Over the past few years, some officers have received their training at the expense of the Irvine Police Department and then have left the department to work for another law enforcement agency, thus giving no return to the department on the training costs. Some police departments are using the training contract to ensure that they will recover their training costs should an officer voluntarily leave the department before completing a minimum period of service to the department after the completion of training. Several California jurisdictions have successfully used the training contract. The training contract has been tested in court and found to be a valid management tool. Similar contracts are widely used in industry and in the military. Training contracts typically include a stated minimum employment term, the reimbursement obligation, credit for continuous employment, reimbursement upon termination, legal advice, and costs of a legal suit. The Irvine Police Department should use the training contract as a means of ensuring it will benefit from its training investment. Appended relevant articles and sample police training contracts.