Most people who join the ranks of law enforcement become a member to fight crime, to serve their community and to make a difference. Some join because of a desire to drive fast and live with an element of danger in their lives. The reasons are as many as there are people joining. As careers progress there comes a time when personnel begin looking at retirement. Many of those getting close to that magic date say they will spend their time fishing, golfing, traveling or other leisure recreational ideas. Many say that they will never work another day in their lives. I say to those who say they will never work another day in their lives, "You should rethink your thoughts on your retirement lifestyle".
While leisure activities are an important part of retirement, having something to get up for every day is just as important. I feel that because law enforcement is filled with stressful activities and decision making every day, which becomes very normal to us, our minds and bodies do not shut down because of the desire to continue that style of living after we retire. Many of those who have retired have said that they don't miss the day-to-day red tape but do miss the actions or challenges of the job. Far too many of our retired personnel find themselves bored with their new life style soon after the newness of retirement wears off. Among the many jobs that can be extremely fulfilling after retirement are expert consulting or teaching, or better yet, combining the two. The law enforcement profession offers many specialized areas to spend much of a career learning and refining. Several of these specialized areas allow skills that can be honed to excellence and then taken away from the job and used after active service ends.
Where to start?
I was faced with the retirement decision some years ago. The decisions about what to do after retirement was easy for me because of prior planning that determined what course my retirement was going to take. Prior planning should start early in your career. If you can imagine that one assignment which made you looked forward to going to work everyday, perhaps the expertise that you developed in that area of law enforcement is something that you can turn into life after law enforcement.
I began teaching others in law enforcement first by becoming a field-training officer (FTO). This teaching challenge was usually rewarding to me because teaching others was fun, especially when the other person performed well after instruction. I was also a student, who had had exposure to martial arts in the military, and wanted to continue expanding knowledge of the arts of police self-defense. A California POST instructor's certificate was issued after completion of the required classes, which allowed me to begin teaching others defense tactics at a local police academy. Many academies are affiliated with colleges, so a requirement for teaching might be that you obtain a teaching credential from the state or local college district. This certificate is highly recommended because it furthers the acceptance of your expertise in your chosen field. Exposure to techniques or methods of teaching will enhance your abilities in front of a class or group as well as meet the requirements for the issuance of teaching certificate. These courses can usually be obtained through universities, local colleges or by your state POST. The one that I attended was an extension course hosted by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and it required 60 hours of classroom participation and testing.
I also began studying curricula that was required teaching for recruits entering the police academy. Communication to the California State Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) regarding the curriculum allowed me to become involved in planning and developing new training standards for law enforcement. This involvement consisted of participating in groups of Subject Matter Experts (SME) who undertook exploring existing training methods and materials and finding new or better methods to train future officers. These groups of SMEs also looked at aspects of advanced officer training, officers killed in the line of duty, patrol techniques and many other issues, making recommendations to POST on making law enforcement training better. Publication of a textbook, which dealt with police weaponless control, was the next step I took to becoming recognized as an expert in the field of police use of force. Studies of many departments' policy manuals, published articles and textbooks enhanced my knowledge. Court opinions that affected law enforcement were studied in depth. Any court decision that established standards of care for law enforcement had to become required reading.
Improving the resume
Selection and completion of the California POST Master Instructor Development Program (MIDP) allowed me to take the next step up the ladder to the continuing development of expertise. Participation in the promotional process, getting promoted and developing new supervisory skills, and later, management skills, also enhanced my expertise. Other allied agencies began requesting training sessions from me so that they could tap into my expertise, especially if their agency did not have anyone as qualified to provide advanced officer training. Writing a well-researched and knowledgeable article for a newspaper, journal or magazine will also enhance your expertise because your opinions on your subject will be published and accepted as evidence of your mastery of the topic matter. I have found several different organizations that are constantly looking for authors to publish. Many departments publish a newsletter, and police officers' associations often have their own magazines. These types of publications are very author-friendly and encourage their members to contribute articles. National organizations are always looking for new authors to contribute material. Publications like Law Officer, Law and Order and Police Chief magazine are just a few who make it easy for authors to get published.
The Person Most Knowledgeable
Often, when a law enforcement officer develops a particular expertise in a specialized field, their department will choose that person to represent the organization as the person declared most knowledgeable (PMK) to discuss the policies and practices of the organization in a civil litigation. By being declared as the department's most knowledgeable member and giving deposition or trial testimony, you can become court-recognized as an expert in your field. Each time that you are recognized and testify as an expert, whether it is in criminal or civil court, you further your expertise in your specialized area. You should develop a log of these cases so that you can include the court's recognition of your expertise in a r sum or curriculum vitae (CV). Every officer should have a r sum or CV, because it is an excellent tool to use during promotion and is demanded in every case when you testify as an expert.
The State of California Evidence Code, Section 720 defines an expert as:
- A person is qualified to testify as an expert if he has special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education sufficient to qualify him as an expert on the subject to which his testimony relates. Against the objection of a party, such special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education must be shown before the witness may testify as an expert.
- A witness' special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may be shown by any otherwise admissible evidence, including his own testimony.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
Testifying at the California Superior Court level as an expert provides additional challenges to be met before the court will allow an expert to testify.
In the Court's Rules of Production of Evidence, Section 2034 (f) (2), states an expert is classified and required to perform the following,
"If any witness on the list is an expert as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the exchange shall also include or be accompanied by an expert witness declaration signed only by the attorney for the party designating the expert, or by that party if that party has no attorney. This declaration shall be under penalty of perjury and shall contain:
- 1. A brief narrative statement of the qualifications of each expert.
- 2. A brief narrative statement of the general substance of the testimony that the expert is expected to give.
- 3. A representation that the expert has agreed to testify at the trial.
- 4. A representation that the expert will be sufficiently familiar with the pending action to submit to a meaningful oral deposition concerning the specific testimony, including any opinions and its basis, that the expert is expected to give at trial.
- 5. A statement of the expert's hourly and daily fee for providing deposition testimony and for consulting with the retaining attorney.
- The Federal Courts require even more detailed disclosure by the expert. The Federal Court's Rule 26 (2) (B) requires the Disclosure of Expert Testimony.
- "Except as otherwise stipulated or directed by the court, this disclosure shall, with respect to a witness who is retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or whose duty as an employee of the party regularly involve giving expert testimony, be accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by the witness. The report shall contain a complete statement of all opinions to be expressed and the basis and reasons therefore; the data or other information considered by the witness in forming the opinions; any exhibits to be used as a summary of or support for the opinions; the qualifications of the witness, including a list of all publications authored by the witness within the preceding ten years; the compensation to be paid for the study and testimony; and a listing of any other cases in which the witness has testified as an expert at trail or by deposition within the preceding four years".
- I have combined the aspects of teaching and consulting into a meaningful business, which has emerged into a gratifying life after active law enforcement. There is great personal fulfillment in being able to share the experience gained from the law enforcement career by teaching others what you have learned. There is the same fulfillment when your expertise can be used in a court setting to help determine the outcome of a complex case. I would recommend to those who are considering retirement to look back into their careers to see if they have some special expertise that they can use to develop a class, which could be taught at a police academy or local college. I would also recommend for the person who has that special expertise in a special field, consider whether acting as a consultant might offer a new rewarding career for life after active law enforcement.