3-02/010.00 Standardized Orientation and Training Program

The purpose of the Custody Services Division Standardized Orientation and Training Program is to create a standardized program throughout Custody Division in facility orientation, custody training, and trainee performance evaluation. The Standardized Orientation and Training Program is delineated in the Custody Training Manual, maintained by the Custody Standards and Training Bureau (CTSB).

CUSTODY TRAINING PROGRAM

Each unit commander shall implement the Custody Services Division Standardized Orientation and Training Program for newly-assigned custody personnel. This program includes:

• Orientation Day
• Training of three (3) months duration
• Training Officer/Trainee Relationship Acknowledgment
• Checklist of training objectives
• Eight (8) written tests
• Eight (8) performance tests
• Fifteen (15) report scenarios
• Evaluations every two weeks (6 total)
• Recommendations to release from training or extend the training period

Whenever possible, the following guidelines should be implemented:

• Trainees should only have one training officer
• Trainees and training officers should be assigned to the same shift and work area
• Trainees and training officers should have the same schedule and days off
• Trainees and training officers should be of the same classification, unless otherwise authorized by the unit commander (refer to Custody Division Manual section 2-01/085.00, “Custody Training Officers”)

Custody training officers who recognize that their trainee is not progressing in the “Standardized Orientation and Training Program” at an acceptable rate shall immediately notify their facility training unit supervisors. The trainee may then be placed on a remedial training program, tailored for the trainee by the facility training unit staff and the training officer. Training unit personnel shall maintain all necessary documentation regarding the trainee’s progress in the remedial program to support the trainee’s success or failure. The training program must be completed within the probationary period unless exempted by the concerned division chief.

The administration of the Standardized Orientation and Training Program will be subject to inspection by command personnel in conjunction with the annual command inspection process. Additionally, each facility shall conduct internal reviews to verify on-going compliance with this policy.

This program will be in addition to any other training provided by each facility. It shall be the responsibility of each facility to maintain records, including six (6) signed Training Standardized Evaluation forms, a Release from Training form, and all documentation of the successful completion of the training program. There shall be a two (2) year retention of these records.

UNIT ORIENTATION

Each Custody Services Division unit commander shall provide, document, and implement the Standardized Orientation and Training Program for each newly-assigned employee or supervisor. This program shall provide comprehensive information regarding the individual facility and the Custody Services Division as a whole including, but not limited to, the following:

• Physical structure of the unit
• Parking, entrances, exits
• Signing in and out
• Custody Identification Cards
• Facility security
• Fraternization with inmates
• Prohibited association with inmates
• Ethics and employee misconduct
• Grooming and dress standards
• Personnel information and changes
• Use of telephones and electronic communication systems
• Use of computers and the intranet
• Provisions regarding meals and breaks
• Illness or injury on duty
• Chain of command
• Functions and purpose of the unit
• Personal property
• Emergency procedures
• Constitutional jailing and humane treatment of inmates
• California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities, and Title 24, Minimum Standards for the Design and Construction of Local Detention Facilities 

The Standardized Orientation and Training Program shall be tracked, documented, and monitored by each facility’s training unit staff.