The CAPCOG Regional Law Enforcement Academy is offering its first new State and Federal Law Updates courses for the new biennium throughout September to give officers a jump on learning how regulatory changes from 86th Texas Legislative session will affect their job.
“We want peace officers from all the jurisdictions to be up to speed on the current laws as early as possible,” said Mike Jennings, CAPCOG RLEA director. “Doing so allows agencies to work better with county and district attorneys on the prosecution of cases, and it keeps patrol officers knowing what is going on and why.”
The three-hour class is updated every biennium to educate officers about changes to the Texas Penal Code, Health and Safety Code, Transportation Code, other regulations, and court decisions. New state regulations generally take effect in September or January. While the course is not required to be completed until the end of the training cycle, taking the course early better equips officers for enforcing the regulations properly. Some highlighted changes covered in the course include topics such as extended registration periods on certain trailers, the raising of the legal smoking age, laws regarding electric bicycles, and the operation of stash houses with regards to human trafficking.
Peace officers can register to attend courses currently scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 and on Oct. 8. RLEA will offer a morning course from 8 to 11 a.m. on Nov. 12.
CAPCOG will schedule additional courses throughout the year and agencies wanting to train a number of officers at their offices can contact Jennings.
