The Training at MPPA is designed through a Pedagogy / Andragogy model which relies on the principles of Adult Learning and Experiential Learning. The aim of the Training is to develop capacities and competencies which ultimately impact field practice, service delivery and professional output of those who get trained. The basic objective remains developing the competencies of the human resources to the best utilization of their talent, skills intellectual and physical capabilities for living up to the professional standards of law enforcement and service delivery. Connect with the field practice and constant exposure to the field practice is the hallmark of the training design so as to ensure that only theoretical class room learning doesn’t limit the imagination and interpretation and agency of the trainees. Every effort is made to expose them to the field, to test and see that how what was taught in the class looks like what exists in the field, to enable them to compare, contrast, draw conclusions and define their inferences.

The KSA focused Approach: Knowledge Skills and Attitude Based Approach

The KSA: Knowledge Skills and Attitude Based Approach, are the three pillars of strength over which the entire structure and design of police training is based at MPPA. It is through these elements that each station of training gets guided and trainer work hard to design the training in such a manner that these elements get incorporated through a pedagogy which promotes Learning and self motivated involvement in holistic learning experience.

Knowledge Based Training Inputs

While KNOWLEDGE elements are considered the basic crux of the training, these elements get incorporated through Law, Procedure, Mandate, Academic Documents, Intellectual Resources, Policy and Practice based documents. Study material, presentations, reference documents, video and audio resources all are employed to incorporate knowledge elements to the best of the capabilities of the trainers and training managers. The lectures, power point presentations, simulated exercises, quizzes, learning games and other activity based learning modules are utilized for this purpose. Constant updation of learning material is done through the reference to latest sources of data on policing, legal documents, procedures, academic sources and other professional documents.

The Skills Based Training Inputs

The SKILLS elements are utilized as the basic context of a training which develops competencies, mainstreams professionalism, builds efficiency and improves service delivery at the outlets of police services at the organizational level and concentrates in achieving capable, confident and efficient professional at individual level. The impact of the training gets instrumentalized through skills sets learnt and practiced at the training center. This is done by using skill oriented training sessions in each of those modules and subjects of policing where the skills are essential to be learnt. Ranging from the hard skills of weapon handling, fire arms, mob control gadgets to computing skills, technical skills in digital technologies, to range of forensics from general forensics to medical forensics to cyber forensics where labs are used along with frequent exposure to the practice in the field, learning through inputs and simulation exercises conducted at the academy and followed by critical appreciation of frequent exposure to field where things get actually done.

Learning Labs, Simulations and Role Play Based Sessions

Critical evaluation of skills by actually doing and learning through doing or observing, makes a difference to the skills imbibed and later practiced once the officer lands in the field. Moot courts, Ideal Police Station Simulation, Investigation Simulation, Case Diary Simulation, Scene of Crime Simulations, Mob Control Simulation, VVIP Duty Simulation, Victim Relief Simulation, Interviewing Role Plays, Interrogation Role Plays, Victim Listening Role Play, Domestic Violence Response Role Plays, Disaster Relief Simulation, Ambush and Counter Ambush Role Play, Raiding a Premises Simulation, Raiding a Building Simulation are some of the Role Plays and Simulation used by the Trainers in the Academy.

Field Exposure for Learning and Observing Skills in Practice

The Simulations and Role Plays are basically geared to improve attitude and skills . These are supplement with the field visits to supplement their skills by exposure to the field practice and this is why field exposure and critical observations and participant observations are ensured. The field observations and participant observations include, VVIP Visit exposure duty participation, Police Station duty brief observation, police station festival duty observation, police station critical incident management observation, police station critical crime scene observation, first responder dial 100 vehicle duty participation, control room telecommunication participation, forensic science mobile lab incident management participation, digitization of police record in police station through CCTNS participation/observation, traffic control room visit and traffic duty management participation, cyber crime investigation cell exposure and participation in CDR analysis and use of the other investigational tools are some of the participation in field duties the trainees get skilled into –through actual participation in practice, which later get discussed and critically analyzed in the Academy sessions as well.

The Soft Skills Training Stations

The SOFT SKILLS training are another great area of focus for the academy. Communication skill development stations are frequently incorporated in the training where experts in house and from outside through corporate trainers and trainers from academic institutions are invited to hold workshops and exercises. Extempore speech, group discussion, debating , public speaking, announcement making, telecommunication stations, conflict situation communication, negotiation stations, crowd control communication, office meeting communication, daily force briefing communication, interrogation skills communication, investigative communication, interviewing skills communication and victim centered communication , help desk communication, first responder communication, listening skills are some of the skill oriented simulations and workstation which are performance based and performance evaluation based learning stations used in the training.

Attitude Based Training Approach

The Attitude based Training Approach is a cementing force which ties all the elements of training be it physical or outdoor training and be it the indoor and cognitive training. The Attitude towards the job the trainees have chosen to take up, the job roles would be assigned, the prejudices they carry and get indoctrinated into, the culture of the organization, the sub culture socialization of the trainees, the police reforms mandate, the police accountability mandates, the ethical standards and human rights norms to be observed, the professional acumen and professionalism to be managed are all the factors which hugely impact on the police service delivery and performance of individuals with the police organization. The MPPA takes this element of Attitude as a basic element of Training – not only in terms of WHAT is being taken up for training, but by WHOM and most importantly HOW it is being taken up through a learning activity- conceived, designed and delivered through the structure, curriculum and trainer competencies and trainer attitudes. The center state of Attitudinal Dimension of the training is the person and personality of the police officer being trained, especially the recruit officer who is new to the job and the environment built in the academy to impart such training through the personality and orientation of the trainers, training managers and all those who are involved in the training. Therefore the Attitudinal training considers the context of the Trainees, the Context of the Trainers and the Training Environment built around the training and in the Training Academy , which must be motivating, inspiring and value based.

The Attitude Based Training Context

Since the major thrust of the academy is on civilian police training – the Attitudinal element of training concentrates on democratic policing, police service delivery, investigation and its professionalism, victim justice service delivery, citizen orientation, high sense of ethical orientation, rights realization, service delivery to the under-served, empathy building in attitude, appreciation of social and economic disparities, gender, class, culture, religion and other sources of disparities and justice, appreciation of the role of principled neutrality and proactive approach in managing human security and addressing access to justice issues amidst vulnerabilities and maintaining abstinence from subcultures of corruption and malpractice.

Attitude, Ethics and Values as Basic to Training Design and Delivery

Attitude and Values are taken as important and essential aspect of all Training and Learning Activities. These training benchmarks are incorporated through the following three elements:

1. Training must be Value Oriented and considered as Essential to All Training Sessions Training at MPPA is designed in such a manner as to incorporate attitudinal dimension of each training subject and all training activities undertaken. These training activities are planned as to include the values to be imparted and values which must be considered essential dimension of the training subject to be involved in the learning activity and training objective to be achieved. The Ethics are a value based objective which prevails over each subject or training activity undertaken. This could be illustrated with an example of weapon training practiced in the Academy where ethics of the use of weapons in public service and for public safety without undue dominance and free of notions of power abuse are intertwined, as ethical and attitudinal dimensions of skills of weapon handling while at the same time mainstreaming fire arm safety attitudes to be imbibed along with weapon safety handling techniques/drills and skills. These are also practiced in all training stations whether physical training or cognitive training, wherever skills and knowledge elements are used attitude and values are incorporated into the basic training design.
2. Specialized Attitudinal, Values Based and Behavioral/Soft Skills Training Modules The soft skills training modules include essential and elaborate inclusion of Attitude, Ethics and Values based modules. They are part of the basic training syllabi of DSP, SI and constable basic training with very high proportion of marks allocated for these dimensions in order to highlight and emphasize the importance of these elements in police training, as prescribed by training branch of the MP police headquarters. Apart from these modules, there are specialized in-service courses designed for regular employees for mainstreaming ethics, values and carefully nurtured appropriate attitudinal dimension of public service, justice orientation and ethics. The incorporation of courses like –Anti-Prejudice and Attitude Training for Law Enforcement Officers, Building Appropriate Attitudes for Gender Justice, Appropriate Attitude for Public Service, Ethics of Public Service, Social Laws and their Enforcement related Capacity Building, Addressing Vulnerabilities of Weaker Sections of the Society through Effective Law Enforcement, Equality and Justice Issues in Law Enforcement, Ethics of Law Enforcement, Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills with Ethics, Accountability and Attitude in Democratic Policing, Appropriate Attitude for ensuring Access to Justice, Empathy and Sympathy as Dimensions of Law Enforcement, Appropriate Attitude for Effective Police Communication, Leadership and Internal Organizational Issues related to Attitude and Ethics , Motivation and Attitude in Policing and Public Service etc are elements of the courses designed and developed through the MP Police Academy .
3. Ethical Orientation and Accountability Realization must transcend each training station. The Public Service ethics and accountability issues are incorporated as essential elements in each course design and each training delivery station of the Academy. All major training programs whether long term; like the basic training of DSP, SI, ASI (M) and constables and all shorter training programs like promotion related, induction and refresher training along with very short training capsules, all must have accountability and ethical orientation- it is ensured at the training design level. Accountability towards law, society and citizens are ingrained into training sessions , learning exercises, testing stations, training games, cultural activities and community activities planned and informal discussions organized by the academy. This is done to mainstream accountability issues through interesting pedagogy, which is based on long term impact on the thinking patterns of the trainees. Similarly Ethics and questioning the ethical objective of each police action is built into critical analysis based training pedagogy which bases it self on the context of policing actions, their legal sanctity, community connect and individual responsibility. These pedagogies of questioning and course correction through case study based modules makes a great difference to mainstreaming ethical dimension and attitudinal orientation of the police trainees. There are number of ethical training games, accountability testing methodologies and exercises and informal and formal discussion forums along with artistic and cultural events which incorporate such elements in an interesting and throught provoking manner in order to have a long term impact on the intellect and emotions of the trainees and their world view.