The Benefits of Certified Training
People are trying to sell us things all the time - whether it's through targeted ads online, marketing emails, flashy commercials on our screens, or even knocking on our doors. They might make grandiose claims about products or services you can get at impossibly low prices. (Full disclosure: I also try to sell things online, so please don’t hold that against me).
In the digital age, we are inundated with vast amounts of information, readily accessible at all time. In a sea of options from various sources such as emails, social media, news outlets, and more, finding the perfect fit for your needs is a daunting and time-consuming task. It feels like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Law enforcement training is the same way, with a thousand varieties of courses to choose from. How do you find the best ones? You may rely upon word of mouth to tell you which training might be of value. Or, you could read online reviews (e.g., Facebook, Google, etc.). But word of mouth won’t help you find new training, and reviews can be unreliable or biased.
One way to objectively vet training programs is to see if they are accredited or certified. This means they were reviewed by a neutral external entity with a clear set of established and objective requirements. The external entity is responsible for comprehensively reviewing the training and ensuring that it meets high standards of excellence.
In February 2024, we renewed certification through the IADLEST National Certification Program for our course Active Threat Assessment for Law Enforcement. IADLEST, or the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, is a well-known and objective organization in law enforcement training. You have probably heard of them, as their courses can often be used to fulfill officers’ mandatory in-service training requirements.
I thought it might be valuable to outline a bit about the certification process – both what the certification standards are and what it means for you.
About the NCP
The National Certification Program (NCP) was developed in 2015 due to the varied nature of state-level “Peace Officer Standards and Training” (POST) requirements. Prior to the NCP, there was no uniform national standard to ensure law enforcement training quality. Each state’s POST is in charge of regulating and overseeing their state’s law enforcement training requirements, but these approaches can vary widely.
The standards required by NCP meet or exceed most state-level standards, so NCP-certified training fulfills most POST organization requirements. In addition, the NCP standards ensures top-notch and rigorous training, alleviating concerns for agencies about investing in outdated or subpar training programs. Essentially, the NCP helps verify that you are getting a quality product. For more detail about IADLEST’s standards for online, in-person, and hybrid courses, check out their training evaluation rubrics on their webpage.
The IADLEST NCP is endorsed by the Major County Sheriffs Association and accepted in 35 states throughout the United States. The figure below shows a map of states that accept the NCP certification.
Figure 1. NCP Certification Acceptance
Our NCP Certified Threat Assessment Course
In our 8-hour online program, Threat Awareness for Law Enforcement, we train officers to systematically observe their environments and identify potential imminent threats. These skills are applicable not only to police but also to all first responders.
Since 2017, more than 500 trainees have completed this online program. Overall, they largely agreed that this program…
would assist them in their job (99.3%)
left them better prepared to use visual behavior to identify a suspicious person (99.3%)
provided them with new tools to better articulate "reasonable suspicion” (98.5%)
However, we know that eight hours might be a long time for an online course, especially if someone already works long hours with limited availability. For this reason, we have been working on breaking up our program into two shorter, 4-hour courses. In the last year, we rolled out the first one, Threat Observation.
How does the NCP Benefit You?
When training is NCP-certified, you can rest assured that:
It is from a reputable organization.
It will fulfill mandatory in-service training requirements.
Skills are easily translatable to the real world.
Your personnel will be tested for proficiency on the skills they are trained on, reducing potential liability.
Training content will be applicable to the target audience and respectful of different cultural beliefs.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of substandard training out there, and discerning between training providers can be a challenge. To ensure quality and alignment with professional standards, thorough vetting of anticipated training is imperative. NCP-certified courses have been vetted by numerous experts, ensuring that enrollees will get a training that they can use – while reducing the effort you would typically expend to figure that out.
Want to learn more?
Visit our courses page to learn more about our NCP certified training and ways you can learn more about active threat assessment.