The Del City, Okla., Police Department received an award and special recognition after the entire command staff completed FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association training, which is both highly interactive and extremely demanding. The training consists of three programs and teaches the newest law enforcement concepts and practices.

While participating in all three programs is a noteworthy accomplishment by itself, Del City also stood out because the programs were completed by the department’s entire leadership team.

This trilogy series provides training for mid-level to upper-level officers in management concepts and practices that law enforcement leaders may encounter. One of the courses focuses on supervisor leadership, which is particularly for first-line supervisors and middle managers. The second course focuses on command leadership and prepares law enforcement leaders to take command positions. The third course focuses on executive leadership and is geared toward senior law enforcement executives.

Each of the three courses includes four and a half days of lectures in a classroom, including an interactive discussion on current topics and issues law enforcement faces.

In order to become an FBI-LEEDA host agency, a law enforcement agency must apply. Being chosen as a host agency is a highly competitive honor: Once chosen, the department, as the host agency, must provide a location for the training as well as provide arrangements for those traveling from other agencies for the training.

“Since I took over as chief of police in October 2022, I knew I wanted to be a host agency and bring FBI-LEEDA in to provide this valuable training,” Loyd Berger, Del City chief of police, explained. Due to his previous personal experience with the training, he knew it would be an invaluable resource for the department.

“The first course I took was the Command Leadership Institute hosted by Oklahoma City Police Department in 2016, when I was a major and in the role of patrol division commander for Del City Police Department,” Berger said. “The course was extremely valuable in helping me better understand and apply the techniques and principles they taught – subjects like evaluating employees, managing problem employees and so on. I knew after this week of training I wanted more of these courses to further my education and help me grow more in my career.”

Throughout his career, Berger had observed officers getting promoted into the supervisor ranks who had no experience or training on how to supervise or manage people. “I knew if I ever had the chance to make a change that I wanted to provide training and help supervisors to be successful.”

In July 2022, as deputy chief of police, he attended the FBI-LEEDA Internal Affairs Investigations course in Tulsa, Okla. That course covered conducting and managing police internal affairs investigations.

“The instructors for this course were highly experienced in the field and passionate about the material. It renewed my commitment to improving the training within the department.”

Loyd was appointed interim chief of police in September 2022, and one of his first tasks was to get Del City supervisors into the courses as soon as possible.

“I enrolled and attended the executive leadership and then the supervisor leadership in 2023, completing my trilogy series. After taking over as interim chief of police, another of my first major decisions was to move to Lexipol for the department policy and procedures. This was a huge shift from the old three-ring-binder-typed-on-a-typewriter policy and procedure manual that had been in place for 30-plus years.

“With the new policies and procedures, I made it highly recommended for officers who are or may be supervisors to attend this training. For my current administration of assistant chief, two majors and a community services captain, I ensured that they all enrolled in all the courses to set an example.”

By the end of 2023, Berger’s goal had been reached and the city had the distinct honor of FBI-LEEDA Executive Director Jacques Battiste coming to Del City to present the police department with a prestigious award in front of the city’s elected leaders. In June, the Del City Police Department was chosen to be the host agency for the FBI-LEEDA internal affairs investigations course, a weeklong course attended by law enforcement officers throughout Oklahoma and Kansas.

Del City will also be a host agency for the trilogy series in September.

“I would highly recommend the FBI-LEEDA training courses to any police department,” Berger emphasized. “This training is valuable in preparing law enforcement officers to enter leadership or for those who are already in leadership roles. It builds confidence and is a commitment to the officers they lead and the public they serve.”

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