NTSB Training Center
Article Type: Policing on the web From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 32, Issue 2
Since before the turn of the new millennium, the field of policing has seen an increased interest in the areas of disaster response and disaster investigation. This increased interest is demonstrated by the various levels of public safety agencies purchasing disaster response equipment, sending their officers for disaster response training, developing tactical plans for effectively managing disasters, and organizing/participating in disaster relief drills.
The National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency created in 1967, responded to the growing interest in disaster response and investigation by establishing the NTSB Training Center on the campus of George Washington University in Ashburn, Virginia. The mission of the NTSB Training Center, which opened in August 2003, is to provide training not only for NTSB investigators, but also to “others from the transportation community”[1]in the attempt to improve the practice of transportation-related accident investigations. The NTSB Training Center’s web site (www.ntsb.gov/TC) is an excellent resource for any law enforcement agency seeking information regarding transportation-related accident investigation or disaster response.
The primary resource offered by the NTSB Training Center is its information concerning the various courses offered at the center. For example, according to the 2009 training schedule, the NTSB Training Center will offer courses in the investigation of aircraft accidents, accident investigations involving buses/motorcoaches, accident investigations involving rail transportation, the use of cognitive interviewing techniques to gather information from witnesses at accident sites, various photography techniques for use in documenting transportation-related accidents, and communications management during an aircraft disaster. Each of the courses emphasize the importance of hands-on training, and are taught by NTSB staff and outside experts. However, according to the NTSB Training Center’s web site, admission to any course offered is done on a course-by-course basis, and admission to some courses are limited to attendees from specific agencies or types of agencies.
A second resource available through the NTSB Training Center’s web site is the Journal of Accident Investigation. This journal, published by the National Transportation Safety Board, provides a forum for disseminating information regarding accident investigations of all sorts (including land-based, marine, aircraft, and rail-based transportation). Topics included in the most recent issue of the journal include investigative techniques, using animations to supplement accident investigations, an introduction to the flight data recorder, and the investigation of large-size school buses.
Overall, for agencies seeking to train their officers in transportation-related accident disaster response and/or investigation, or for those wishing to simply learn more about a related topic, the web site of the NTSB Training Center is an excellent resource to consult.
J.W. Carter IICollege of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
In fact, according to the NTSB Training Center’s website, the majority of the various training course attendees are from outside the NTSB.
