Skill Development; Lifelong Study

I started my career in law enforcement over 30 years ago, and throughout that time I always sought out and attended training to improve myself and to add value to my agency and to the people in the community that I served. When I was a rookie Trooper, I put in for all the training I could get. DWI Enforcement, Drug Interdiction Training, EMT Training, Street Survival School, and many more. When I was interested in trying to make Detective and get into the Major Crime Squad I attended training such as Interview & Interrogation, Criminal and Psychological Profiling, Forensic Linguistics for Law Enforcement, Legal Issues for Criminal Investigations, and other such training. When I became a Sergeant I took classes on Leadership and Development, Crime Scene Management, and similar courses. Not only formal training classes, but reading books as well focused on the relevant topics too, and when the internet came along, online classes and more. Oh yeah, I even paid for some classes out of my own pocket and on my own time, it's THAT important to me. The point being is that even though I learned an awful lot through my experiences, I knew enough that I didn't know it all...and I still don't, which is why I still attend training, go to conferences, read books, and keep developing my skills. I still teach courses and I still attend them. If I attend a training course and I can take away just 3 or 4 key points that will improve myself or my performance, then it was a great investment. Even if I get only ONE new idea, it may be THAT ONE THING that will bring my next investigation to a successful end.

Maybe that will be the case with you as well...keep up the training!