All members of the Harlan Police Department have been trained in a variety of areas ranging from law enforcement basic training to criminal justice executive development. Members of the agency, upon completion of basic training through the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Richmond, KY, are required to complete the minimum of 40 hours in-service training annually. Annual in-service training has to be approved by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council.

  The Law Enforcement Basic Training Course consists of a minimum of 754 hours of instruction over and 18-week period. The course, designed for the recruit level officer, includes instruction in topics such as Collision Investigation, Law, Patrol, Vehicle Operations, Firearms, Criminal Investigations, Defensive Tactics, Physical Fitness, First-Aid/CPR, DUI Enforcement, Telecommunications, Practical Exercises, Homeland Security and Spanish.

  Basic Training utilizes a modular format. Upon successful completion of a Training Module, recruits will demonstrate their knowledge by completing increasingly difficult written exams and practical scenarios. These modules are: Theft, Warrant/Disorder, Traffic Stops, Crimes Against Property, and Crimes Against Persons.

  Recruits must comply with all administrative regulations and successfully complete all training areas to be eligible for graduation.

  The Criminal Justice Executive Development Program is structured for the small to medium size law enforcement agency administrators and managers. The purpose is to provide students with contemporary theories, management techniques, and leadership skills enabling them to perform more effectively and efficiently in their positions as community leaders.

  The law enforcement functional areas that will be addressed are: problem identification, analysis and solving, personnel administration, leadership operations and fiscal management, and executive and environmental relationships. The program requires a high level of motivation, completion of projects related to their agency, and the commitment to complete the program. It is designed to expose the administrator and manager to a challenging and rewarding educational experience.

  The program consists of 204 hours of instruction over a five-week period.

  Officers of the Harlan Police Department have also been trained in the following areas of technical, human or conceptual skills: Basic Training, Breath Test Operator, Mandatory Training By Video Tape, Breath Test Operator Re-certification, Crime Scene Investigations, DUI/Standardized Field Sobriety, School Resource Officer, Orientation for New Police Chiefs, Patrol/Traffic Skills Revisited, Leadership for the New Century, Managing the Marginal Employee, Public and Police Safety Advanced, CJIS Mobile Data Terminal Access, Command Decisions XXXIII, CJIS - Inquiry Only – In-Service, Firearms Instructor, Beyond a Traffic Ticket, Interview & Interrogations, Conducting Complete Traffic Stops, Domestic Violence, Academy of Police Supervision, Undercover Narcotics, Police Radar/Lidar Operator, Introduction to Narcotics, Less-Lethal Response by Law Enforcement, Field Training Officer I, Covert Drug Operations, Basic Accident Investigation, Traffic Accident Investigation (ADV), Vehicle Collision Investigation, Vehicle Collision Investigation II, Vehicle Collision Investigation III, Legal Update: Penal Code, Legal Update: Constitutional Procedure, Basic Hostage Negotiations, Basic Narcotics Investigators (DEA), Incident Management & Hazardous Material, Hazardous Materials Operations, Hazardous Materials Technician, ASP Instructor Certification, DARE Instructor Course, Basic Response to Crisis Situations, Homicide Investigative Techniques, Background Investigations, Grant Writing for the Practitioner, Methamphetamine Update, Evidence & Property Management, Ethics: Force, Complaints & Profiling, Kentucky Homeland Security, Criminal Justice Executive Development Academy and many others.

  Telecommunicators of the Harlan Police Department have also been trained in the following areas of technical, human or conceptual skills: Telecommunications In-Service VII, Telecommunications In-Service VIII, Telecommunications In-Service IX, Telecommunications In-Service X, Telecommunications In-Service XII, Emergency, Medical Dispatch, Back to Basics, Caller Interview, Special Needs Caller, Customer Service, Teambuilding, Telecommunications Response to Mass Casualty Incident, Crisis Negotiations, Medical Needs Callers, Family Violence Across the Life Span, Telecommunications Basic Academy for Non-Terminal Agencies, and many others.

  There is a great deal of diversity among the levels and types of training, education, and experience of the individuals of the Harlan Police Department. This diversity allows the members of our agency to better meet the needs of the members of the community.