Professional development is important in every occupational field; however, as leaders of a profession that centers on response to the public, it is crucial for law enforcement command staff to not only prepare their officers for fieldwork, but also track their behaviors while responding to calls for service.

The policing profession is undergoing a larger change than has been seen in many years; therefore, police executives must be aware of these changes to pass along to their staff. Traditionally, police training has been coordinated offline via paper-based systems or spreadsheets to manage personnel credentials, a process that unfortunately let some individuals or trainings fall through the cracks. Many agencies were responsible for developing their own training content as well.

Companies have noticed these issues and are transforming the training environment through online program and software solutions.

Management Software

Accountability is a major aspect of today’s policing profession. One way that police leaders can hold their staff accountable is by using performance management software.

For over two decades, the Bloomington, Indiana–based Envisage Technologies has worked with law enforcement to establish best practices and overcome unique challenges as the profession continues to evolve. Envisage Technologies’ Acadis Readiness Suite (Acadis) is a comprehensive public safety training and compliance software platform for officer performance management, as well as use-of-force reports and cases, decertification, and analytics.

Acadis measures readiness to respond to calls for service by automating complex, high-risk training and compliance operations. The suite also increases accuracy and effectiveness across every level of critical incident response by consolidating information about personnel and resources.

Designed specifically for the demands of public safety and military agencies, Acadis is a modular system featuring a total of 22 modules that range from training and LMS management to internal affairs case management, inventory, and testing and compliance. The purpose-built system empowers agencies to address major challenges like managing misconduct and use-of-force among police officers by quickly disseminating training and policies, testing officers on training and observed skills, and tracking whether each officer has completed the necessary courses and certifications.¹ Because these options are offered within one system, police leaders can get a more comprehensive picture of each individual’s competencies and training.

In addition to modernizing training operations, Acadis provides traditional classroom instruction tracking and written assessments, ensuring a complete and detailed training record for agencies and individuals regardless of the method of training delivery.

In October 2020, SmartForce—based out of Greenwood Village, Colorado—introduced SmartIA, a mobile software application used by professional standards units for improving performance; reducing liability; and increasing integrity, accountability, and transparency with the communities their agencies serve. The internal affairs software solution for law enforcement automates the reporting requirements to the FBI Use-of-Force National Data Collection, includes an early intervention system, and develops robust data-driven reports to share internally or transparently with the community.

“With the advent of SmartIA, supervisors can truly be proactive with a near real-time dashboard of officers close to or hitting a tipping point of risk,” said Brian McGrew, vice president of sales, marketing, and success.²

Command staff can configure an “Early Intervention Tipping Point” based on documented reports so that incidents are automatically displayed, and officers can be ranked based on risk. If an officer meets or exceeds the established tipping point, interventions to improve officer wellness and reduce liability can easily be documented.

SmartIA provides user-friendly complaint, commendation, pursuits, and crash templates to quickly document incidents. Because these reports are completed in one system, agency leaders can more thoroughly mine that data to better decide whether additional departmental or individual training is needed and in what areas.³

SmartForce also has a program called SmartComms Plus, a mobile software application used to share information more efficiently, increase productive policing, make better use of supervisor hours, and improve crime reduction results. This online platform acts as an organizational central hub by organizing and visualizing information and tracking the progress being made on crime projects, community engagement, training, and administrative needs. Command, patrol, investigations, and specialty units can disseminate and virtually collaborate on information so that knowledge transference and employee actions occur more quickly.

Training Programs

Once police executives have identified who on their staff may need additional training, the next step is to offer the appropriate educational program.

Agency leaders can look to both companies and associations to fulfill their training needs. For instance, in addition to its acclaimed leadership training programs like Leadership in Police Organizations and the Women’s Leadership Institute, the IACP offers webinars, videos, and online learning in numerous subject areas.

IACP’s online LMS, IACPlearn, offers online access to live and on-demand general education resources, trainings, webinars, and conference workshops. Registration on the site is open to all police professionals and many of the education opportunities are available to both IACP members and nonmembers. From current hot topics like COVID-19 and crowd management to ongoing concerns such as human trafficking, the opioid epidemic, trauma-informed policing, and more, IACPlearn’s catalog of offerings is extensive and accessible. In addition, the platform is a cost-effective choice for agencies since registration is free and there are a wide variety of free and fee-based courses. In addition, select education products and content provide IACP credit hours and certificates to attendees, allowing them to document their training.

Looking beyond association options, a staff development company based out of Winthrop, Maine, offers a wide range of online training for first responders.

With a library of hundreds of courses, JPMA Staff Development Solutions (JPMA) provides training that meets the needs of annual training requirements, while also aiding in content retention. The company’s training developers also create custom courses to match the unique statutes, policies, response protocols, and support resources that are in place at an agency.

“Not only has JPMA’s online training solutions relieved the pressure on training budgets with its cost effectiveness, but it has also created efficiencies for officers and their respective organizations,” said JPMA President, Rachel Frost. “Officers can be engaged in training, get called into service, and return to the training right where they left off.”⁴

JPMA’s LMS provides administrators and users with the ability to control their learning through initial or refresher course access, printing certificates of completion, reminders to complete new classes, and account management for groups of employees. The group management feature allows supervisors to administer and manage employee training effortlessly. At the same time, the training records management system includes the ability to track overall training and generate management reports on users, courses, and completion dates.

The law enforcement profession has encountered many technological changes throughout its history, and agencies are now moving again toward a new solution—online training and management. Transitioning an agency to a paperless training environment could be instrumental in improving the community’s perception of the officers who serve them.

Notes:

¹Jamie Newton (marketing manager, Envisage Technologies), email interview, May 7, 2021.

²Brian McGrew (vice president of sales, marketing, and success, SmartForce), telephone interview, May 7, 2021.

³Brian McGrew (vice president of sales, marketing, and success, SmartForce), email interview, May 3, 2021.

⁴Rachel Frost (president, JPMA-Staff Development Solutions), email interview, May 6, 2021.