continuing education - Westmoreland County Community College

PUBLIC SAFETY
Act 180 – Mandatory In-Service Classes for
Certified Police Officers
The 2008 mandatory, in-service program requires all municipal police officers
to complete 12 hours of classroom instruction, exclusive of administrative
and examination time. There are four classes scheduled this year. The
Legal Updates class is mandatory. Officers must take at least 12 hours of
instruction, not necessarily at the same time or location. Locations and
dates follow the course descriptions.
NEW - Legal Update
(Three-Hour Required) 08–201
This is a three-hour mandatory In-Service
Training Program required course that covers
legal issues affecting municipal police
officers throughout the Commonwealth.
This course, a staple in the MIST curriculum,
will cover new criminal and traffic
laws, rules of criminal procedure updates,
and changes in other statutes related to
law enforcement. The 2008 course will also
address landmark United States Supreme
Court opinions and key Pennsylvania court
decisions regarding search and seizure as
well as other pertinent criminal and traffic
case law.
NEW - Radical Islam:
A Law Enforcement Primer
(Three-Hour Required) 08–202
Topical Areas: This course would provide
an overview of the factors and issues
related to a radical view of Islam such as:
the differences between mainstream Islam
and its radical fringes; the principles, justification,
and concepts of radical Islam
and what they mean to the police officer;
the concepts of Jihad and martyrdom and
their implications for law enforcement
activities; detecting logistical, financial,
and material support for Jihadist activities;
recognizing potentially threatening
activities in the community; recognizing
groups following a radical philosophy.
NEW - Street Encounters-
Investigatory Detention &
Warrantless Searches (Three-Hour
Elective) 08–327
A scenario-based block of instruction
aimed at the officer on the street. Legal
concepts that will be addressed include:
reasonable suspicion, probable cause,
“Terry” stops, car stops, investigatory
detention vs. arrest, and exceptions to
search warrant requirements. The scenario
based training will be based on
video clips depicting common street
encounters and allow student/instructor
interaction which will reinforce an officer’s
knowledge of the topic and allow for officer
input and discussion while adhering to
pertinent case holdings.
NEW - Games Criminals Play:
Unusual Weapons & Concealment
(Three-Hour Elective) 08–328
Criminals can be quite innovative in their
attempts to conceal their illegal activities
and evade detection and arrest from law
enforcement. They routinely have secret
compartments built into their attire, vehicles
and homes to hold weapons, contraband
and currency. This course is designed
to both inform law enforcement officers of
the items that are available to suspects
that pose a risk to officer safety, as well as
to advise them of the creativity of suspects.
It is imperative that we learn and
adapt to their new tricks and techniques
that endanger the police officers across
the Commonwealth. This course will focus
on officer safety issues and examine tricks
and techniques that criminals use.
See next page for locations and dates for
MPOETC in-service Classes.
To register, call 724-925-4204 or 1-800-262-2103, ext. 4204.
55