Best Practices to Ensure Effectiveness of Law Enforcement eLearning

In a time when best practices are rapidly evolving and comprehensive training is more important than ever, eLearning has become a transformative tool for law enforcement agencies. As budgets shrink, demands grow greater, and staffing shortages continue to plague agencies around the nation, eLearning for law enforcement provides a flexible, cost-effective, and efficient way of delivering training critical to officer success. Obviously, there will always be training that must be done in person, but there is plenty that is not only well-suited to being taught online but may even be better experienced as eLearning.

For some agencies, implementing a comprehensive eLearning program can seem intimidating or too time consuming. On the contrary, eLearning is often easier to incorporate than other more traditional methods of training and will save an incredible amount of time in the long run.

In the article below, we share tips to ensure the success and effectiveness of law enforcement eLearning programs.

Importance of eLearning for Law Enforcement

As law enforcement agencies around the country have adopted eLearning, it’s become clear that it’s an important component to building an efficient and effective training program.

Cost-Effectiveness of Online Training

Coordinating in-person learning, whether on the training field, at the shooting range, or in the classroom, requires many moving parts and complex logistics to manage. Instructors must be arranged for, spaces need to be reserved, and trainees need to be herded to the designated area. Altogether, it is an administratively time-consuming and financially draining process.

On the other hand, delivering training online eliminates many of the costs that go hand-in-hand with in-person training. Beyond just eliminating the need to pay instructors to travel to your agency or pay for trainees to travel to centralized training locations, it can also reduce overtime costs associated with training, such as bringing officers in outside of their normal shifts to train or finding coverage when pulling officers from the field.

Consistent and Up-To-Date Training Materials

Law enforcement standards continue to change rapidly, and agencies must ensure their training reflects current best practices or be faced with increased liability risks. Physical materials are often costly to produce and scheduling training each time standards change is costly, but digital resources are easy to update and distribute.

In doing so, agencies can not only save time and money, but they can also more quickly pivot to incorporate the newest changes (no matter how often they happen) and reduce training-related liability.

Enhanced Training Flexibility

When utilizing strictly in-person delivery methods for training, there will always be instances when officers miss scheduled sessions and must make it up later. For some this could just be an inconvenience, but depending on the situation and state, some officers may actually be at risk of losing their certification.

With eLearning, officers have the flexibility to complete training at their convenience. And, if an officer does procrastinate on completing their training, it’s much easier for an agency to simply remind them to complete it by a certain date and time instead of scheduling in-person make up sessions.

Benefits of Law Enforcement eLearning

Beyond the cost-related and administrative benefits, eLearning also provides other powerful benefits to agencies and officers.

Increased Compliance and Accountability

Getting your officers motivated to complete training is often a challenge and when training is procrastinated, it causes headaches for officers and supervisors alike. eLearning can effectively mitigate this by providing agencies with tools that make tracking training progress simple and by making training much more convenient for officers.

Additionally, younger officers or new recruits are often well-versed in eLearning models and will have experienced online learning as part of their compulsory or secondary education. Some may even prefer these online delivery methods.

That said, even those officers who are new to eLearning will experience significant benefits, including being able to:

•         Learn at their own pace
•         Access training at any time and from anywhere, allowing officers to balance training with other duties
•         Receive feedback immediately and more easily identify skill gaps
•         Interact with multimedia elements, including simulations and gamified elements
•         Track their progress and be empowered to take their training into their own hands

Improved Officer Performance

Training is a foundational element of agency and officer success. A well-trained officer will perform better, be safer, and achieve more positive outcomes than an officer whose training is lacking. By incorporating eLearning, agencies can repurpose the administrative time they previously spent on just keeping minimum training needs met and create additional training opportunities to boost professional development, leadership training, and more.

Key Components of Effective eLearning

Once the decision is made to incorporate eLearning into an agency’s training program, the next step is to determine the key elements that are necessary to ensure its success. The needs of law enforcement agencies are complex in comparison to other sectors and there are certain considerations that must be taken into account as a result.

Comprehensive Curriculum

As previously mentioned, law enforcement standards are evolving rapidly, and training curriculum must reflect current best practices and procedural updates. When selecting third-party online training courses, it’s crucial they are current and consistent training materials.

Selecting a vendor who offers courses certified by organizations like IADLEST and that regularly offers courses on new or evolving topics is one way to ensure the eLearning content you’re offering to your officers is what they need to be safe and effectual.

Delivery Methods

Additionally, the tools through which eLearning is delivered must be carefully evaluated. There are plenty generic learning management systems (LMS) and training management systems (TMS) on the market today, but they often lack specific functionality needed by law enforcement agencies. Selecting a solution that is purpose-built for law enforcement will ensure it’s best suited to meet your needs.

More specifically, be sure that when you are assessing training needs and comparing options, the solution your agency chooses has the following:

•         Course authoring tools
•         Quizzes and assessments for law enforcement
•         Multimedia elements
•         Interactive content
•         Credentials and learning tracks
•         Policy distribution and acknowledgement
•         Comprehensive reporting functionality
•         Ability to maintain and export records as needed
•         Customer support availability
•         24/7 access via a mobile-friendly platform or mobile app

Best Practices for Implementing eLearning in Law Enforcement Agencies

One of the most crucial steps when incorporating any new technology or program at your agency is to ensure you have the support of your officers. An officer who is confused, distrustful, or otherwise discontent about a change is less likely to fully engage and embrace that change.

To set your agency up for success, agency leadership should plant the seeds of eLearning well before implementation. Provide your officers with opportunities to ask questions and offer extra support when the system first rolls out.

Additionally, it can be helpful to get key stakeholders on board first. Talk to your training officers, captains, and sergeants and address any questions and concerns. Officers will often mirror the behavior of their supervisors, so it’s critical that leadership is engaged with the system and completing their own eLearning training as well.

Technology to Support eLearning for Law Enforcement

As policing standards continue to evolve and new mandates are put in place that impact the training law enforcement agencies must provide to their officers, agencies must also adapt.

Today, agencies have access to technology options that make training management faster and easier. Utilizing the right online training content, in conjunction with tools to deliver, track, and report on it, not only streamlines training but can offer an improved training experience to all trainees.

For agencies looking to incorporate eLearning into their training program, Vector Solutions offers training management systems purpose-built for law enforcement and comprehensive, up-to-date training content certified by IADLEST as part of their National Certification Program (NCP).

For more information about how Vector Solutions can support training management at your law enforcement agency, request a demo today.

Vector Solutions’ suite of industry-leading software solutions for law enforcement includes training management systems, online training courses, FTO/PTO/CTO/live skill evaluations, academy automation, and an early intervention and conduct management system.