The Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Board is pleased to announce it granted reaccreditation status to the U.S. Secret Service Essentials of Instruction program and the James J. Rowley Training Center at the April 22, 2010 meeting in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Essentials of Instruction program introduces participants who will be instructing training for the Secret Service to the principles of adult learning theory, motivation, instructional systems design, ethics and professionalism, assessment of learning progress, classroom management, active learning strategies, and instructional delivery skills. It introduces a method for structuring and delivering active, participant-based training lessons and a lesson plan template.
The James J. Rowley Training Center, located on a 493-acre campus near Laurel, Maryland, is the primary training facility for the Secret Service. It is the focal point for the delivery of basic and in-service training for Special Agents, Uniformed Division officers, administrative and technical personnel, as well as supervisory and management training.
FLETA Board Member Patrick Corcoran noted that a Best Practice was identified during the assessment of the EOI program: the newly implemented risk assessment process. The assessment team felt this process was unique in the way the level of risk is rated for each activity, steps are created to mitigate risk to an acceptable level, and the risk level is then reassessed after mitigation has been implemented. Board Member Buck Tanis also commented on the risk assessment process and noted it set an example to which other federal law enforcement agencies should subscribe.
To achieve accreditation, an agency must undergo a voluntary thorough assessment of their academy and/or program to ensure compliance with the FLETA standards. These professional standards were developed to increase agency effectiveness and efficiency. The standards address the following areas: Academy Administration; Qualifications and Development of Training Staff; Program Administration; and Program and Curriculum Development.
Once an academy or program is accredited, they must undergo reaccreditation every three years using the current standards and process. Reaccreditation takes a fresh look at all information to determine if the evidence supports the agency’s continued compliance with FLETA Standards. To maintain accredited status, agencies also are required to submit annual reports to the FLETA Board.
The FLETA Board is nationally recognized by federal law enforcement agencies, as well as stakeholders in law enforcement training. It is the Board’s goal to improve the federal law enforcement community with each accreditation, and the Board has now awarded 36 program accreditations and 12 academy accreditations.
If you would like more information regarding the FLETA process, please visit the website at www.FLETA.gov or contact FLETA at 912-261-3684.