The Training Section

Training is the key to professionalism. A police officer's role in the community he or she serves constantly changes. Training is the only way to keep pace with the expectations our citizens have for their police department. Training at the Lake Worth Police Department is second to none.

In order to keep pace with evolving roles and demands placed on law enforcement officers, City of Lake Worth police officers are constantly exposed to a wide range of law enforcement skills through department-provided specialized training. Our Training Section, a branch of the Community Involvement Division, is responsible for providing high-quality curriculum designed to meet departmental training objectives in addition to individual educational requirements.

The section is responsible for numerous in-house training programs, legal training and use-of-force programs. In addition, the section maintains and exceeds standards mandated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, offering up-to-date instruction in a variety of subjects utilizing a diversity of media. The Department also hosts classes, which are attended by not only LWPD officers, but law enforcement officers from throughout the State of Florida. Officers from other departments have requested to attend our in-house courses because of the superb reputation of our Training Section.

These include: firearms, use of force, mental illness, report writing, investigative techniques, computer skills, ethics, human diversity, racial profiling, domestic violence and community policing. This training allows the patrol officer to better serve the changing needs of our citizens during calls for service, and specialize in areas such as narcotics, DUI/traffic enforcement, investigative interviews, etc.

The Training Section is supervised by the Training Sergeant and is staffed by numerous sworn personnel with expertise in various areas, all of whom serve in other divisions of the Department. Several of our instructors are adjunct instructors with Palm Beach Community College's Criminal Justice Institute and teach basic recruit and advanced Florida Department of Law Enforcement classes there. The Department has been designated as a satellite training facility for the institute's advanced training courses, a prestigious designation that enhances the reputation of our Department.

Several of our instructors teach nationally recognized law enforcement programs, which also bolsters the image of our Department as a leader in the field.

A number of the Department's training courses and policies have been requested by and taught in other law enforcement agencies. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.