# P1 Exclusive: Walking the walk



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Walking the walk



*Walking the Walk*
with Lt. John Bennett

_Credible: Worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy_

_Credibility: Something that takes considerable time and effort to achieve, but can be lost in an instant._
In my last article, Sensei versus instructor, I touched on credibility as part of an overall set of requirements that an officer must meet in order to become an effective trainer. But what is credibility and how does one earn it? 
Just being a truly effective police officer obviously requires a sizeable amount of credibility, both amongst your peers and the general public. The former is often referred to as 'professional' credibility and the latter is often referred to as 'street cred.' But how about credibility as an instructor or field-training officer, or what I refer to as 'trainer cred'? 
Arguably one of the biggest issues that any new law enforcement trainer (whether firearms, defensive tactics, FTO, etc) faces is credibility. Even more so is having credibility within one's own agency. As a popular saying goes, "You're never a prophet in your own land." But credibility, like respect, must be earned; it cannot be demanded or implied. To have earned credibility amongst your peers is one of the highest honors you can obtain as an instructor. The second, in my opinion, is having your trainees become more proficient than you due to the quality of your instruction. This is especially true with police officers that are by nature, highly suspicious and often times cynical.
But just how do you earn credibility? 
Your 'cred' as an instructor, trainer, etc, begins from the day you first became a police officer and stepped into the building on your first day of work. From how you performed in the academy and your field-training program to the day-to-day activities you undertook in your various roles (patrol, investigations, etc), you were being judged and evaluated by your peers and your supervisors. During this period, through conduct and deed, you were either building your resume' for future credibility as an instructor, or in some cases, undermining your chances altogether (a point, unfortunately, often lost on a few candidates). 
Once you become 'ordained' as a trainer, the first thing your peers (trainees) in your agency check to see is if you 'walked the walk' as a patrol officer/investigator. If so, you've got a good foundation on which to build as a trainer. If not, you've got a long row to hoe, as most of your message will be lost amidst questions over your character.
As a trainer, you must lead your troops by example. This means being professional in all that you do. For example, I admit to being somewhat neurotic when it comes to spelling. If you submit written work, whether reports or training bulletins, and the material is rife with spelling and glaring grammatical errors, you erode your own credibility as both an officer and instructor. I'm not even going to go into supervisors who sign off on those reports as acceptable.

Full Article: http://www.policeone.com/police-products/training/articles/1769384-P1-Exclusive-Walking-the-walk/


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## Kem25 (Aug 7, 2007)

the first thing your peers (trainees) in your agency check to see is if you ‘walked the walk’ as a patrol officer/investigator. If so, you’ve got a good foundation on which to build as a trainer. If not, you’ve got a long row to hoe, as most of your message will be lost amidst questions over your character.


The same thing is true for "brass". How many of us know of a Sgt./Lt./Capt. or Chief that were (and still are) afraid of their own shadow and never done a day of police work in their career.


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