SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board is partnering with the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the COPS Training Portal to promote free online training for Illinois officers.
Illinois is the second state in the nation to partner with the COPS Office to provide credit for training portal courses.
ILETSB will award credits for 29 courses on topics including school resource officer training, ethical decision making, crisis intervention and community policing, with plans to approve future courses that address state-level training mandates as they launch.
“Training is one of the most vital responsibilities within our profession, directly impacting those we serve,” said Keith Calloway, Executive Director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. “Our ongoing partnership with the Department of Justice through the COPS Training Portal plays a crucial role in providing essential tools for our officers. This collaboration is key to elevating the level of service provided by the more than 35,000 officers serving Illinois and enhancing the safety and well-being of the communities across our state. We are committed to continuing and expanding this valuable relationship with the Department of Justice, confident that officers throughout Illinois will seize this opportunity to further their professional development."
The partnership supports officers in meeting the training requirements of the SAFE-T Act.
Officers will be able to receive training no matter where they are in Illinois.
The portal streamlines the certification process by sending data directly from COPS to ILETSB.
ILETSB said it will address any training deficiencies officers may have ahead of the June 2025 deadline for training mandated by the SAFE-T Act.
“The COPS Office is proud to provide Illinois, and the entire nation, high-quality, timely, and accessible training through the COPS Training Portal,” said Hugh T. Clements, Jr., Director of the COPS Office. “The Portal is a cornerstone of our training program, offering individuals, agencies, and even entire states the opportunity to learn and engage with important topics such as crisis response, traffic safety, and of course, community policing. By sending training completion data directly to ILETSB, we are able to save agencies time, effort, and funds that would otherwise need to be spent gathering and submitting that same information, letting everyone get back to the critical business of policing. I appreciate and applaud the commitment to serving the law enforcement community in Illinois that ILETSB leadership and staff have shown as we worked on this partnership, and I am excited to see the benefits that will accrue to Illinois’ police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and troopers. The COPS Office is eager to continue to partner with POSTs and agencies across the country to bring our dozens of courses to the dedicated men and women who protect our communities every day. Online training does not replace in-person training, but using the COPS Training Portal allows agencies to focus their limited funding on the topics that must be learned in person.”
The COPS Training Portal (copstrainingportal.org) was launched in 2017 and now includes 40 training courses and more than a dozen resources on law enforcement topics, with more trainings constantly in development.
Illinois law enforcement officers who want to receive credit for COPS Training Portal courses should enter their PTB ID upon registering, or update their profile to add the PTB ID.
Individuals who completed courses after their approval, but prior to this announcement, can still receive credit for those trainings.
A full list of courses and their corresponding approvals can be found at https://copstrainingportal.org/project/state-approved-courses/.
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