While studies on the impact of police training are few and inconclusive, the existing research and literature generally acknowledges the training is not always consistent with the role officers perform in the field.¹ There are many limitations (many beyond the control of the academy leadership) that limit a police academy’s ability to prepare recruits for the actual demands of police work and complexities associated with contemporary policing.² However, academies often do have influence over curriculum and instructors. Research has suggested that the disconnect between basic police training and job preparation is related to curricula that academies use to teach and instructor delivery methods. According to clinical psychologist Dr. Daniel M. Blumberg and his co-researchers, the typical academy does not adequately focus on the “basic principles of adult learning theory,” while noting that contemporary policing requires training that incorporates proven adult learning principles.³ 

The Academy Innovations Project, a U.S. Department of Justice COPS (Community-Oriented Policing Services) Office–supported initiative led by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), was designed to explore ways to improve the delivery of basic training content at U.S. police academies. Since contemporary community policing and conflict management relies heavily on quality communication skills, the IADLEST research team identified communications-related training as a foundational subject matter area that could be taught consistently across any entry-level academy. IADLEST researchers developed a study design to measure and evaluate recruit knowledge and retention of communication skills training content.

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