POST Logs over 13,000 Peace Officer Users on Learning Portal by Allen

SALT LAKE CITY (October 22, 2007) — Finding time to train is difficult, especially when you are a peace officer in a remote area, but that is changing with the introduction of a learning portal and web based training from AllenComm. In fact, since the portal began operation two years ago, almost 13,500 users have taken the training in the Allen portal.

Before the portal was introduced in 2005, only a few thousand CD-ROM training courses had been completed in the seven years since its unveiling. This was largely due to trouble ordering the CD-ROMs, equipment malfunctions, or the misplacement or damage of existing disks. POST came to AllenComm to discover a better way to provide quality training to its large widely dispersed peace officers.

Through a thorough needs analysis of POST’s challenges, AllenComm created a learning portal that could manage the 90,000 plus possible users by tracking courses taken and learning assessments. Then AllenComm converted three CD-ROM of POST’s highest demand training courses—Communications, First-Aid, and Terrorism—to a web-based version enabling learners to take the courses on their own, whenever and wherever they have access to the internet.

“Agencies find the portal and online training courses convenient. The most popular reason users like online training is the ability to return and finish it later without losing their place,” states Richard Dunn, Sr. Instructional Systems Engineer of POST in California. “It is hard for peace officers to take several hours out of their schedule for training and this approach lets them do it when they have down time.”

Based on the success of this portal and the popularity of taking courses online, AllenComm and POST are in the process of creating a Search Warrant training prototype. This prototype could help POST receive much needed government grant money to develop an online course helping officers generate effective search warrants in less time.

“The use of technology for the deployment of more effective training is a must,” states Ron Zamir, CEO of AllenComm. “AllenComm specializes in providing custom solutions that go beyond the product-based course management solutions.”

About POST:

The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) was established by the Legislature in 1959 to set minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement. The POST organization, with more than 130 staff members, functions under the direction of an Executive Director appointed by the Commission. The POST program is voluntary and incentive-based.

About AllenComm:

For over 25 years, Allen Communication Learning Services () has helped improve the training processes and methods of numerous Fortune 500 companies. With a rich history in training that started with the introduction of the world’s first commercial interactive videodisc system, today the company is recognized as a leader in custom training, e-learning, blended learning, and learning portal development. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, AllenComm’s mission is to align organizations’ training initiatives with their business objectives by developing the optimal learning solution for each organization.