New Tech Helps TCOLE Dramatically Increase Training Compliance

A Granicus communication platform has helped the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) reduce officer training noncompliance from nearly 1,000 cases to just 14.

Responsible for licensing and certifying peace officers, county jailers, telecommunicators and school marshals across the state, TCOLE aims to achieve a 100 percent training compliance rating among all licensees across 2,700 agencies as part of its Target 100 initiative.

According to TCOLE CIO Jessica Capraro, the agency began using Granicus’ Engagement Cloud — formerly known as govDelivery — in its 2023 training unit to communicate digitally with more than 19,000 licensees, saving TCOLE more than $5,000 on postage and several hours previously dedicated to filling envelopes to be sent through the U.S. Postal Service.

“When we started in March, we sent notifications to over 19,000 individuals,” Capraro told Industry Insider — Texas. “Once the training deadline passed, there were only 14 licensees that failed to complete their training. That’s 14 of the 19,000 we started with, and the overall population of over 88,000 licensees that were part of that compliance unit.”

The agency used Engagement Cloud to send targeted emails and text message notifications to licensees who had yet to complete required training in four waves between March and August of that year.

As a result of Engagement Cloud messages directing users to a self-service portal, TCOLE saw a dramatic decrease in both noncompliance and call center inquiries from officers requesting information of training requirements.

“We have been able to shift from dependence on support from the 2,700 agencies across the state to help us achieve our mission, to reaching our licensees directly,” said Capraro. “Mailing and emailing 2,700 recipients is much easier than manually mailing/emailing 19,000, but [this product] helped us make that shift.”