Police Legal Sciences, Inc. -
Missouri Police Law and
Interpersonal Skills Update
General Information
The St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy offers POST Continuing Education credit hours for the Police Legal Sciences Police Law and Interpersonal Skills Training program. The PLS program provides monthly interactive lessons. These are distributed from a secure Internet site or by disc. The lessons cover either significant State and U.S. Supreme Court cases, or interpersonal or technical issues in areas which have an impact on the local law enforcement. The training is presented with an emphasis on practical application. Where appropriate, related decisions and practices are reviewed. The officer taking the course is presented with a variety of situations to which he or she must apply the information. A situation-based test is administered at the end of each module which the officer must pass to receive credit. Immediate feedback is provided to the officer.
The CMPA will award up to twelve (12) hours of Continuing Education Credits (CEU) each year for completion of Legal Update lessons. One hour credit will be awarded for each monthly lesson that is successfully completed. At least eight (8) hours of the possible twelve hours will be in the Legal Area, with additional hours in the Interpersonal and Technical Areas. At least one (1) hour each year will meet state racial profiling training requirements.
PLS will send a list of officers who have completed lessons during a given calendar year as soon after the end of that year as possible. This list will include all sessions completed within the calendar year, regardless of when the session was first offered. CMPA POST certificates will be generated and sent to the agency a short time after. Participating agencies will also receive annual reports of all CMPA training activity, which will include the PLS hours.
More information on Police Legal Sciences, Inc. and the monthly Missouri Police Law Update may be obtained by contacting them at:
Information regarding CMPA Continuing Education records or the POST certificates should be addressed to the CMPA. E-mail to the Continuing Education Coordinator.
Change in Completion Log Procedures
Effective May 25, 2005, Missouri POST has agreed that it is no longer necessary for agencies to mail or fax a signed copy of each month’s Completion Log to Police Legal Sciences (PLS). Since PLS accesses the same Completion Log you do, PLS will verify each agency’s training to the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy (CMPA) at the end of the year. CMPA, in turn, will issue the certificates (in February).
Therefore, departments may discontinue sending any past, present, or future Completion Logs to PLS.
Per POST rules, departments using the disk-based sessions must still have officers sign the Completion Log and must send it back with the completed disk in order to receive credit.
Important End of Reporting Period Notice from PLS
December 31, 2005 marks the end of the current three-year POST reporting period.
POST has ruled that credit will only be awarded for lessons actually taken within the 36 month reporting period. Credit for any class or lesson physically taken after 12/31/05 will be assigned to the new three-year reporting period (January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008).
Therefore, please be aware that the PLS December lesson will not be available for the customary 60 days. Rather it will expire at midnight on 12/31/05. Upon request, the lesson can be reactivated for make-up. However, POST credit will be applied to the new reporting year.
If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact PLS at the telephone number below or by clicking a "Contact Us" link on the PLS website.