Online system manages police officer training
The Police Department for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., (CMPD) has begun using the Internet to schedule and track weapons training for its 1,500 officers and investigators. The learning management system has simplified scheduling for administrators who organize 6,000 training sessions annually.
Firearms training is one of the most critical functions of any law enforcement training program, and it is one of the most difficult to administer. CMPD officers and investigators have to be weapons-certified four times a year for daytime and nighttime shooting. Officers often have to be pulled off the street to attend training sessions. With thousands of officers spread across 12 districts, CMPD had difficulty ensuring that every officer received training while keeping a sufficient number of officers on patrol at all times.
CMPD tried to schedule training sessions manually, with officers signing up on bulletin boards, and e-mailing or calling administrators if they had to cancel while on patrol. The training staff was awash in marked-up paper rosters, phone messages and e-mails, which made it difficult to allow officers to enroll in training at the last minute and to alert officers of scheduling changes.
CMPD searched for an online training application that officers could access using Web browsers. It contracted with Arlington, Va.-based Plateau Systems to implement its learning management system, which went live in January 2002.
In the first month, more than 1,000 officers used the system to schedule their training. Officers log on to the system and view a personalized home page that includes a list of courses they are required to take in addition to firearms courses. Officers can access the entire firing range training schedule from that home page and select a time that does not interfere with their duties. The system notifies officers by e-mail when scheduled sessions or certification deadlines are near. If officers need to cancel their sessions, they can do so without calling a training administrator.
Training staff and administrators use the system to track the status of the department’s training program. Every training session is time-stamped, so administrators can prove to state regulators that each officer has received firearm training. The system also shows administrators how well the department’s officers are doing with their training. Administrators can use the system to give tests and surveys for textbook-style courses that do not require officers to attend a class or go to the firing range.
The learning management system has reduced the administrative staff time needed to register and reschedule firearms training by more than 50 percent. It also has reduced the time and effort the department once spent ensuring that the right number of officers are patrolling all districts.
CMPD plans to use the learning management system to provide online training courses to officers. Training staff will create the online courses, which will cover management skills, dealing with hazardous materials, radar certification, OSHA instruction and diversity training. By providing the online courses, officers will be able to take training wherever they are and whenever they need it.
