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Iowa 2023-2025 Lesson Summaries

Interpersonal

Release Date: 1/1/2025

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:
  1. The purpose of using de-escalation techniques.
  2. Assessment of the situation in determining whether to engage in de-escalation.
  3. Verbal de-escalation techniques.
  4. Physical de-escalation techniques.
  5. Concluding the encounter.
This lesson has been designed to provide one hour of instruction on de-escalation techniques, including verbal and physical tactics to minimize the need for the use of force and nonlethal methods of applying force. See Iowa Code section 80B.11G. See also Iowa Administrative Code section 501—8.1(6). This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Technical

Release Date: 9/1/2024

This is Part 2 of a two-part lesson on hazardous materials and hazard communication. It is intended to provide first responder awareness level refresher training. This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
 
Section four examines the information communicated by DOT warning placards. It explains what the colors on the placards signal and explains various hazard classes. It explains what shipping documents are and where to find them. It provides a case study of officers and the public exposed to anhydrous ammonia during a farm accident.
 
Section five examines the Emergency Response Guidebook. It explains what information is found in the color-coded pages of the guidebook. It explains how to determine initial isolation and protective action distances using the guidebook. It has officers practice looking up a placard number and determining the initial isolation zone for the hazard encountered.
 
Section six examines personal protective equipment and decontamination. It describes the four levels of PPE and what each level of PPE protects against. It examines decontamination procedures. It provides a case study of officers exposed to drugs in a hotel room.
 
Section seven examines the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, a/k/a the “Right to Know” requirements. It examines how officers may be exposed to chemicals in the workplace. This section examines an employer’s responsibilities to: have a written hazard communication program; train employees; conduct a materials inventory; ensure products are labeled appropriately; and provide safety data sheets. It also lists worker’s rights under OSHA law.
 
Section eight examines safety data sheets and explains what information that can be found in the 16 sections of a safety data sheet.

Technical

Release Date: 8/1/2024

This is Part 1 of a two-part lesson on hazardous materials and hazard communication. It is intended to provide first responder awareness level refresher training. This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
 
This lesson provides examples of situations where officers have encountered hazardous materials and the potential outcomes of those events.
 
Section one defines hazardous materials, explains the potential health risks posed by hazardous materials: thermal, radiological, asphyxiation, chemical, etiological, or mechanical. It identifies OSHA’S five levels of training and responsibilities in hazardous materials incidents.
 
The lesson explains clues to recognizing hazmat events, including: occupancy and location; container shape and size; placards and labels; shipping papers, safety data sheets, and facility documents; markings and colors; and human senses. The lesson reviews the recommended initial response to hazardous materials incidents.
 
Section two examines routes of exposure and chemical characteristics. It explains that chemicals can enter the body through inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion and injection and provides tips for avoiding exposure.
 
Section three examines containers used for transporting hazardous materials. It explains how a container’s shape and size can provide responding officers with initial information about the type of chemicals involved in a hazardous materials incident. It specifically addresses rail cars, commercial tanker trailers, agricultural tanks, and fuel trailers.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 6/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • General Principles of Ethics in Law Enforcement.

  • Definitions and Disciplinary Process.

  • Fair Treatment.

  • Ethical Execution of Law Enforcement Officer’s Duties.

  • General Misbehavior and Criminal Acts by Law Enforcement Officers.

Technical

Release Date: 5/1/2024

This is a technical skills lesson for Iowa law enforcement officers regarding bloodborne pathogens. This lesson addresses the following topics:

  • Why the issue of bloodborne pathogens is important to the law enforcement community.

  • Vocabulary and fundamental principles relative to bloodborne pathogens.

  • Steps for protecting officers from having contact with infectious bloodborne pathogens.

  • Decontamination and follow-up procedures.

  • OSHA standard for an exposure control plan.

This lesson has been designed to help satisfy the bloodborne pathogens training requirement in Iowa Administrative Code section 501-8.1(1)(e), which references the related OSHA standard. This course has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 10/1/2024

This is a part 2 of a two-part lesson focused on diverse communities, cultural competence, bias prevention, and a history of the American civil rights movement.
 
Section three provides a summary of certain noteworthy people and events that are part of the history of the American civil rights movement, including: slavery; abolition; reconstruction; the Jim Crow era; lynchings; school segregation; the Great Migration; World War I and the Red Summer; mass violence against Black Americans; civil rights protests of the 1960s; Rosa Parks; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Malcom X; the Little Rock Nine; the Freedom Riders; and other people and events.
 
Section four examines paths for self-evaluation and engaging with diverse communities. It explains how individuals can examine how culture has influenced their own perspectives and that of others. It explains how law enforcement agencies can practice cultural competence and how an agency might use a racial equity toolkit.
 
This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal/Bias Prevention

Release Date: 7/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

This is part 1 of a two-part lesson focused on diverse communities, cultural competence, bias prevention, and a history of the American civil rights movement.

Section one defines cultural competence and explores why the concept is important to the law enforcement community. It explains how cultural competence can be practiced at the individual and organizational level.

Section two examines elements of culture and describes how those elements distinguish one culture from another. It explores concepts of race and ethnicity, including how racial labels can vary over time and from one location to another. The lesson describes the following elements of culture and how those can shape a person’s experiences and perspectives: language and communication; geographic location; values and traditions; family and kinship; gender roles; socioeconomic status and education; immigration and migration; heritage and history; sexuality; perspectives on health, illness, and healing; and religion and spirituality.

This lesson is designed to help satisfy the annual bias prevention and de-escalation training requirement under Iowa Code section 80B.11G and Iowa Administrative Code section 501-8.1(6).

This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 4/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • The purpose of using de-escalation techniques.

  • Assessment of the situation in determining whether to engage in de-escalation.

  • Verbal de-escalation techniques.

  • Physical de-escalation techniques.

  • Concluding the encounter.

Training Category. This lesson has been designed to provide one hour of instruction on de-escalation techniques, including verbal and physical tactics to minimize the need for the use of force and nonlethal methods of applying force. See Iowa Code section 80B.11G. See also Iowa Administrative Code section 501—8.1(6). This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 1/1/2024

This is an online interpersonal perspectives course regarding implicit bias.

Section one addresses how to recognize implicit bias; how culture, developmental history, and experience can lead to the emergence of implicit bias; how implicit (e.g., unconscious) bias has the potential to produce biased or unfair decisions and behavior; and studies demonstrating the effects of implicit bias.

Section two examines unconscious associations some individuals may make between race and criminal activity. It highlights several studies exploring this relationship. It provides information on other types of biases that may also affect decision making and be influenced by implicit racial bias.    

Section three explains the concept of microaggressions and how micro-aggressive behavior may result from implicit bias. It provides examples of microaggressions and tips for changing micro-aggressive behavior. 

Section four examines strategies for reducing implicit bias, including stereotype replacement, counter-stereotypic imaging, individuation, perspective taking, and increasing contact in a positive setting.

This training has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Technical

Release Date: 12/1/2024

This is part two of a two-part lesson on elder financial exploitation. Part two addresses the following topics:
  • What laws can help police officers combat elder financial exploitation?
  • What techniques can be used in conducting interviews of elderly victims of financial exploitation?
  • What are some best practices in combating elder financial exploitation?

Technical

Release Date: 11/1/2024

This is part one of a two-part lesson on elder financial exploitation. Part one addresses the following topics:
  • Why do criminals target the elderly for financial exploitation?
  • What are the characteristics of perpetrators of elder financial exploitation?
  • Currently, what are the most common methods criminals use to commit elder financial exploitation?

Legal

Release Date: 10/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:
  • Is a K9 search of a vehicle invalid if the officer touches the exterior of the vehicle?
  • Can an officer be civilly liable for false arrest if he or she has probable cause to believe the arrestee has violated a no-contact order?
  • When an officer has probable cause to stop a vehicle, does the officer also have authority to stop any passengers in the vehicle? And, what evidence is sufficient to show interference with official acts resulting in bodily injury to a peace officer?
  • When can you perform a warrantless search incident to arrest?
  • What facts provide exigent circumstances that will justify an officer entering a home without a warrant to check on unattended children?

Legal

Release Date: 9/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • What is autism?

  • How does the Americans with Disabilities Act affect how police officers interact with autistic individuals?

  • What clues can alert an officer to the possibility that a witness, suspect, or victim might be on the autism spectrum?

  • What are some best practices when officers interact with individuals who may be on the autism spectrum?

Legal

Release Date: 8/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • What evidence is sufficient to show a defendant possessed a firearm as a felon?

  • What evidence is sufficient to show a defendant used a juvenile to commit an indictable offense?

  • When is information provided by a confidential informant sufficient to show probable cause to support a search warrant?

  • What facts support the existence of reasonable suspicion to permit an investigatory stop of an individual?

  • When do officers violate a speaker’s First Amendment rights?

Legal

Release Date: 7/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on new laws from the 2024 legislative session. Topics include:

  • Drone Intrusions

  • Assault Against Protective Order

  • Controlled Substances

  • Fingerprinting

  • Bestiality

  • School Security

  • Organized Retail Theft

  • Looting

  • Grooming

  • Consumable Hemp Products

  • Bail and Expenses

  • Automated Traffic Systems

  • False Reports to Public Safety

  • ILEA Exams

  • Illegal Reentry

  • Miscellaneous

Legal

Release Date: 6/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • When does an officer unreasonably delay providing an arrested person with the opportunity to consult with a family member or attorney?

  • Can an officer use a search warrant to obtain a blood or breath specimen for chemical testing instead of invoking the statutory implied consent procedure?

  • When has an officer intentionally or recklessly made false statements in a probable cause affidavit?

  • When does the community caretaking exception allow officers to seize and search a vehicle without a warrant?

  • What circumstances show an officer is liable for using excessive force?

Technical

Release Date: 5/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Voluntary versus coerced confessions.

  • Summary of major approaches to conducting interviews and interrogations.

  • Suggestibility in the general population.

  • Suggestibility in suspect interrogations.

  • Best practices for truthful and complete interviews and interrogations.

Legal

Release Date: 4/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • When does an officer unlawfully extend a traffic stop to allow time for a K-9 sniff?

  • What facts are sufficient to support probable cause for a blood draw warrant?

  • What facts are sufficient to raise a reasonable suspicion that a defendant is driving while intoxicated?

  • When has a law enforcement officer entrapped a defendant?

  • Will an officer be entitled to qualified immunity for arresting a suspect by taking him to the ground when the suspect was a journalist reporting on rioters?

Legal

Release Date: 3/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • What parts of landlord-tenant law are most relevant to officers in performing their duties?

  • What is the eviction process in Iowa?

  • How does landlord-tenant law affect an officer’s ability to conduct a warrantless search of a premises?

Legal

Release Date: 2/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Does a tinted license plate cover that obscures the letters and numbers on the plate violate Iowa law?

  • When has an individual been “seized” under the Fourth Amendment?

  • When can a trespass be charged as a hate crime?

  • What evidence is sufficient to show that a defendant has understood the Miranda warnings and has validly waived his or her Miranda rights?

  • What evidence is sufficient to show a defendant possessed a firearm as a felon?

Technical Skills

Release Date: 1/1/2024

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:
  • An Opioids Overview
  • Officer Safety
  • Signs of and Responses to an Overdose
  • Iowa Law Combating Overdose

Technical

Release Date: 5/1/2023

  • Why the issue of bloodborne pathogens is important to the law enforcement community.

  • Vocabulary and fundamental principles relative to bloodborne pathogens.

  • Steps for protecting officers from having contact with infectious bloodborne pathogens.

  • Decontamination and follow-up procedures.

  • OSHA standard for an exposure control plan.

This lesson has been designed to help satisfy the bloodborne pathogens training requirement in Iowa Administrative Code section 501-8.1(1)(e), which references the related OSHA standard. This course has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 10/1/2023

This is part 2 of a two-part lesson focused on diverse communities, cultural competence, bias prevention, and a history of the American civil rights movement.

Section three provides a summary of certain noteworthy people and events that are part of the history of the American civil rights movement, including: slavery; abolition; reconstruction; the Jim Crow era; lynchings; school segregation; the Great Migration; World War I and the Red Summer; mass violence against Black Americans; civil rights protests of the 1960s; Rosa Parks; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Malcolm X; the Little Rock Nine; the Freedom Riders; and other people and events.

Section four examines paths for self-evaluation and engaging with diverse communities. It explains how individuals can examine how culture has influenced their own perspectives and that of others. It explains how law enforcement agencies can practice cultural competence and how an agency might use a racial equity toolkit.

This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal/Bias Prevention

Release Date: 7/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

This is part 1 of a two-part lesson focused on diverse communities, cultural competence, bias prevention, and a history of the American civil rights movement.

Section one defines cultural competence and explores why the concept is important to the law enforcement community. It explains how cultural competence can be practiced at the individual and organizational level.

Section two examines elements of culture and describes how those elements distinguish one culture from another. It explores concepts of race and ethnicity, including how racial labels can vary over time and from one location to another. The lesson describes the following elements of culture and how those can shape a person’s experiences and perspectives: language and communication; geographic location; values and traditions; family and kinship; gender roles; socioeconomic status and education; immigration and migration; heritage and history; sexuality; perspectives on health, illness, and healing; and religion and spirituality.

This lesson is designed to help satisfy the annual bias prevention and de-escalation training requirement under Iowa Code section 80B.11G and Iowa Administrative Code section 501-8.1(6).

This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal

Release Date: 4/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • The purpose of using de-escalation techniques.

  • Assessment of the situation in determining whether to engage in de-escalation.

  • Verbal de-escalation techniques.

  • Physical de-escalation techniques.

  • Concluding the encounter.

Training Category. This lesson has been designed to provide one hour of instruction on de-escalation techniques, including verbal and physical tactics to minimize the need for the use of force and nonlethal methods of applying force. See Iowa Code section 80B.11G. See also Iowa Administrative Code section 501—8.1(6). This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Interpersonal/Bias Prevention

Release Date: 1/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Reasons for Studying Implicit Bias

  • How to Identify Implicit Bias

  • How Implicit Bias Affects Police Work

  • Practical Ways to Combat Implicit Bias

This lesson is designed to help satisfy the annual bias prevention and de-escalation training requirement under Iowa Code section 80B.11G and Iowa Administrative Code section 501-8.1(6).

This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Legal

Release Date: 11/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • What evidence makes it necessary for police to give a suspect the Miranda warnings? And, when is evidence sufficient for obtaining a search warrant for a cell phone and Google search history?

  • When does a citizen’s report of erratic driving provide a basis for a traffic stop?

  • When does a search warrant for child pornography become stale?

  • Does a driver’s failure to yield to pedestrians who are crossing a roadway within a marked crosswalk or intersection provide probable cause to stop the driver?

  • When are police justified in using deadly force against an individual holding a knife?

Technical

Release Date: 10/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Signs of Human Trafficking.

  • Methods of Curbing Supply and Demand.

  • Investigation Tips.

  • Methods of Interviewing Victims.

  • Victim’s Rights and Resources.

Technical

Release Date: 9/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • What is Human Trafficking?

  • Iowa Laws Against Human Trafficking.

  • Federal Laws Against Human Trafficking.

  • Misconceptions about Human Trafficking.

  • Tactics of Human Traffickers.

Legal

Release Date: 8/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Do police need a warrant to collect DNA from a suspect’s discarded drinking straw?

  • When do exigent circumstances permit a warrantless entry into a home?

  • When can an officer be liable for malicious prosecution?

  • If an officer arrests a suspect on a warrant that had been recalled but which, due to a clerical error, had remained active in the computer system, will evidence discovered during that arrest be suppressed?

  • When does an officer use excessive force while detaining a suspect?

Legal

Release Date: 7/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance to Iowa law enforcement officers on new laws from the 2023 legislative session. Topics include:

  • Domestic Abuse Assault.

  • Designer Drugs and Fentanyl.

  • Ransomware.

  • Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.

  • Explosives.

  • Commercial Vehicle Licenses.

  • Eluding and Arrest Power.

  • Assault on a Pregnant Person.

  • Controlled Substances and Fentanyl.

  • Human Trafficking.

  • Brady-Giglio Lists.

  • Sexual Exploitation/Stalking.

  • Maximum Age for Officers.

  • Prohibiting Entry into Restrooms.

  • Miscellaneous.

Legal

Release Date: 6/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

• What must officers do to comply with Iowa’s knock and announce statute?

• When does the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement apply to a traffic stop?

• Is a traffic stop unlawful when an officer believes a driver has committed a traffic violation, but the officer is mistaken?

• What facts provide reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop?

• What circumstances justify a police officer’s warrantless seizure of a suspect’s cell phone?

Interpersonal

Release Date: 5/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • Strains of the Job.

  • Understanding Stress and Trauma.

  • Resilience.

  • Depression and Suicide Prevention.

Training Category. This lesson is designed to help satisfy the annual in-service mental health training requirement under Iowa Code section 80B.11(1) and Iowa Administrative Code r. 501-8.1(1). This lesson has been reviewed and approved by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Legal

Release Date: 4/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • When is a person in custody so that they must be given the Miranda warnings, and when is a Miranda waiver rendered involuntary?

  • Does a warrant authorizing a blood draw for alcohol also permit testing the blood for other drugs?

  • When does a dog sniff impermissibly prolong a traffic stop? And, what shows that a dog sniff is reliable?

  • When does an officer have a duty to intervene to prevent another officer from using excessive force?

  • If a car owner consents to the installation of a tracking device and then lets a suspect borrow the car, do law enforcement officers violate the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights by tracking the suspect’s location while the suspect drives the car on public roads?

Technical

Release Date: 3/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • How did the sovereign citizens movement begin?

  • What are common beliefs of those who belong to sovereign citizens groups?

  • What are common “paper” crimes committed by individuals who are associated with sovereign citizens groups?

  • What other crimes do sovereign citizens commonly commit?

  • How can a law enforcement officer recognize that he or she has encountered a sovereign citizen?

Legal

Release Date: 2/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • How can implied consent be effectively invoked when there is no interpreter for a motorist who has only a limited use of English?

  • When has a suspect who has previously requested an attorney reinitiated an interview, and when can property be considered abandoned?

  • What evidence will be sufficient to prove an eluding charge?

  • Can an inability to read a temporary vehicle tag justify a stop of the vehicle?

  • What evidence will constitute probable cause to arrest someone for interference with official acts?

Legal

Release Date: 1/1/2023

This lesson provides guidance for law enforcement officers on the following topics:

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Iowa Disability Law.

  • How the ADA Affects Police Work.

  • Officer Awareness of Common Disabilities

  • Service Animals

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