Volume 15, Edition 1Conference Edition
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ILEETA Journal Archive
2025
Volume 15 | Training knowledge worth preserving
Volume 15 of The ILEETA Journal captures a year of practical insight for law enforcement trainers, academy instructors, field training officers, supervisors, and public safety educators. Across the 2025 editions, authors explore use of force, firearms training, decision-making, instructor development, AI, de-escalation, wellness, corrections, leadership, and evidence-based police training.
A note for today’s reader: These articles are preserved in their original historical setting. Law, policy, technology, terminology, medical knowledge, and training practice may have changed. Read the complete article, then compare it with current authority before applying its recommendations.
Volume 15, Edition 1Conference Edition
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Volume 15, Edition 2Spring 2025
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Volume 15, Edition 3Fall 2025
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Volume 15, Edition 4Winter 2025
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Volume 15, Edition 1
Conference Edition 2025
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The Conference Edition highlights articles tied to the 2025 ILEETA Conference and Expo, with strong emphasis on use of force, firearms training, instructor development, artificial intelligence, decision-making, officer wellness, and training culture.
Featured reading
5 lbs. of Pressure: OIS Incident Training and the Aftermath
Abstract: Davis examines officer-involved shooting training, post-incident response, legal articulation, body-worn camera interpretation, and the internal and external pressures officers may face after a deadly force encounter. This article is especially useful for firearms instructors, use-of-force trainers, supervisors, and agency leaders building training that prepares officers not only for the incident itself, but also for the investigative, administrative, legal, and public scrutiny that may follow.
Topics: Officer-Involved Shootings; Use of Force; Legal Articulation; Firearms Training; Body-Worn Camera Review
Citation: Davis, K. R. (2025). 5 lbs. of pressure: OIS incident training and the aftermath. The ILEETA Journal, 15(1), 15-16.
Mastering Training Documentation with AI Assistance
Abstract: Avery explores how artificial intelligence can support police training documentation, lesson plan development, learning objectives, assessment writing, and scenario design. The article frames AI as a tool that can improve instructor efficiency while still requiring professional judgment, ethical use, and human oversight. For law enforcement educators exploring AI in training, this article offers a practical starting point for improving documentation without surrendering instructional responsibility.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; Training Documentation; Lesson Plans; Instructional Design; Police Instructor Development
Citation: Avery, K. (2025). Mastering training documentation with AI assistance. The ILEETA Journal, 15(1), 34-35.
Volume 15, Edition 2
Spring 2025
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The Spring Edition focuses on the evolution of law enforcement training, including de-escalation, artificial intelligence, international police training, corrections, communication, burnout, imposter syndrome, and use-of-force decision-making.
Featured reading
From Crisis to Calm: De-escalation as an Outcome in Policing and Public Service
Abstract: Scholz reframes de-escalation as an outcome rather than a checklist of techniques. For police trainers, this article supports a more practical approach to communication training by emphasizing professionalism, sincerity, emotional control, and behavior that reduces volatility when possible. It is especially relevant for academy instructors, crisis communication trainers, field training officers, and supervisors seeking to teach de-escalation as an integrated operational skill.
Topics: De-escalation Training; Communication; Crisis Response; Police Professionalism; Public Service
Citation: Scholz, J. (2025). From crisis to calm: De-escalation as an outcome in policing and public service. The ILEETA Journal, 15(2), 25-28.
Moving Fast or Moving Forward? AI’s Challenge to Training Design
Abstract: Avery addresses the growing pressure to adopt artificial intelligence in law enforcement training while warning against speed without purpose. The article encourages police instructors to think carefully about instructional design, learning outcomes, content quality, and the role of human expertise when using AI tools. It is valuable for training managers and academy staff trying to modernize training without allowing technology to replace sound educational practice.
Topics: AI in Police Training; Training Design; Instructional Technology; Learning Outcomes; Instructor Development
Citation: Avery, K. (2025). Moving fast or moving forward? AI’s challenge to training design. The ILEETA Journal, 15(2), 32-33.
Volume 15, Edition 3
Fall 2025
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The Fall Edition emphasizes training that works, with articles exploring human factors, competency-based training, learning transfer, policy testing, low-light training, biofeedback, leadership, and evidence-informed instructional practice.
Featured reading
What’s Wrong With Your Training?
Abstract: Wolfe challenges traditional block and silo training models by highlighting research on skill decay, retention, and transfer. The article argues that academy and in-service training must move toward integrated, scenario-based practice that connects skills rather than isolating them. For police instructors, this piece offers a direct call to improve evidence-based training, testing, curriculum design, and long-term officer performance.
Topics: Evidence-Based Police Training; Skill Retention; Scenario-Based Training; Academy Training; Learning Transfer
Citation: Wolfe, D. (2025). What’s wrong with your training? The ILEETA Journal, 15(3), 13-14.
Threat Error Management: From Aviation to Law Enforcement
Abstract: Snelling adapts aviation’s Threat and Error Management framework for law enforcement training. The article helps instructors think systematically about threats, errors, undesired outcomes, pre-briefing, scenario design, communication, and non-punitive debriefing. For trainers working on officer safety, firearms, patrol tactics, supervision, or critical decision-making, TEM offers a useful structure for identifying predictable risks before they compound in the field.
Topics: Threat and Error Management; Officer Safety; Human Factors; Scenario Training; Decision-Making
Citation: Snelling, T. (2025). Threat error management: From aviation to law enforcement. The ILEETA Journal, 15(3), 18-19.
Volume 15, Edition 4
Winter 2025
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The Winter Edition closes the year with articles on training standards, decision-making, cognitive overload, student-centered feedback, tactical Spanish, corrections innovation, suicide prevention, tactical wellness, and fire investigation.
Featured reading
Checkbox Training: The Norm in Law Enforcement Training
Abstract: Fletcher critiques compliance-driven police training that prioritizes completion records over performance, retention, and real-world competence. The article challenges instructors to confront cognitive bias, leave their regional training “fishbowl,” pursue meaningful instructor development, and build training that does more than satisfy a policy requirement. It is highly relevant for police trainers, academy leaders, and agencies seeking to move from checkbox training to performance-based training.
Topics: Checkbox Training; Police Instructor Development; Training Culture; Learning Retention; Performance-Based Training
Citation: Fletcher, T. (2025). Checkbox training: The norm in law enforcement training. The ILEETA Journal, 15(4), 12-14.
Skills & Decision-Making: On Purpose, By Design
Abstract: Johnsgaard argues that decision-making should not be added after skill training, it should drive skill development from the beginning. The article explains how context, cue recognition, representative design, variability, and emotional regulation help officers connect tactics to real-world conditions. For law enforcement trainers, this article provides a practical framework for designing scenario-based training that improves adaptability, judgment, and transfer.
Topics: Decision-Making; Representative Design; Scenario-Based Training; Skill Development; Police Training Transfer
Citation: Johnsgaard, J. (2025). Skills & decision-making: On purpose, by design. The ILEETA Journal, 15(4), 15-17.