CPO Program Attendance Sheets and Reading List
The NACOLE CPO Credential Program recognizes oversight practitioners who have achieved a high level of professional oversight training and encourages employers and oversight agencies to financially support and encourage participation in these voluntary training programs. Although the CPO Program originally recognized only training provided at the NACOLE Annual Conference, with the recent exponential growth in civilian oversight and the corresponding need for additional training for oversight practitioners, NACOLE has expanded both its training opportunities and the CPO Program. Beyond its Annual Conference, NACOLE now offers seminars, webinars, symposia, and regional meetings. NACOLE's CPO Credential Program incorporates these new training opportunities.
The CPO Credential Program is available to NACOLE members only.
Initial Certification
To qualify for certification, a participant must complete the following requirements within a three-year period. Participants are responsible for reporting their hours using the forms found through clicking on the "CPO Program Attendance Sheets and Reading List" link above.
- Receive a minimum of 45 credit hours of NACOLE certified training. Of these 45 credit hours, participants must receive a minimum of 1.5 credit hours in each of NACOLE’s 6 core competencies (Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, Investigations, the Public and Transparency, Law, Policing/Law Enforcement Policies & Procedures, Remediation and Discipline).
- Attend two annual NACOLE conferences within three consecutive years
- Read two items from the approved reading list. All certification requirements must be completed in a three-year period and it is the responsibility of the participant to report their hours using the forms found through clicking on the "CPO Program Attendance Sheets and Reading List" link above.
Recertification
To maintain certification after the initial certification, participants must complete the following requirements within a three-year recertification period, which begins on January 1st of the year following completion of the initial certification.
- Receive a minimum of 30 credit hours of NACOLE certified training
- Attend one annual NACOLE Conference
- Read two additional entries from the approved reading list
If these requirements are not fulfilled during the three-year recertification period, participants must re-apply for the initial certification and complete all requirements to obtain new CPO credentials.
Attendance at webinars/virtual trainings is verified through backend reports. To receive CPO credit hours, an individual must be registered for the webinar/training and have attended the webinar/training live or watched the recording (both of which can be verified with backend reports).
Adjustments to Attendance at the 2020 and 2021 Annual Conferences Due to COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, NACOLE switched to a format where it offered a virtual option to replace the 2020 annual conference and both a virtual and an in-person option for the 2021 annual conference. As a result, the following changes were implemented for the conference attendance requirement in 2020 and 2021 ONLY:
- Each session attended in its entirety was worth 1.5 credit hours.
- In order for virtual sessions to count towards the conference attendance requirement, participants must have attended a minimum of 18 virtual sessions.
Questions about CPO credential status, submitting certification hours, etc., should be sent to Karen Williams ([email protected]).
All hours for previous years must be reported by March 31, 2024.
Note: All those holding a CPO certification on December 31, 2016 were grandfathered into the new CPO Program which took effect on January 31 2017. From that point they must maintain their certification under the new program guidelines. For those who began the certification process at the 2015 or 2016 Annual NACOLE Conferences, their credit hours and conference attendance will be applied towards the new program.
No costs will be associated with the program through 2023. In 2024 there may be a fee added to help cover program costs.