factor is the quality of classroom and experiential training the deputies
receive: “The process in place here for curriculum development design is
well advanced. If there's a course that needs to be developed, we approach
the Court Services Branch to fund the design by professionals in the rele-
vant areas rather than relying on our small in-house staff.’

Among the advanced programs offered is Command Level Incident
Management, which introduces principles that prepare candidates—sher-
iffs, police officers and others—to manage planned or reactionary incidents
requiring additional resources. Various threat management and response
planning courses have been developed by the Academy and offered to both
private- and public-sector organizations. These include Introduction to
Protective Intelligence and Threat Assessment and Operational Response
Planning for high-security or high-profile events.

Because deputy sheriffs face on-the-job risk, they receive basic and
advanced training in practical physical skills. One course, for instance,
instructs them in the handling of, and marksmanship with, semi-automatic
pistols. Each year, the grads return for two half-day shooting range prac-
tices and one re-qualification session. Another course teaches fundamental
driving proficiency and advanced skills such as motorcade driving at the
Institute's Pacific Traffic Education Centre driving track.

Crowd management is increasingly important in controversial
trials that attract public demonstrations, sometimes involving hundreds of
protesters, which can escalate to violent incidents. The Institute teaches the
deputies how to use teamwork, control tactics and protective equipment to
remove or defuse a crisis in the making, shield people in danger and defend
against property damage. One special course trains them in the intelligent,
measured use of stun guns during the most threatening situations. Proper
employment of these stun guns is all the more vital given the number of
reported stun gun-related deaths across North America.

The Institute’s Emergency Management Division offers deputies
a course in the Incident Command System (ICS), outlined by the B.C.
Emergency Response Management System. ICS is the model for command,
control and coordination of emergency response on-site that involves many
agencies at a time.

The Courts Academy also trains the trainers through an Instructor
Training Development Program for deputy sheriffs who want to teach
there. Candidates—those who seek to improve their knowledge base and
want to help others learn—take a one-week instructional skills course,
then participate in a mentorship program and eventually become certified
instructors. They not only work for the Academy, but also stay active in field
operations within the B.C. Sheriff Services. The Coaching Techniques for
Field Trainers course is geared to develop the coaching and mentoring skills
needed for a field-based training program.

and attempted to take over a car, but was tackled
by the sheriff and arrested. Under cross-exam-
ination, the student's memory faltered and he
didn't have his notebook with him. Even though
he was a little unnerved when asked if he knew
that the accused was trying to enter his mother's
car since she was there to pick him up, he quickly
recovered and said it was unlikely that someone
would try to pull his mother out of a car. In the
end, though, he had to admit he forgot to read
the accused his rights when arresting him, so the
verdict was an acquittal.

Both the instructors have learned their
courtroom skills by watching counsel at work
before provincial court judges aiid before ju-
ries. The Program Coordinator, too, has picked
up most of her knowledge of the law the same
way. The deputy sheriffs will spend most of their
time supervising court participants but, on occa-
sion, may be called as witnesses if they've had
to arrest someone. Today, they all admitted to
being slightly unsettled watching a story come
apart under cross-examination. They knew it was
a simulation and the counsel were instructors,
but they also knew that in a real situation a mo-
ment of forgetfulness or a failure to follow correct
procedures will result in an acquittal. It’s a lesson
they won't forget easily.