Frequently Asked Questions



Q: What is PATROL?
A: PATROL (Peace officer 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. PATROL delivers a new continuing education course each month, three courses on Use of Force and Deadly Force to help law enforcement agencies meet POST mandates, eight courses to help agencies meet OSHA standards, five courses on supervision and leadership, and eleven refresher courses. Upon successful completion of each course, officers earn one POST credit. All courses combined, peace officers can earn up to 39 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, content is gathered 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 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 enroll my agency?
A: Go to the Enrollment section of the PATROL website. Complete the Subscription Agreement and Student Enrollment Form. Within two days of receiving your completed 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 law enforcement officer or someone with the authority to bind the agency to the agreement. The only exception is inactive peace officers - they can sign the agreement on their own.

Q: What is 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 person has the authority to manage account activity, such as adding or removing an officer from the PATROL roster. 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. An Administrator can be anyone in your agency who has a subscription to PATROL or has been authorized by the Chief / Sheriff to have Administrative Authority. Please keep in mind that the PATROL 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 with their training and how many courses they have completed?
A: Yes. There is a full set of administrative reports each Administrator will have access to.

Q: How much does PATROL cost?
A: LMCIT and MCIT member agencies pay only $90 per officer per year for 39 credits. Members of the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) and the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) who are not members of LMCIT or MCIT pay $100 per officer per calendar year. Non-member agencies and inactive officers pay $115 per officer per calendar year.

Q: What is the PATROL subscription year?
A: The PATROL subscription runs on a calendar year from January through December. Your subscription will automatically renew each January 1st.

Q: How are we billed for PATROL?
A: Your agency will update its' roster on a continual basis and you will be invoiced an annual fee per student, based on the agency’s enrollment and membership status as of December 1st.

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 an additional charge for their replacement?
A: Officer substitutions are allowed at no additional cost to the agency. Keep in mind, though, 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.

Q: If partway through a subscription period we terminate one or more officers, is his/her subscription deactivated?
A: If your agency needs to deactivate an officer’s subscription, the PATROL administrator or chief law enforcement officer / sheriff should contact Kristen LeRoy at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1268.

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 Kristen LeRoy at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1268. New officers are typically added within one business day.

Q: If I hire an officer who is already participating in PATROL through his or her 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 Kristen LeRoy at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1268. The officer's account will be transferred 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: Officers will receive a personalized e-mail providing a username, password, and login instructions. This email will also contain instructions on how to access various tutorials explaining things such as how to start a course, how to view the PATROL library, how to print a certificate, and so on. Once logged into the system, officers automatically have access to all PATROL courses.

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 continuing education course. These courses are available to test on for one year from the date of their release. After one year, the course minus the exam, is available to officers for two years as a 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.

Courses that meet POST mandates and OSHA standards are re-released on January 1 of each year to ensure officers meet annual training mandates and receive POST credit for it. The supervisory and refresher courses are also re-released on January 1 so that if an officer should need or want to view the courses again in a future year, POST credit will be earned.

Q: What happens if there is 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: There is a test at the end of each course. Officers must get at least 7 out of 10 test questions correct in order to receive POST credit. Once the test is passed, the officer can print their Certificate of Completion. Officers can take the test as many times as needed to achieve a passing score. Each officer should print or save his/her certificate of completion every time a course is finished. Certificates are maintained in the PATROL campus if an officer should forget to do this.

Q: Does PATROL submit completion records to POST on behalf of our agency?
A: Yes. The staff at PATROL report all earned credits to POST on a bi-monthly basis.

Q: Are officers notified when a new PATROL course is available?
A: PATROL administrators are notified of the following month’s course offering at the beginning of each month. A notice is also posted on the PATROL 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 POST-mandated classroom requirements for Use of Force training. PATROL also offers the following courses to help agencies meet OSHA standards: AWAIR and Employee Right-to-Know, Bloodborne Pathogens, Hearing Conservation, HazMat Awareness Level 1 and 2, Personal Protective Equipment, Respiratory Protection, and Fire Extinguishers. 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 Kristen LeRoy at patrol@lmc.org or 651-281-1268.

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 email monthly PATROL legal briefs to your legal advisors as a free benefit of your PATROL subscription. You can also direct questions about PATROL course content to Kristen LeRoy at patrol@lmc.org 651-281-1268.

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.