Is all police academy training created equally? Comparing natural resource officer and general police academy training
| Author | Michael T Rossler,Michael J Suttmoeller |
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X17692164 |
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Is all police academy
training created equally?
Comparing natural
resource officer and general
police academy training
Michael T Rossler
Department of Criminal Justice Sciences, Illinois State University,
Normal, IL, USA
Michael J Suttmoeller
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Missouri State
University, Springfield, MO, USA
Abstract
American policing is characterised by variety, including numerous specialty police
departments. One specialty grouping are police tasked with environmental protection.
Known as natural resources officers (NROs), little research has examined the academy
training that these officers receive. Drawing upon a survey of almost 600 police training
academies, the current inquiry explores curriculum differences between NRO-capable
and general police academies. Findings indicate that NRO-equipped academies consist of
fewer overall hours of training, are more likely to include instruction in marine patrol
techniques, and do not differ on hours of training on traffic law enforcement. Implica-
tions for future research are discussed.
Keywords
Police, training, conservation officers, isomorphism
Corresponding author:
Michael T Rossler, Department of Criminal Justice Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790 USA.
Email: mtrossl@ilstu.edu
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2018, Vol. 91(2) 107–122
ªThe Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X17692164
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Introduction
In the United States, policing is characterised by variety and fragmentation. Current
research estimates that there are nearly 18,000 police agencies in the U.S., consisting
largely of general police departments (i.e., municipal police, sheriff’s departments and
state police) (Reaves, 2011). There is also, however, a substantial minority of depart-
ments that are often referred to as special jurisdiction police. This group of departments
generally serves a more specialised task, and is made up of agencies such as tribal police,
university police and port authority police (Reaves, 2011). One group of specialty police
that has received little research attention are police responsible for protecting our natural
resources, commonly referred to as natural resource officers, conservation agents, con-
servation officers, fish and wildlife officers and even game wardens (Oliver and Meier,
2006; Patten et al., 2015).
Natural resource officers (NROs) face special challenges in their mandate compared
to general service police officers. The duties of a NRO are in some ways more specia-
lised than general police, in that they are the only officers specifically tasked to enforce
game laws. Officers must be able to identify numerous flora (i.e., plant life of a particular
region) and fauna (i.e., animals of a particular region) to articulate violations, make
substantial legal interpretation about both criminal and constitutional law, and operate
in rough terrain or areas requiring the use of watercraft (Eliason, 2006; Stearns, 2004). In
other ways NROs have a broader role, because they are often responsible for traditional
police duties such as order maintenance, service and enforcement of laws not pertaining
to natural resources (Crow and Shelley, 2009). Scholars have noted other additional
challenges unique to NROs, such as experiencing increased isolation, stress, armed
citizens and being outnumbered by suspects (Eliason, 2014; Forsyth and Forsyth, 2009).
Despite the unique challenges faced by natural resource officers, almost no research
has systematically examined the training curricula for NROs and whether it addresses the
challenges unique to their occupation. S ome research sugg ests that the role o f NROs
could lead to confusion for training academies, promoting isomorphism and mimicry
of traditional police academies as opposed to specialisation (Crow and Shelley, 2009;
Patten et al., 2015). Due to the ambiguous nature of policing in general, and natural
resources policing in particular, it stands to reason that NRO-equipped training aca-
demies may engage in mimetic isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). Essen-
tially, the ambiguity in training for this specialised task leads NRO academies to mimic
general police academies that are perceived as successful. It is also possible that NRO
academies could imitate traditional academies due to political and institutional pres-
sures such as obtaining accreditation (i.e., coercive isomorphism), or due to the homo-
geneity of police training professionals (i.e., normative isomorphism). It should be
noted that some of this same research (Patten et al., 2015) has also suggested that
NROs may receive enhanced training commensurate with their job challenges (e.g.,
additional training in criminal and constitutional law, stress prevention, advanced
firearms training, marine patrol training and all-terrain vehicle operation). The lack
of empirical inquiry into how NRO training academies differ from their general service
counterparts represents a substantial gap in the literature on NROs and their role in
American society.
108 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 91(2)
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