Safety and Training
Safety and Training Select, Train, & Educate
The nuts and bolts of both the Patrol's training efforts and its safety education program are the responsibility of the Patrol's Safety and Training Program crew. These officers also oversee the selection process for new recruits and coordinate the promotional testing process for supervisory positions.
In 2006, Safety and Training officers provided about 600 hours of safety education programs that reached an audience of an estimated 15,000 people.
Important safety programs include:
- the Seatbelt Survivor program which regularly acknowledges individuals who survive crashes because they are buckled up;
- the Li'l Convincer program, which uses a simple mechanical device to show youngsters how effective seat belts are in restraining them;
- the very successful REDDI program, which has, for the better part of the past two decades, encouraged individuals to report apparent drunk drivers to the patrol or local law agencies;
- a rollover simulator; and
- creation of a number of highway-safety documentaries.
Two recent documentaries that address the drunk-driving and seat belt safety issues and which were produced by the patrol and WYDOT's Highway Safety Program and Public Affairs Office not only have garnered national awards but have been in such demand that hundreds of additional copies have been produced for distribution across the entire country.
In the area of training, the officers are responsible for much of what goes on every time a new patrol recruit class undergoes up to 28 weeks of mandatory training in the academy setting. Recruit classes, scheduled as the need for new officers arises, recently have occurred at least two to three times a year.
In addition, Safety and Training officers provide training for both WHP officers and for representatives of other Wyoming law agencies in a range of advanced subject areas, as well as in the basic training areas of radar use, DUI enforcement, drug interdiction and enforcement, crash investigation techniques and emergency vehicle operations.
