Top 10 Courses For Your 2022 Law Enforcement Training Program

2022 is well underway and the months will slip by before we know it. But, before that happens, take advantage of the opportunity for new beginnings and refresh and rejuvenate the training program at your law enforcement agency. From arrest and control techniques to drug interdiction, Vector Solutions’ extensive online course catalog makes it easy for your officers to stay on top of yearly training requirements. 

With more than 250 courses, and limited time to spend on training, it can be difficult to determine which courses will be the most beneficial for your team. To simplify this process, we have created a list of our most popular law enforcement training courses and shared it in the article below. 

Click here to learn more about our state accreditations and see what Vector Solutions can do for your agency. 

1. Use of Force/De-escalation (1 hour)

This self-paced course is designed to provide law enforcement officers the knowledge and strategies to safely bring volatile situations with persons in crisis to a non-violent conclusion. This course provides assessment techniques allowing officers to recognize signs of crisis and potential underlying causes of crisis. Officers will gain an awareness of individual behaviors and traits that enhance or hinder de-escalation efforts, and develop the ability to implement verbal and non-verbal de-escalation strategies, including self-control, when encountering a person in crisis. Officers will be better equipped to evaluate how policing tactics impact the outcome of an interaction with a person in crisis.

2. Defensive Driving Strategies (1 hour)

The need for enhancing safety when driving cannot be understated. Unfortunately, improving one's own driving ability does not guarantee safety on the roadway. No matter how safe a law enforcement officer is trained to be, he or she cannot control the behavior of other vehicle operators. Encountering unsafe drivers is an inevitable part of every driver's experience. This course is aimed at preparing law enforcement officers for encountering potential hazards on the roadway.

3. Patrol - Infectious Diseases (1 hour)

Communicable diseases are all around us and police officers are susceptible to these unseen contaminants. Knowledge of likely transmission sources and preventive steps that can be taken will enable police officers to prevent or minimize the likelihood of contamination. This course covers infectious diseases and how to recognize the threat, when and how to use barrier protection, and what to do if infected.

4. Patrol - Non-Verbal Officer Communication (.5 hour)

There are times when officers on the street need to communicate with each other without those around them knowing what they are saying. It could be just a noisy environment that makes talking impossible or it could be relaying information to each other about a dangerous subject. This course examines a system that allows officers to communicate nonverbally using hand signals. This system is based upon the same signs used by the hearing impaired but tailored to the police world.

5. Implicit Bias: Facts & Myths (1 hour)

With law enforcement professionals today under increasing amounts of scrutiny and many of their actions caught on camera, charges of bias have become more frequent. This course focuses on understanding the four types of bias and how preconceived opinions can have a negative impact on your job performance and public trust. Numerous case studies, scientific research, statistics, and an array of videos of real-life situations are utilized to offer training scenarios that assist with identifying the inherent issues with explicit, implicit, illicit and racial biases and how they can be applied unconsciously to a potential suspect. 

6. Officer Survival - Command Presence (.5 hours)

Command presence is the lowest level of force. Police recruits are taught that the presence of an officer in uniform is the first and omnipresent level of force. Command presence is important because it can mean the difference between being challenged and not being challenged. This course reviews the components that make up "command presence."

7. Body Language: Reading People 101 (1 hour)

This course focuses on today’s law enforcement professionals and their ability to effectively evaluate others through non-verbal communication and body language to make informed decisions and inferences. Numerous case studies, scientific research, and a wide array of videos of real-life encounters are utilized to offer training scenarios that assist in developing techniques for reading people’s unconscious thoughts and actions via body language cues and responses. This course provides an overview of the six main non-verbals used by law enforcement professionals to determine underlying messages and unconscious communication.

8. Officer Survival - Physiological Response to Stress (1 hour)

This course will define stress and its causes for law enforcement officers. Specifically, it will focus on the physiological response caused by prolonged stress in today’s difficult environment, as well as the stress response that occurs during a high-stress event. It will also present suggestions that can be implemented by individuals or departments to help officers deal with stress, so they can continue to work effectively and compassionately to protect and serve their communities.

Also check out Patrol - Critical Incident Stress Management, a recently updated course discussing complementary topics.

9. Domestic Violence (1 hour)

Domestic violence is a significant problem in society and presents a unique set of challenges to law enforcement. Abusers can be threatening and unpredictable at the scene. Officers need to protect the victim, any children, and themselves. To do so they need to understand the unique factors that contribute to domestic violence and the psychological and emotional influences that impact behavior in such incidents. This course provides a general overview of domestic violence.

10. Excessive Force (1 hour)

Allegations of excessive force can have a significant impact on the personal life and professional career of a law enforcement officer. They can also contribute to distrust between the law enforcement agency and the community it serves. This course provides a general overview of excessive force incidents, with particular emphasis on prevention. Various topics are discussed, including distinguishing excessive force from reasonable force, theories on causes of excessive force, legal issues, and responding to allegations of excessive force.

In addition to the top ten courses we have shared above, we would also like to share three brand new courses just recently added to our law enforcement catalog. These courses focus on improving communication and building positive relationships with your community.

1. Cultural Competency in Law Enforcement (1 Hour)

As our nation has evolved, so has the cultural makeup of our communities. For law enforcement officers, it is essential to understand and properly communicate with these diverse groups of people. Cultural competence, or the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people of different cultures or belief systems from one’s own, allows law enforcement officers to effectively manage these relationships and improve interactions with the public.

2. Rapidly Evolving Challenges, Perspectives and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement (1 Hour)

Staffing challenges, health crises, and increased public scrutiny have put pressure on law enforcement agencies around the country, but it’s the duty of these agencies and officers to address these challenges head on and rise to the occasion. Reflecting on what has changed in law enforcement and how agencies can be proactive in serving the needs of their communities instead of reactive is one of the first steps to building a successful relationship with the public. 

3. Servant Leadership (1 Hour)

Moving into a leadership position comes with its own set of challenges. Chief among them is learning what being a leader is and what sort of leader a law enforcement agency needs to be successful. Servant leadership, an increasingly popular style of leading within law enforcement, is one such option. As implied in the name, this style focuses on those under your management and puts you in a position to support them by adopting a service first mindset. In doing so, leaders can provide their officers with the confidence, morale, and encouragement they need to thrive in their roles.