Advanced and Specialized Law Enforcement Courses

Courtroom Testimony

This 16- hour course is designed to cover all aspects of a criminal trial.  This course is designed to help you not only investigate cases ranging from homicides to trafficking in controlled substances, but how to effectively communicate the investigations to a jury during trial. This course addresses the 3 components of a guilty verdict: Investigating Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Documenting to Avoid Cross-Examination Issues, and Presenting a Case in a Professional Manner. This is a Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission Specialized Training Course, and is approved for mandatory retraining only.

Topics of instruction include:

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Kinesics

Being able to determine deceptive responses through the observation of nonverbal clues and body reactions during an interview or interrogation can be a valuable tool for the perceptive investigator. During stressful interviews, individuals often “leak” autonomic behaviors that are difficult to control. This seminar presents instruction and demonstrations that teach students skills in reading behavioral signals of tempo, posture, breathing, gestures, & other body movements that cannot be consciously controlled. The class provides students with information that should enhance their perceptual skills, thus, increasing their ability to recognize changes in behavior that often forecasts shifts in attitude and imminent disclosures, as well as, to assess deception and resistance. This is not a boring lecture seminar where participants are forced to take copious notes with minimal involvement.  Rather, the program is conducted in a highly reactive setting, prompting dialog between the students and the instructor. Students are involved in numerous exercises in order to apply the techniques presented during instruction.   

Topics of instruction include:

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson 813.253.7952 or sjohnson2@hccfl.edu

The Patrol Rifle Instructor Course is organized and developed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a Commission certified handgun instructor to provide efficient and effective patrol rifle training. This Instructor course will prepare you to obtain Commission certification as a high liability instructor in rifle and to instruct the Patrol Rifle Operator Course and the Patrol Rifle Instructor Course as well as to deliver in-service rifle training and qualifications at your agency.

Pre-requisites: 

All student instructors must pass a pre-qualification for attendance to the course on the morning of day 1.  The pre-qualification will be the carbine course of fire, with the required instructor hit ratio.

Instructor students MUST already be a CJSTC certified Handgun Instructor prior to taking this course

Topics of instruction include:

**There is NO remediation for any part of this course.

Required Equipment:

Ammunition Requirement: 

750 rounds of rifle ammunition

100 rounds of handgun

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

***Students must bring receipts for ammunition on the 1st day of class for agency reimbursement

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Shotgun Instructor #3025

The Shotgun Instructor Course is organized and developed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a Commission certified handgun instructor to provide efficient and effective shotgun training. This instructor course will prepare you to obtain Commission certification as a high liability instructor in shotgun and to instruct the Shotgun Instructor Course and Shotgun Operator Course as well as to deliver in-service shotgun training and qualifications at your agency.

Pre-requisites: 

Instructor students are required to pass the shotgun end user course at the beginning of day. Instructor students must pass the course at the instructor ratio.

Instructor students MUST already be a CJSTC certified Handgun Instructor prior to taking this course

Topics of instruction include:

**There is NO remediation for any part of this course.

Required Equipment:

Ammunition Requirement: 

150 rounds of shotgun ammunition

100 rounds handgun

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

 In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

***Students must bring receipts for ammunition on the 1st day of class for agency reimbursement

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

FL General Instructor Techniques # 1186

In this course, students will have an opportunity to define, explore, and develop each of the skills required of an instructor. Students will learn about the types of liability associated with instruction, their responsibility to act ethically and without bias, and how to control and document classroom activities. Students will be instructed in the use of adult learning models and facilitation skills to conduct application-based activities such as individual and group exercises, problem solving scenarios, practice demonstrations, and peer evaluations.  Students will study how to design instruction, write objectives, test questions, and prepare lesson plans.  In addition, students will be required to prepare and present a 30-minute presentation to the class. 

Pursuant to Rule 11B-35, F.A.C., this course is a pre-requisite for applying to CJSTC to become an instructor for CJSTC certified Training Centers.

Topics of instruction include:

**Students are encouraged to bring their laptops with PowerPoint for use in developing their presentations.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Search and Seizure 

About the Instructor:

JP Nixon, senior consultant for the Odysseus Project, has been conducting law enforcement training throughout the US for over a decade.  A narcotics prosecutor by trade, Mr. Nixon is the former Director of a joint State/Federal task force, based out of Miami, Florida, that conducted complex international narco-money laundering investigations. 

Course Description:

Instead of the standard lecture on what you cannot do when acting under the color of law, this class zeros directly in on ways of fulfilling law enforcement objectives in the face of the law’s constraints.  Consisting of an interactive multi-media presentation designed to engage the students in thought and discussion with the instructor and each other while learning how to apply the Fourth Amendment to both basic and complex fact patterns.  An absolutely essential class for personnel at all levels, taught in a uniquely dynamic way.

Overview of Topics:

• How to Effectively Articulate Reasonable Suspicion and Probable Cause

• Searching Cars and Conveyances & Pretextual Detentions

• How to Secure Consent

• Knock & Talks and Consensual Encounters

• The Home, Curtilage & the Open Fields Doctrine

• Damaging or Destroying Property & Scope of the Search

• Exigencies, Sweeps, and Holding the Scene

• Managing Uncooperative Detainees

• Weapons Searches vs. Contraband Searches

• Use or Deployment of a K-9 in Various Contexts

• Detention, Seizures, and Custody – a Tactical Approach

• Hotels, Motels, and Other Criminal Forums of Convenience

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson 813.253.7952 or sjohnson2@hccfl.edu

Field Training Officer for Law Enforcement #809

This course features the introduction of a legally defensible evaluation process that has been implemented in hundreds of police agencies across the country. Using the pure "San Jose, California" model as its core, the student will learn how to develop a field training officer (FTO) program. Since an agency's effectiveness is directly related to the quality of its personnel, a well-conceived recruit management program is an absolute must, regardless of the organization's size and geographic location. Upon completion of the course, each participant will have gained the knowledge to develop an FTO program and fulfill the role of field training officer. This program is designed for the new FTO, the FTO who has not had formal training and shift supervisors of field training officers. While managers of FTO programs will find the training of great value, the course focus is on the FTO's role. The nature of the information is that which the FTO's immediate supervisor must have to effectively monitor and evaluate FTO and recruit performances alike. This course is approved for Salary Incentive.

Topics of instruction:

• Examples of successful field training and evaluation programs
• FTO meetings
• Legal and ethical issues in recruit selection, training and evaluation
• Performance evaluation using standardized rating procedures
• The effect of the FTO style on recruit  learning
• Teaching principles, methodologies and philosophies
• Remedial training and narrative reports
• 29 key elements of successful programs
• FTO program structure
• The 'hows' and 'whys' of documentation
• Recruit termination procedures
• FTO objectives, principles and goals

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu or 813.253.7952.

Proactive and Undercover Investigations

About the Instructor:

JP Nixon, senior consultant for the Odysseus Project, has been conducting law enforcement training throughout the US for over a decade.  A narcotics prosecutor by trade, Mr. Nixon is the former Director of a joint State/Federal task force, based out of Miami, Florida, that conducted complex international narco-money laundering investigations. 

Course Description:

This class is a compelling multi-media presentation involving the use of real-life case studies, film, and television as examples to aid in the understanding of the concepts being taught.  The course is designed to serve as an introduction or refresher on the tools available to, and methods employed by, investigators working proactive and long-term cases, with an emphasis on narcotics traffickers, money launderers, theft/robbery crews, criminal street gangs, human traffickers, and other organized criminal enterprises.  Students will walk away from the training with a strong grasp of how to plan and steer an investigation from the moment of identifying the targets all the way through the indictment process. 

Overview of Topics:

• Initiating the Investigation & Deconfliction
• Wiretaps, Pen & Traps, Mobile Trackers, Pole Cameras, Drones, and Electronic Surveillance
• Use of Informants – Source Cultivation & Management
• Undercover Work – Laundering your Identity & Honing your Ability to Deceive
• Authorized Criminality – the Need to Participate in Illegal Activity
• Alcohol, Drugs, Sex, and the Obstacles of Undercover Work
• Physical Search Techniques for Undercover Operations
• How to Build Conspiracy & Racketeering (RICO) cases
• Post-Arrest Investigative Follow Ups

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson 813.253.7952 or sjohnson2@hccfl.edu

Child Sex Crimes Investigations # 1171

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Advanced Training Course. This 40-hour course is approved for mandatory retraining or salary incentive.

Sexual abuse is about power and control over the child. The abuser is someone that the child knows and possibly trusts so it is easy for the abuser to keep the child from telling anyone about the abuse. The abuser may say that the abuse is normal or the abuser may force or threaten the child. The child does what the abuser wants because the child loves, fears, or respects the abuser. Anyone can abuse a child. Reports indicate that 93% of children under 18 are abused by someone that they know. This person can be a parent, sibling, teacher, coach, or anyone else in the child’s life. It’s rare for a stranger to abuse a child. It can happen, but it’s not likely.

Investigators need to understand that a child doesn’t make up stories about abuse. The child is constantly trying to make sense of what happened. The trauma from the abuse sometimes causes the child to mix-up the when, where, and how. It can also cause the child to say and do things that don’t always sound “right.”

Topics of Instruction include:

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

 In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

Parking is located in the Fernando Noriega, Jr. Palm Avenue STUDENT PARKING GARAGE located on the north side of 9th Avenue, between Nuccio Parkway and 13th Street. You will be given a parking pass the first day of class.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Adult Sex Crimes Investigations # 1170

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Advanced Training Course. This 40-hour course is approved for mandatory retraining or salary incentive.

This course is designed to provide an overview of sex crimes investigations for the officer and investigator with limited experience in this area, and an understanding of the problematic, legal, investigative, and evidentiary aspects of sex crimes. 

Students in this course will gain insight into the crimes, their impact on victims, the evidentiary aspects of adult sex crimes, legal rights of victims and the legal responsibility of law enforcement when investigating these crimes.

Topics of Instruction include:

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

 In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

Parking is located in the Fernando Noriega, Jr. Palm Avenue STUDENT PARKING GARAGE located on the north side of 9th Avenue, between Nuccio Parkway and 13th Street. You will be given a parking pass the first day of class.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Developing and Managing Informants

This Specialized Training Course and is approved for mandatory retraining only.This 16-hour Informant course is designed to provide law enforcement personnel with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and responsibilities associated with developing and managing informants. The training emphasizes the challenges that can arise, including legal, professional, and prosecutorial issues. The course also covers strategies to avoid misconduct allegations, addresses the implications of an informant's criminal history, and ensures a solid legal foundation with a focus on compliance with Florida’s Rachel’s Law (State Statute 914.28).

Learning Objectives: 

• Emphasis on the importance of developing and working informants
• Provide a comprehensive insight into the world of informants
• Emphasize informant recruiting fashions
• Set forth documentation requisites
• Ensure control mechanisms are in place
• Set forth the proper utilization of informants
• Establish a solid legal footing for working informants
• Procedures of a proper informant debrief
• Problems using informants
• Prevent legal and professional issues working with informants
• Avert allegations of misconduct
• Issues with prosecution from informant actions
• Informant criminal history
• RACHEL’S LAW – Florida State Statue 914.28

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX.  Officers in Region IX attend free of charge.

In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate   paperwork through their respective agencies.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Constitutional Policing and Ethics

Recent events have placed a spotlight on police practices, with many calling for enhanced training in Constitutional Policing. This full day (8-hour) course is designed to provide an introduction to the principles of Constitutional Law and Ethics that form the basis of Constitutional Policing.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to Constitutional Policing
• Constitutional Law
  • First Amendment Issues (Freedom of Speech and Press)
  • Fourth Amendment Issues (Reasonable Searches and Seizures)
  • Fifth Amendment Issues (Self-Incrimination and Due Process)
  • Sixth Amendment Issues (Right to Counsel at Critical Stages)
  • Fourteenth Amendment Issues (Equal Protection and Due Process)
• Constitutional Ethics
  • Implicit Bias in Policing
  • Professionalism
  • Constitutional Guardianship
• Putting it all together

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

 In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.  There is no free street parking.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Search Warrant Application and Execution

Topics Covered:

Fourth Amendment Searches Refresher 

Premises Search Warrant Application

•           Search Warrant Refresher

•           Establishing Probable Cause

•           Affidavit - The Probable Cause Triangle

Premises Search Warrant Execution

•           Knock and Announce

•           The Use of Ruse for Entry

•           Summers Detention

•           Frisking Occupants

•           Searching Occupants

Scope of Search

•           In the dwelling

•           Outbuildings

•           Automobiles

•           Containers belonging to third-parties

•           Plain View Seizures

This is a Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Trust-Funded Course for Region IX. Officers in Region IX attend free of charge. 

 In order to attend, all officers are required to process the appropriate paperwork through their respective agencies.

Parking is located at the Palm Avenue Garage located on the corner of 9th Ave and Nuccio Parkway. Please park on the student side of the garage.  There is no free street parking.

For more information, please contact: Scott Johnson sjohnson2@hccfl.edu  or 813.253.7952.

Iron-Sharpened Leadership and Resiliency Workshop

John L. Gronski, Major General (U.S. Army Retired) is founder and CEO of Leader Grove LLC, and a Leadership Fellow for the Association of The United States Army. John is a leadership consultant and trainer, an author, and an international and Fortune 500 speaker. His leadership and resiliency presentations feature inspirational stories and wisdom gained from his own leadership experience and the experience of others.

This will be an exciting and inspirational two-day course for aspiring leaders and those already in leadership positions within the   law enforcement community who want to sharpen their leadership skills and strengthen their resiliency.  All participants will receive a copy of the book “Iron Sharpened Leadership” and a certificate of training at the completion of the course.  The course will be interactive and will include small group breakout sessions.

John’s assistant instructor will be Sergeant Eric Diaz. Sergeant Diaz is retired from the Tampa Police Department and currently serves with the Tampa International Airport Police. Eric is an Army Veteran and a certified law enforcement trainer.

Course benefits include: