Law Enforcement Training in Southeast Asia: A Theory-Driven Evaluation

This evaluation assesses an international law enforcement training program designed to aid law enforcement officials in combating international crime. Analyses of data from a sample of 214 participants across four training cohorts showed that favorable reaction was adequate to very adequate, their knowledge increased significantly, commitment to knowledge use remained moderately high, and their use of the training positively influenced individual on-the-job behavior six months later. Contrary to expectations, agency-level training transfer in the form of adoption of law enforcement methods and collaboration assessed six months after the training did not increase, although inter-country collaboration in the training cohort following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the USA did increase. Also, the extent of favorable participant reactions to the training did not necessarily lead to increased learning and training transfer. Implications of the study results provide guidance to the development of law enforcement training curricula and the monitoring and evaluation of training programs.