The Law Enforcement Command College is an intensive 18-month program designed to prepare law enforcement leaders of today for the challenges of the future. The program focuses on:

• Leadership principles needed to influence the future direction of an organization
• Strategies to identify emerging trends and issues and methods to provide a proactive response
• Skills and knowledge necessary to forecast and prepare for the future
• Methods and benefits of sharing information across agencies
• Use of multiple community stakeholders in problem solving

The primary goal of the Command College is to provide a high-level leadership course with a futures perspective to prepare law enforcement leaders of today to lead into the future. The program emphasizes adult learning theories, placing accountability and responsibility for assignments on the student. Command College Instructors come from the private and university sector in a variety of disciplines.  The majority hold advanced and terminal degrees in their respective fields of expertise.

Minimum requirements for acceptance to Command College include: involvement in community activities, an understanding of the dynamics of leadership, an understanding and experience with issues and concerns facing the future of California law enforcement, letters of reference attesting to the applicant’s leadership abilities, and knowledge of computers for word processing and research.

Participants in the program must be nominated by their agency chief executive, and are selected by a review panel composed of chief executives and Command College graduates from throughout California.

Historically, POST has contracted with a qualified entity to support this program. The current contract will expire June 30, 2018.

The Command College continues to receive widespread support from the law enforcement community and city managers. For 2018-19, the program has been reduced from two sessions to one, in an effort to meet POST budget reduction objectives.  It is anticipated that the 2018-19 session will be full.

The contract amount includes instructor and on-site program coordinator costs, classroom/meeting space, course materials, and funds for hotel meeting space for the interview panel that is the final component of the selection process. The FY 2018-19 contract reflects approximately a 37% decrease or $169,244 less than last year’s contract. POST must contract with a qualified entity in order to deliver this program to the law enforcement community.

The Command College is supported by Strategic Plan Objective A.1, California law enforcement agencies are prepared to address emerging trends and challenges.

The program cost summary is described in Attachment A.