The MCPD's program is based in large part on the one administered by the San Jose, California, Police Department. When real-life encounters are not available, instructors make every effort to provide role playing situations to aid in the learning process. At the end of ten weeks, if a trainee is not ready for solo patrol then he is afforded an extension of training for no more than two weeks. The Field Training Officer uses this form to document the training conducted on that particular day as well as his observations about the trainee's performance. These guidelines take the guesswork out of the daily evaluation and make scoring consistently reliable.
Testing is administered at the end of each phase via a written test.
This test consists of areas covered in the previous week's instruction. Field Trainers have been entrusted with the responsibility of building, through the people we train, the police department of the future. To accomplish this we must create a positive environment in which learning is maximized. Our approach must be objective and above all, professional. The example we set must be beyond reproach.