Frequently Asked Questions



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 continuing education course is available to officers. Upon successful completion of each course, officers earn one POST credit toward their continuing education credits. In addition, PATROL delivers courses on Use of Force and Deadly Force to help law enforcement agencies meet POST mandates, and courses on Bloodborne Pathogens and HazMat to help agencies meet OSHA standards. All courses combined, peace officers can earn up to 18 POST credits each year.

Q: Who runs PATROL?
A: PATROL was developed and is run by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT), in partnership with the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT), Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA) and Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association (MSA). 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: PATROL is only available to Minnesota law enforcement agencies and inactive peace officers. In order for active officers to participate in PATROL, the chief law enforcement officer must first sign the PATROL subscription agreement. It is left to the chief law enforcement officer to decide which officers have access to PATROL. Inactive officers can enroll on their own.

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 Enrollment section of the PATROL website. Complete the subscription form, subscription agreement and student enrollment. Within two days 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). The only exception is inactive peace officers - they can sign the agreement on their own.

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. You can designate as many administrators as your agency sees fit.

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 tutorial is available in the PATROL News and Schedule section of the website to guide the PATROL administrator through administrative functions of PATROL.

Q: How much does PATROL cost?
A: LMCIT and MCIT member agencies pay only $85 per officer per year for 18 credits. Non-member agencies and inactive officers pay $110 per officer per year. All subscription fees are prorated from the date of enrollment.

Q: What is the PATROL subscription year?
A: The PATROL subscription year runs from January through December. Subscriptions expire on December 31.

Q: How are we billed for PATROL?
A: There is a one time subscription fee per officer billed to your agency.

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. If your agency wants to deactivate the officer’s subscription, the PATROL administrator or Chief / Sheriff can contact Laura Honeck or Helene Tetz at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1200. Otherwise, your agency can leave the officer’s subscription active knowing that it will expire on December 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 or Helene Tetz at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1200. 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 or Helene Tetz at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1200. Let them know the officer’s name, email address, old agency name and new agency name. They 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: PATROL offers 12 continuing education courses each year. Officers have four months to test on these courses for POST credit. After four months the course, minus the exam, is available to officers as a reference but testing for POST credit is closed. The only exception is the courses that help your agency meet POST mandates and OSHA standards on Use of Force and Deadly Force, Bloodborne Pathogens, and HazMat. These courses are available all year long to ensure your officers get the training they need.

Officers are automatically enrolled in PATROL courses as they are released. However, once a course expires for POST credit, the course will become a non-credit course.  It is left to the officer to decide which non-credit courses s/he wishes to review.  They will then need to enroll in those particular courses. It is highly recommended each officer review the Student Tutorials located in the PATROL News and Schedule area. These tutorials explain how to login, access courses, navigate through the site, use the grade book, print POST certificates, and so on.

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 courses in a subscription period?
A: Each month PATROL releases one new course – each course equals one POST credit. These 12 continuing education courses are available to test on for four months from the date of their 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. The courses that help officers meet POST mandates and OSHA standards (Use of Force and Deadly Force, Bloodborne Pathogens and HazMat) are available for testing at all times throughout the year. These courses do not expire for POST credit.

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 name on the certificate. Officers must pass each course with a score of 70 percent or better to receive POST credit. Officers can take the test as many times as needed to achieve a passing score. Each officer should print his/her certificate of completion every time they finish a PATROL course.

Q: Are officers notified when a new PATROL course is available?
A: Yes. We send a short email to each officer notifying them of the new course that will be released the following month. Officers can also see which newly released courses are available by accessing the PATROL News and Schedule area of the website.

Q: Does PATROL offer courses that meet POST mandates and OSHA standards?
A: Yes. PATROL delivers three courses on Use of Force and Deadly Force to help your agency meet this POST mandated training requirement. PATROL also offers one course on Bloodborne Pathogens and two courses on HazMat to help meet OSHA standards. Each course is approved for one POST credit.

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 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 Laura Honeck, LMCIT Program Coordinator, at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1280.

Q: What if I need help getting connected to PATROL?
A: The PATROL customer service team can be reached at info@smarthorizons.org. All questions are answered within 24 hours. You can also always contact us through the general PATROL email address at patrol@lmc.org.