Institute of Police Technology and Management instructors lead a field crash exercise.
THIRTY highway safety officers from the Department of Public Safety -- including four from the Guam Police Department and two from the American Samoa Department of Public Safety -- recently completed an 80-hour traffic crash/traffic homicide investigation course on Friday.
The certification presentation for the officers was held in the Taga Conference Room of Aqua Resort Club on Friday.
Two instructors from the Institute of Police Technology and Management or IPTM conducted the course.
One IPTM instructor, Roman Serrano, said the Level 1 class taught highway traffic officers how to reconstruct vehicle crash incidents on roads and highways.
"This 80-hour course, conducted over two weeks at 40 hours per week, starts with the basics," Serrano said. "We cover Newton's laws of motion, basic physics, and some math, beginning with foundational concepts and gradually expanding to algebra, trigonometry, and applied physics as they progress."
The course also includes hands-on field exercises. "Officers conduct road testing, including acceleration and skid tests, to identify and measure tire marks and calculate vehicle speeds in collisions," Serrano said. "They also perform hands-on vehicle inspections at a junkyard, checking tires and taking measurements for crash investigations. Additionally, officers draw scaled diagrams of intersections after measuring the roadway in the field, which we then grade for accuracy."
Serrano noted that participants applied math principles to real-world case scenarios. "This course provides the basic investigative skills needed for minor crashes. It serves as a stepping stone before officers advance to Level 2 training in our three-class series," he added.
IPTM is a Direct Support Organization of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Established in 1980, IPTM is a self-supporting, not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the skills and effectiveness of law enforcement professionals. Its mission is to deliver cost-effective, cutting-edge instruction that supports safer, more effective policing across the nation and around the world.