Though they”re past the stage with book bags and report cards, Columbus police officers aren”t exempt from attending classes and brushing up on some basic skills.
Members of the Columbus Police Department attended report-writing classes all day on Tuesday and Wednesday at the police department, hoping to improve the officers” incident and arrest filings.
“We”re doing this so that we can provide better service for Columbus and its citizens,” Interim Police Chief Selvain McQueen said. “Anytime we can ensure accuracy and details, it serves to streamline our services.
“Whether it”s open information or an insurance claim, we want to make sure they only have to come up here one time.”
Officers type their own reports, McQueen said, and the class covers subjects like grammar, sentence structure and what information should be included in the report.
“It”s a cover all of who, what, when, where and sometimes how. Just the basics,” he said.
McQueen said the classes are part of a continuing-education program and officers are required to attend 24 hours each year of continuing-education credit.
“If our officers are accurate and write good reports the first time, then it is professional, and that is what we are striving for,” McQueen said.
Former Police Chief Joseph St. John criticized officers” report filing, during a Civil Service Commission hearing in July. In addition to being unclear, St. John said officers violated privacy rights with information included in reports.
McQueen also plans to implement a mandatory driver-safety course for police officers. Last year, officers totaled five police cars in wrecks or other driving incidents.
McQueen told the Columbus City Council during a budget meeting that a retired driver”s education teacher had offered to volunteer his services.
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