The 2024 International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) Conference, held from March 18-23 in St. Louis, Missouri, was another resounding success. If you’re a trainer, you owe it to yourself and the people you train to join ILEETA and attend this event. Trainers from all over the world traveled to the Union Station Hotel to share information, techniques and tactics. To paraphrase noted trainer Jason Der, ILEETA is a trainer’s buffet.
Honoring excellence: The 2024 ILEETA Trainer-of-the-Year
The week started with an information-filled opening ceremony that included honoring the 2024 ILEETA Trainer-of-the-Year, Dr. Bill Lewinski from Force Science. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years, I’m sure you know about Dr. Lewinski. But just in case, here’s a short recap: He is a leading behavioral scientist whose work has focused on the intensive study of human dynamics involved in high-stress, life-threatening encounters. Dr. Lewinski holds a Ph.D. in Police Psychology and is a professor emeritus of Law Enforcement at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught for more than 28 years and served as an LE Program Director and chair of the Department of Government. His research has impacted law enforcement officers and agencies worldwide, revolutionizing the way use of force investigations and training are conducted.
The Emerson Hour: Insights and inspiration
The day concluded with one of the highlights of the ILEETA Conference, The Emerson Hour. Ralph Waldo Emerson was known to greet friends with the question, “What has become clear to you since we last met?” Each year, there are six Emerson Hour speakers, each with nine minutes to answer this question without the use of PowerPoint, video, or other visual aids. Participants are kept a secret, with only the moderator, Joe Willis, aware of who will be speaking. This year, Kerry Mensior, Ken Murray, Angelic Huth, Von Kliem, Darrell Burton and Joe Willis spoke, each delivering an energetic and uplifting message.
Exploring the Expo: Cutting-edge tools and connections
I spent most of Tuesday and part of Wednesday morning visiting with vendors at the 2024 ILEETA Expo. It featured over 125 vendors showcasing everything from firearms and firearm accessories to clothing, duty belt gear, training mats and the newest virtual reality training simulators. I recorded some short videos highlighting a few of their products and services, and I hope you check those out. This aspect of the conference is invaluable because it provides an opportunity for instructors to make connections with the people who supply our equipment, ultimately benefiting our departments, our officers, and our programs.
Unparalleled training opportunities
The classes presented at the 2024 ILEETA Conference & Expo were exceptional. These sessions are raising the bar in law enforcement training and tactics. In total, 714 attendees had the opportunity to choose from 270 class sessions, including four different armorer classes, 11 instructor certification classes, and eight live-fire classes. Trainers from across the United States and Canada attended, with six of them participating through scholarships that covered their expenses. Additionally, we were joined by trainers from Ukraine, Australia, Cameroon, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Truly the cream of the crop from all around the world.
Class highlights: Innovating law enforcement training
A few class highlights for me from this year’s conference included a fantastic session by Myles Cook called “O.D.T.: The End of ‘The Way We’ve Always Done It.’” This class was a knowledge bomb on how the Regional Law Enforcement Academy at Walters State in Tennessee is using objective-driven training to increase student performance in physical training, firearms training and scenario modules. This thought-provoking session illustrated how the way we think about a problem is often the problem itself. Myles demonstrated how reframing the problem and asking what we might be missing could lead to the best solution.
For example, if an instructor is trying to implement changes in their department’s training program but encounters resistance from a training manager, the problem might not be the updated training program but the manager creating the bottleneck. Instead of pushing the change through with increasing frustration, the best approach might be to convince the manager to change. It was a great class that has already led to some changes in how I design my curriculum.
Joe Willis presented a leadership class called “Be that Leader Now.” He drew on his leadership experience from the United States Army and adapted it for law enforcement trainers and supervisors. This class involved significant self-assessment, with each student defining the leadership values important to them personally. We then transformed those values from abstract concepts like honesty and competence into specific behaviors we want to embody to put those values into action. Actions truly do speak louder than words. According to Joe, the class was designed to challenge each student to relentlessly pursue a better self and inspire others to do the same. Mission accomplished.
Kerry Mensior from the International De-escalation Association presented a class titled “But I Use Adult Learning Principles! (What You’re Still Missing).” This class was developed to help instructors understand how the brain processes information so they can communicate with students more effectively. Kerry provided attendees with specific exercises and examples that could be seamlessly integrated into their existing curriculum. He is a master of combining the ideal amount of entertainment, drama, music, body language and storytelling to get his message across, and in this class, he shared each of these tips.
Engaging range training: Making basics fun
On Friday afternoon, I presented a live-fire range class called “Basics Don’t Have to be Boring.” When many officers hear they’re going to be working on the fundamentals of marksmanship, they often think it’s going to be boring. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, if instructors want their information and skill development to stick, they need to be both informative and entertaining. Once instructors make an emotional connection between their drills and the students, and once the students are having fun in training, officers will learn more, enjoy their time on the range and retain their skills better. This class used several different drills to achieve this goal. In addition to having officers from all over the United States and several from Canada, I was honored to host four Ukrainian officers and their interpreters.
Looking forward to 2025
When people ask me why I’m always excited to attend the ILEETA Conference, I tell them it’s because I’m the worst house in the best neighborhood. The 2024 ILEETA Conference was no exception. Hopefully, some of the solutions, experiences and wisdom from the smart people in the best houses rubbed off on me. There were non-stop training opportunities from the moment we arrived at the hotel until it was time to leave. Jason Der is correct when he calls the ILEETA Conference a trainer’s buffet. I’m already looking forward to the 2025 ILEETA Conference & Expo from March 23-29, 2025. It promises to be another amazing event that will change the lives of the people we train.
