- What is PATROL?
- Who runs PATROL?
- How do I get access to PATROL?
- If my law enforcement agency subscribes to PATROL, do all officers have to participate?
- How do I subscribe my agency?
- Who should fill out the PATROL subscription and enrollment forms?
- What’s the role of the PATROL administrator?
- Does the PATROL administrator need to be the Chief / Sheriff?
- As the PATROL administrator, do I have the ability to see where the officers are at with training and how many courses they have completed?
- How much does PATROL cost?
- Is the PATROL subscription period based on 12 months from the date of enrollment?
- How are we billed for PATROL?
- If partway through a subscription period we have an officer resign, retire, go on leave, or get called up to active military duty, is there a rebate on the unused portion of the subscription?
- If partway through a subscription period we terminate one or more officers, is his/her subscription deactivated?
- If our agency is already enrolled in PATROL and we hire a new officer or want to add an officer partway through our subscription period, what do we do?
- If I hire an officer who is already participating in PATROL through his previous employer, how do I gain access to his/her training records as the PATROL administrator for my agency?
- Once my agency is subscribed, how do officers access PATROL courses?
- After testing on a PATROL course, can officers go back and view questions they got incorrect?
- Will officers, especially new hires, be able to access PATROL courses from previous months to ensure they have completed all 12 courses in a subscription period?
- What happens if there’s a change in the law regarding a PATROL topic?
- How do officers receive POST credit for PATROL courses?
- Are officers notified when a new PATROL course is available?
- Does PATROL offer POST-mandated courses for credit?
- How do I suggest a topic for PATROL courses?
- What if I have a question about the content of a PATROL course or disagree with advice in a PATROL course?
- What if I need help getting connected to PATROL?
Q: What is PATROL?
A: PATROL (Police Accredited TRaining OnLine) is a powerful learning tool for Minnesota law enforcement officers. Through PATROL, officers access monthly web-based courses on current legal issues and research on important developments impacting Minnesota law enforcement. Each month a new course is available to officers and upon successful completion of each course, officers earn one POST credit.
Q: Who runs PATROL?
A: PATROL was developed and is run by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, in partnership with the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust, Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association. To produce PATROL courses, we gather materials and expertise from a number of sources, including current case law, police liability experts, insurance defense counsel, and law enforcement agencies.
Q: How do I get access to PATROL?
A: Your law enforcement agency has to subscribe in order for you to access PATROL courses. PATROL is not available to individuals, only to law enforcement agencies.
Q: If my law enforcement agency subscribes to PATROL, do all officers have to participate?
A: No. Each agency decides which officers will have access to PATROL. However, PATROL is not a train-the-trainer sort of program and many PATROL topics deal with policies that are important agency-wide. Therefore, most law enforcement agencies find that enrolling all officers is key to the success of PATROL. Because PATROL often replaces other POST training, it is also generally a more cost effective way for law enforcement agencies to meet their training needs.
Q: How do I subscribe my agency?
A: Go to the PATROL website at www.nexportsolutions.com/patrolminnesota. Complete the subscription form, subscription agreement and student enrollment. Within a week of receiving completed registration forms each designated officer will receive a personalized e-mail providing a username, password, and login instructions.
Q: Who should fill out the PATROL subscription and enrollment forms?
A: The forms can be filled out by anyone in your agency. However, the subscription agreement must be signed by the Chief / Sheriff, or someone else with authority to bind the agency (such as a city clerk or city / county administrator).
Q: What’s the role of the PATROL administrator?
A: The PATROL administrator has access to all student features of the campus and has secure, private access to employee training records. This is also the person we contact if there are any administrative updates regarding PATROL.
Q: Does the PATROL administrator need to be the Chief / Sheriff?
A: No. The administrator can be anyone in your agency who has a subscription to PATROL. You’ll want to keep in mind the administrator will have access to all officer progress reports and other training information which may be considered confidential.
Q: As the PATROL administrator, do I have the ability to see where the officers are at with training and how many courses they have completed?
A: Yes, there’s a full set of administrative activities you will have access to. A short PowerPoint presentation is available in the PATROL library to guide the PATROL administrator through administrative functions of PATROL. The presentation is also available in printable format.
Q: How much does PATROL cost?
A: LMCIT or MCIT member agencies pay only $85 per officer per year (the PATROL year runs from September through August). Non-member agencies pay $115 per officer per year. After February 28th of each year the subscription rate is cut in half.
Q: Is the PATROL subscription period based on 12 months from the date of enrollment?
A: The PATROL subscription year runs from September 1st – August 31st. It’s very important that law enforcement agencies consider this PATROL subscription year and budget appropriately to renew PATROL subscriptions.
Q: How are we billed for PATROL?
A: There is a one time annual subscription fee per officer billed to your agency. Subscriptions expire on August 31st.
Q: If partway through a subscription period we have an officer resign, retire, go on leave, or get called up to active military duty, is there a rebate on the unused portion of the subscription?
A: Because PATROL passwords follow the individual, we do not offer a refund when someone retires, resigns, etc. In addition, officer substitutions are not allowed. Keep in mind that if you have an officer out on leave for any reason (such as FMLA or active military duty) s/he can continue taking PATROL courses from anywhere there is Internet access. You also stand to benefit if you hire a new officer who is subscribed to PATROL through another agency, since that officer can continue to access PATROL without being added to your subscription. Over time, the rate of those leaving your organization and new officers should even out!
Q: If partway through a subscription period we terminate one or more officers, is his/her subscription deactivated?
A: It is the determination of the law enforcement agency whether or not to deactivate a terminated officer’s subscription, although we encourage not doing so. If your agency wants to deactivate the officer’s subscription, the PATROL administrator or Chief / Sheriff can contact Laura Honeck, LMCIT Program Assistant, at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1280. Otherwise, your agency can leave the officer’s subscription active knowing that it will expire on August 31st.
Q: If our agency is already enrolled in PATROL and we hire a new officer or want to add an officer partway through our subscription period, what do we do?
A: Contact Laura Honeck at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1280 and let her know the officer’s name and email address. New officers are typically added within two days.
Q: If I hire an officer who is already participating in PATROL through his previous employer, how do I gain access to his/her training records as the PATROL administrator for my agency?
A: If your agency hires an officer who already has a subscription to PATROL, notify Laura Honeck at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1280 and let her know the officer’s name, email address, old agency name and new agency name. Laura will transfer the officer’s information to the new agency’s profile where the administrator will then have access to their training records.
Q: Once my agency is subscribed, how do officers access PATROL courses?
A: Officers enroll in PATROL courses through the Course Catalog area of the website. It is highly recommended that each officer review the Student Tutorials located in the Training Center area. These tutorials explain how to login, enroll in a course, navigate through the site, use the grade book, print POST certificates, etc. The PATROL Student Guidebook, which is located in the Library area, is also helpful and available in printable format as a quick reference guide for navigating the PATROL website.
Q: After testing on a PATROL course, can officers go back and view questions they got incorrect?
A: Yes. There is a review of all incorrect answers after the test is completed.
Q: Will officers, especially new hires, be able to access PATROL courses from previous months to ensure they have completed all 12 courses in a subscription period?
A: Each PATROL course is available to test for four months from the date of release. After four months the course, minus the exam, will be available to officers for reference but testing for POST credit is closed. We maintain this schedule because legal research and issues frequently change; therefore, we want to ensure Minnesota officers are receiving the most recent and relevant information when reviewing and testing on PATROL courses.
Q: What happens if there’s a change in the law regarding a PATROL topic?
A: Officers will receive information on important developments or changes impacting PATROL materials throughout their subscription. This is typically done through a legal update emailed to all PATROL subscribers.
Q: How do officers receive POST credit for PATROL courses?
A: When officers pass a PATROL course, they receive a certificate of completion which includes their POST license number on the certificate. Officers must pass each course with a score of 70 percent or better to receive POST credit. Each officer should print his/her certificate of completion every time they finish a PATROL course. It is the responsibility of each officer to submit their credits to POST.
Q: Are officers notified when a new PATROL course is available?
A: No. New PATROL courses are released on or around the first of each month. It is the responsibility of each officer to keep track of new courses. The regular release schedule should make this a fairly easy monthly task for officers. Officers can see which newly released courses are available by accessing the Course Catalog area of the website.
Q: Does PATROL offer POST-mandated courses for credit?
A: The initial focus of PATROL is mostly legal liability for law enforcement activities; and most POST-mandated material does not fit into this construct. As we continue to monitor PATROL participation and response, offering POST-mandated material is certainly a possibility.
Q: How do I suggest a topic for PATROL courses?
A: We welcome ideas for PATROL content! Please make course suggestions to Laura Honeck at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1280.
Q: What if I have a question about the content of a PATROL course or disagree with advice in a PATROL course?
A: Since PATROL deals with developing legal issues, many courses are subject to some legal interpretation. We highly recommend that you share PATROL materials and any questions about application of the law with your agency’s legal counsel (attorney and/or prosecutor). In fact, we’ll provide PATROL legal briefs emailed monthly to legal advisors for your agency as a free benefit of your PATROL subscription. You can also direct questions about PATROL course content to Ann Gergen, LMCIT Associate Administrator, at agergen@lmc.org or 651-281-1291.
Q: What if I need help getting connected to PATROL?
A: The PATROL customer service team can be reached at customer-service@dcmsnet.info. All questions are answered within 24 hours. You can also always contact us through the general PATROL email address at patrol@lmc.org. |
