State, local, tribal, and territorial police agencies, ranging from those responsible for urban areas addressing violent crime to rural and underserved agencies, need access to training from trustworthy and credible sources. Unfortunately, those agencies are often facing reductions in training budgets. As a result, when police leaders work to identify training sources, they are often faced with the challenge of ensuring that it is consistent, high-quality, accepted by the State POST for police training standards, and affordable.
NW3C and the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) have worked together over the last 18 months to obtain accreditation for 15 NW3C courses and instructors, with the goal of having all courses and instructors certified in the next two years. IADLEST has a rigorous national certification process for both training courses and instructors. Each accredited NW3C course proudly carries the IADLEST seal.
Thanks to funding from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), police investigators, analysts, and patrol officers now have access to high-quality investigative and forensic training available at no cost. In addition, they can be confident training carrying the IADLEST national certification is accepted for officer in-service credit in all participating states.
BJA Principal Deputy Director Kristen Mahoney appreciates the collaborative partnership between NW3C and IADLEST that ensures nationally certified technical investigative and forensic training is available to law enforcement. She said, “Both organizations receive funding from BJA that allows them to offer their services to law enforcement at no cost. This enables advanced training opportunities for law enforcement as they build trust, improve public safety, support victims and do so with a deep respect for civil rights and civil liberties.”
NW3C President and CEO Glen Gainer said, “Last year, NW3C was able to bring live online training to over 11,000 practitioners and delivered an additional 23,000 online on-demand classes. Working with IADLEST as an independent certification authority makes us a better training provider and ensures that we deliver training designed with the highest possible standards. We are proud to bring this training to both urban departments battling high levels of violent crime and rural underserved agencies working to deliver professional police services to the communities they serve—all at no cost to the agency, thanks to funding provided by BJA.”
IADLEST Executive Director Michael Becar said, “We commend NW3C for achieving National Certification on their training courses that have met rigorous standards, incorporate best practices and have been reviewed by outside subject matter experts. NW3C is committed to providing best-in-class training which engages the students and requires their participation throughout the training.”
IADLEST’s mission is to support the innovative development of professional standards in public safety through research, development, collaboration, and sharing of information, to assist states and international partners with establishing effective and defensible standards for the employment and training of public safety personnel. Learn more at iadlest.org.
NW3C, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, has been a nationwide support system for law enforcement and regulatory agencies tasked with preventing, investigating, and prosecuting economic and high-tech crime for over 40 years. NW3C develops and delivers economic crime investigation, high-tech crime investigation, digital forensics, criminal intelligence, and other criminal justice training and technical assistance. Funding from BJA and other sources allows it to provide training and other services at no cost to state, local, tribal, and territorial criminal justice practitioners throughout the United States. Learn more at nw3c.org.
