wish to attend classes in the adult education program of the high school or take college extension courses, the department will pay the tution costs if the course pertains to his work and money is available.- Because the size of the department, each request is studied individually. First aid classes, both standard and advanced, are required of all, officers and are taught without cost to t the department upon request. Each officer is required to attend a class: in public speaking under the auspices of the adult 'education program. Costs-for this class are paid by the department. : . . ! ' '.' . i Other Courses Are Required - '' ' Other courses required of all officers is teletype school conducted by the Pacific Northwest Bell Tele phone company and a defensive driving course, which includes a written test, road driving, reaction time and parking. The teletype school is repeated when needed; the driving course is scheduled when new officers are added to the department. ' Once a week an in-service training session Is held by the supervisor of each platoon. Discussed during the sessions are current happenings of Importance to the department and a review of the police training manual and the municipal code. The manual study is geared so it will be reviewed completely each year. In September, 1960, the FBI conducted the first major case crime school for the Medford department. The two-day session, from the report of the crime through a moot court, was held upon request without charge. Previously, the FBI and state police held a one-day school on auto theft for ,the local officers. Now this topic is incorporated in the annual advanced school pro gram. ' Firearms School Conducted - Firearms schools are conducted by the FBI at least once each year upon request. It is sponsored by the Medford police department and Is an invitational shoot, with law enforcement officers in the area invited to participate. The department, which has its own pistol : range, holds bimonthly departmental shoots with each officer required to qualify in the practical pistol course. 5 ' Started this year was the department's first night firearms session. This included firing, part in total darkness and part with flashlight. Loading is in total darkness. Other classes which have been held at the depart ment's request include a tourist school conducted by the Medford Chamber of Commerce for all officers, and an explosive ordnance reconnaissance school which was conducted for department supervisors by the 548th Ordnance Detachment of the U. S. Army, Vancouver, Wash., barracks. The Medford fire department also holds training ses sions for the police department in the use of their specialized equipment such as self-contained oxygen, smoke ejectors and other items. Recently the fire de partment's aerial ladder was used by police to assist them in reaching the roof of a building where a burglary had been attempted. The care and handling of injured persons also is an important part of the officers job, Champlain con tinued. Doctors conduct such courses. Training in the use of the night stick was added to the officers training this month. - One class, sponsored by state police and attended by several Medford department officers, concerned tourist problems in connection with the Seattle World's fair. The department is interested in these specialized ses sions, Champlin noted, since in this case many of the World's fair visitors traveled through Medford. The department also conducts training in the use of the camera, which is required of all new officers. The new officer spends at least two days with the depart ment's identification officer. In addition to learning how to operate the camera and about darkroom procedures, he also learns how to take fingerprints and familiarizes himself with the identification files and forms used by the department. Attend Photography Class Several of the officers have attended the photography classes in the adult education program, The new officers also spend at least three days with Jackson county juvenile department, including the de tention home. Schools which are held elsewhere in the state and are considered important to the departments are attend ed by the Medford police department supervisors or by the officers assigned to that particular duty. When a supervisor school is held in Portland by the FBI and Portland police department, supervisors from the Medford department attend the three-day school. Last fall the last three supervisors in the local depart ment who had not previously attend this school were sent. Time In Identification Bureau One man also has spent lime in the Oregon State Police Identification bureau In Salem. Medford police officers receive this training upon request when the need arises in the department. A five-day seminar on arson was attended by one , officer, lt was held In Portland under the auspices of the Oregon state police arson division and the National Board of Fire Underwriters. Local officers also have reviewed procedures re garding accident records in the department of motor vehicles, Salem. A recent school held in Medford concerned crowd control and allied problems, held by state police, and search seizure, conducted by the FBI and the Jackson county district attorney's office. Check investigations have been the topic of other schools. Receives Training in Salem When the department started using radar, one traffic patrolman received training in its operation at the Salem police department. This man, in turn, Instructed other men in the local department. A 12-wcck course in municipal personnel adminis tration, taught by city officials and department super visors, also is available to Medford police officers. The weekly two-hour sessions acquaint them with all mu nicipal departments and their administration. It also in cludes problems of the supervisor, how to give orders . and how to get along with fellow employees. The cost Is paid by the department. A similar course, also taught by city officials, is on a municipal police administration. It continues for a year and ends with an examination. The police department keeps a detailed record of all training held each year and files on each. officer as to the courses and schools he has attended. Attend Other Meetings ' Once a month an officer attends the meeting in . Redding, Calif., of the Northern California Investigators council and once a year the Western Crime conference. - The majority of the schools and courses are attended by police officers during off-duty hours, Champlin stressed. ; The advanced school recently concluded in Medford had two sessions daily afternoon and evening so that all officers could attend. During weekly meetings with the department's su pervisors, Champlin explained, the needs of the depart ment arc discussed. If the department needs training in a particular field, the chief continued, attempts to obtain it arc taken. "Chances are such a course is readily available, and In many cases it's free." ,r Ly tv"rv :r, 1' f ; - ".: ii f-l .hi V r-- ' JLA .i . '-'"'I Individual training with riot and machine guns also is received by the Medford po lice department officers. Checking a machine gun with FBI Special Agent Max Taylor (right) Is Medford Police Detective LI. Lyle C. Perkins, who is now in Washington, D C attending the FBI National Academy. (Knackstedt photo) K- iyuim - ,, " '"" tiiMiiMimr-niM i in. i- Three local law enforcement officers, who were among those who attended the ad vanced police work classes sponsored by the Medford department earlier this year, ex amine a one pound package of marijuana prior to a class on dangerous drugs held by John Windham, Portland, narcotics agent with the bureau of narcotics. The officers are (left to right) Medford Patrolman Gordon Wright, Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Ray Twltchcll, and Medford Patrolman Donald Claypool. (Knackstedt photo) it 0) Itlll, 'A r . V ; 7 Mi V : v" Wit About 70 law enforcement officers attended a major case crime school conducted In Medford by the federal bureau of investigation at the request of the Medford city police. Shown collecting evidence at the scene of the "crime" are Sgt. John S. Ken nard, Klamath Falls police department; Sgt. Richard A. Newell, Grants Pass police department; Air Force Staff Sgt. Sterling White Jr., Kingslry Air Force base, Klamath Falls, and Medford Police Patrolman Keith Van Horn. (Knackstedt photo) 4 )
