Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Partners With The Response Network to Offer High Quality, Low Cost Online In-Service Training

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA®) has entered into a strategic partnership with The Response Network (TRN) to provide its member agencies with high quality online in-service training courses at substantially discounted prices.

The initial courses, which include Use of Force, Applied Ethics, and, soon, Policing the Mentally Ill, will be available at TRN’s online, in-service training portal, www.policecommunity.net. This 100% online training portal is exclusively dedicated to meeting the training needs of the global law enforcement, public safety and security communities.

CALEA and TRN will formally unveil the partnership, and demonstrate the initial courses, at the upcoming 2011 Summer CALEA Conference taking place at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherlands Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 27-30, 2011. TRN will be demonstrating its online in-service courses at Booth #14 in the vendor area.

TRN President & CEO Bradley J. Naples stated that he was excited about the new partnership with CALEA and he looks forward to working with CALEA agencies. “This strategic agreement leverages the technical training expertise of TRN in a manner that benefits CALEA clients,” he said. It also establishes another advantage of being CALEA Accredited, according to CALEA Chairman Louis M. Dekmar.

According to CALEA Executive Director Sylvester Daughtry, “We believe that this initiative demonstrates CALEA’s constant commitment to provide better client services in a manner that complements the needs of contemporary public safety agencies. When developing this client-focused partnership, CALEA sought to establish a business relationship with an organization that had a strong connection to the broader public safety community and a demonstrated ability to deliver superior quality online in-service training. To this end, TRN’s existing endorsements by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP), and the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) complemented CALEA’s vision for the relationship and positioned the partnership for success.”

Over the last year large and small law enforcement agencies have endorsed the Police Community.net training concept. These agencies include the:

Detroit (MI) Police Department
Covington (VA) Police Department
Galax (VA) Police Department
Virginia Beach (VA) Police Department
Newport News (VA) Police Department
Liberty Township (OH) Police Department
Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff’s Office (JSO-Duval County)
St. Augustine (FL) Police Department
St. John’s County (FL) Sheriff’s Department
Clayton (OH) Police Department
Park Ridge (IL) Police Department
Aberdeen (SD) Police Department
Cape Coral (FL) Police Department
Ocean City (DE) Police Department
Story County (IA) Sheriff’s Department
Lincoln (NH) Police Department

TRN’s training programs are also endorsed by Brit Insurance, The FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP), and the Association of Public Safety-Communications Professionals (APCO).

www.PoliceCommunity.net is a registered trademark that is owned and operated by The Response Network Inc. The Response Network's mission is to develop and deliver to law enforcement and public safety professionals a complete curriculum of educational courseware that meets their training needs ranging from in-service training to degree granting programs. For more information, contact pcn@policecommunity.net or call 1-877-288-0451.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA®) was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement's major executive associations. The purpose of CALEA’s Accreditation Programs is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by: maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence.

In The Age of The "RoboCop", Training Is Still Stuck In The Past, Says The Response Network

As every aspect of contemporary law enforcement moves fast-forward into the Age of the RoboCop, training remains mired in the past — a fact that, if not corrected to meet today’s budget and liability realities, will soon threaten the readiness of America’s law enforcement professionals, according to Bradley J. Naples, President & CEO of The Response Network, creator of the law enforcement community’s only 100% online in-service training portal, PoliceCommunity.net.

"From command centers to the inside of the patrol car, every aspect of contemporary law enforcement is being transformed by the latest advances in 21st Century technology," Naples said today. "And yet, for some reason, we remain firmly anchored in the early 20th Century when it comes to providing our law enforcement professionals with in-service training that is cost-effective, consistent from officer to officer, and based on the very best subject matter experts. This is starting to change, thanks in part to the enormous pressures budget cuts are placing on agencies, posts and departments, all of whom must find viable new ways to deliver more and more training, more and more cost effectively.”

The answer to the community’s needs lies with the Internet, according to Naples. “The vast majority of today’s officers have been raised on the Internet and are very Internet centric in virtually every other part of their lives,” he asserted. “As an educational delivery vehicle, the Internet is a proven, robust, secure and reliable platform. It is the perfect way to deliver training courses, creatively and cost-effectively.”

According to Naples, a large number of law enforcement professionals are already utilizing the Internet to achieve their general education goals, as is witnessed by the explosive growth in for-profit online universities. “The same goals and objectives can be achieved for in-service training and that’s what PoliceCommunity.net is designed to deliver — superior quality in-service training courses that are as engaging as they are educational.”

It is becoming clear, Naples explained, that online education and training is actually a more effective method than in-person face-to-face training, where individual performance isn’t as easy to measure. For law enforcement, where a day of face-to-face training seminars means a day an officer is off the streets, online on-demand training makes even more sense, giving departments the flexibility to deploy the officers if needed rather than be shorthanded while also paying for travel costs to attend an in-person training session.

Naples believes it is only a matter of time before every commanding officer in the nation sees the value of online in-service training. “The climate in law enforcement today consists of smaller budgets, more technology, and more young officers who grew up on the Internet and mobile technology. Some senior law enforcement professionals remain skeptical of the value of online in-service training simply because it is new and they are used to paying for seminars and travel costs, and they think good training has to be expensive. But the new reality clearly demonstrates that, through the Internet, training doesn’t have to be expensive anymore.

“To break the acceptance barrier, online training must incorporate appropriate elements from Hollywood and the gaming industry,” Naples asserted. “It must engage, connect with, motivate and make officers passionate about their field. With our customizable and specialized courses, we provide law enforcement officers an exciting, accurate training experience. And best of all, because our program is available anywhere, anytime, it can actually make officers want to learn.”

PoliceCommunity.net currently offers nine general subject domain courses representing more than 50 hours of in-service training, with three more courses scheduled to come online before the end of this calendar year, and an additional ten courses now in-progress.

All of the general courses can be customized to meet the needs of each subscriber, from major city agencies to rural law enforcement POSTS, and integrated with all local policies and directives. No other online training solution provides for this complete integration of national subjects with local directives in a solution that can be administered and tracked by the subscribing agency. The portal is available to law enforcement officers for an annual subscription of $74.95.

Over the last year large and small law enforcement agencies have endorsed the PoliceCommunity.net training concept including the Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan Police Department, the Virginia Beach, Virginia Police Department, the Newport News, Virginia Police Department, the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff's Office, the Saint Augustine, Florida Police Department, the Saint John's Sheriff's Department, the Clayton, Ohio Police Department, the Park Ridge, Illinois Police Department, the Aberdeen, South Dakota Police Department, Ocean City, Delaware Police Department, the Story County Sheriff's Department in Ames, Iowa, and the Lincoln, New Hampshire Police Department, among others.

The Response Network’s training programs are endorsed by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP), Brit Insurance, The FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Association of Public Safety-Communications Professionals (APCO).