In addition to offering full-time Conservation Enforcement, Correctional Officer, Police Science (Cadet), Professional Firefighter, and Sheriff and Public Safety Officer programs, the Atlantic Police Academy offers in-service courses in specialized areas for experienced law enforcement officers.

Before the pandemic, police officers, corrections officers, and others working in the field of public safety travelled to Prince Edward Island to upgrade skills or learn new skills at the police academy, which is located in Slemon Park. But during the pandemic, this has not been possible. As a result, the instructors have devised ways to deliver in service programming online.

One example is the Officer Safety Use of Force Instructor course. The Atlantic Police Academy adapted the course at the request of a client. Instead of participants taking the course on site at the police academy, corrections and public safety officers are learning remotely from their home province.

“The current COVID-19 restrictions and mandatory 14-day self-isolation requirements made coming to the Island challenging,” Forrest Spencer, Executive Director of the Atlantic Police Academy said. “Working with our client, we developed an online distance training solution that allows them to train instructors to meet their agency’s needs.”

The solution uses cameras, microphones, and large monitors in both locations. Instructors at the police academy are able to deliver the course materials and demonstrate the techniques for the officers in their home province, eliminating the need for travel for both instructors and students. The officers then demonstrate their competency in these techniques using cameras and microphones, and the instructors at the police academy review and critique them. Test proctors in the client’s province will administer and collect written assessments.

Full time programs at the Atlantic Police Academy are taking place in person with COVID-19 protocols in place. Find out more about in-service training and full-time programs at the Atlantic Police Academy here.