Law enforcement academies are faced with a set of unique and critical challenges as enormous burdens are being placed on existing academy administrators, instructors, and infrastructures to adapt to the new realities of a post-September 11 environment. The priorities of our law enforcement community broadened to include an urgent focus on both domestic and international terrorism. Under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, a new mandate has emerged for increased cooperation, intelligence sharing and cross training amongst Local, State, Federal and International law enforcement agencies. The need to accelerate academy throughput while increasing existing workloads by requiring trainees to absorb additional vital materials is putting significant strain on current systems and requiring academies to reevaluate everything from instructional approaches and learning delivery to logistics, budgeting and academy benchmarking.
By outlining some best practices in both process and technology that have been implemented by several of the largest U.S. law enforcement academies, this white paper can serve as a reference point for academies facing today’s difficult challenges.
To cite this article: Mihal, S., Wilcox, L., Baker, M., & Vidali, A. (2003). “Core Principles and Practical Applications of Law Enforcement Academy Automation.” www.envisagenow.com.
