An evaluation of the Emergency Response Week curriculum

Abstract

Purpose

Police recruits need to be prepared the moment they graduate from the police academy for any type of situation. It is during the initial recruit training phase at the police academy where police recruits need to learn about terrorism and how to respond to a terrorism incident. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the Emergency Response Week portion of the Chicago Police Academy's recruit curriculum was adequate and provided Chicago Police Department recruits with adequate knowledge of terrorism awareness and the skills necessary to respond to a terrorism incident.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive research was used with a non‐experimental fixed design, along with quantitative survey research.

Findings

The results indicated that the Chicago Police Department recruit curriculum in Emergency Response Week was perceived as above adequate by Chicago Police Department recruits. Additionally, the Chicago Police Department recruits perceived their knowledge concerning terrorism awareness and their skill levels concerning responding to a terrorism incident as above adequate following completion of Emergency Response Week.

Originality/value

Previous researchers mostly examined the breadth of police recruit curricula, which has left a need for an in‐depth knowledge base. This research paper probed deeply into the satisfaction of the Emergency Response Week curriculum at the Chicago Police Department Recruit Academy and narrowed the focus from previous studies.

Citation

Sedevic, M.T. (2012), "An evaluation of the Emergency Response Week curriculum", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 438-457. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639511211250730