Security
Instructor Certification
The Certified Protection Officer (CPO) Program
A nationally recognized certification program for high school and community college students.
Sponsored by:
The International Foundation of Protection Officers
The National Partnership for Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
I. Background and Program Development:
IFPO has been a leader in helping organizations and nations develop there security forces for more than years. The security career field has expanded greatly over the years and now offers well paying and diverse career opportunities in multiple fields and industries. The National Partnership chose the CPO program because it offers a challenging introduction to security that can be offered at both the secondary and post-secondary school levels. The National Partnership encourages the development of career programs that provide professionally recognized certifications that can provide jobs and thus funding for college. In addition the CPO course can often be developed as a dual credit course. During 2008 and 2009 pilot sites in Arizona, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and two from New York developed lesson plans and began introducing the CPO program. Lesson plans have been aligned with the Security Pathway of the Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security Career Cluster.
II. Elements of the Certified Protection Officer(CPO) program:
Whether implemented at the secondary or post-secondary levels, the program will typically have the following elements:
1. Use the Protection Officer Training Manual as the main text in either a one or two semester course;
2. Have a multitude of assessments including end of chapter tests, evaluation process built into the lesson plans, a preliminary CPO test and a final CPO test upon which the Certification is based;
3. Typically employ security organization partners as guess speakers and to provide shadowing experiences, internships and summer jobs;
4. Typically security organization partners provide enhanced starting salaries for high school graduates with CPO certification.
III. Basic Requirements to be certified as an instructor of the Certified Protection Officer Program:
1. Instructor must have 3-years experience in security, law enforcement, corrections or a related field
2. Each instructor must complete and pass the Certified Protection Officer exam prior to the certification Workshop,
3. Each instructor must attend the 2 and 1/2 day Certified Protection Officer Instructor Workshop.
4. The school and instructor will ensure that any state requirements related to security certification are built into the CPO Program.
5. Instructor must be a certified instructor at a secondary or post-secondary accredited educational institution and/or a public school system.
6. Must be a member of the International Foundation of Protection Officers.
IV. Protection Officer (CPO) Program
The CPO program is designed for protection professionals and those in academic institutions interested in careers in security and those intent on improving their individual security skills.
The Protection Officer Training Manual is a comprehensive guide and instructional text which covers all of the subjects essential to the effective training of protection officers. There are 12 training units with each unit broken into chapters written by leading security trainers and educators. Included in the manual are self-quizzes at the end of each chapter and hundreds of diagrams and illustrations. The Protection Officer Training Manual is published by Butterworth-Heinemann and consists of 43 chapters authored by some of the security industry's leading professionals.
Units of study include such topics as:
- Public Relations
- Investigations
- Report Writing
- Physical Security
- Crime Scenes
- Emergency Procedures
- Safety Procedures
- Workplace Violence
- Environmental Crime Control Theory
- Defensive Tactics & Officer Safety
- Traffic & Crowd Control
- Hazardous Materials
- Effective Communications
- Weapons of Mass Destruction " Apprehension and Detention Procedures
- Fire Prevention
- Strikes/Labor Relations
- Crisis Intervention
- Bomb Threats
- Professionalism and Ethics
- Police Security Liaison
- Operational Risk Management
- Foundations for Surveillance
- Use Of Force
- Legal Aspects
- And much more
Note: Because of the overlap between security and law enforcement subject areas many career programs integrate the two career areas.
Costs: There are two phases to the instructor certification process.
- Phase I takes place prior to the Instructor Certification Workshop and requires the instructor to pass the CPO exam. This phase costs $130.00 but is reimbursed provided the instructor has taken the final exam prior to the workshop. The $130 total includes a $100 fee for the CPO exams and a $30 one-year introductory IFPO membership fee
- Phase II is the instructor workshop with standard registration being $350.00
Protection Officer Training Manual: 1-10 copies at $54 each; 11-20 copies at $45 each; 21 or more copies at $40 each
Certified Protection Officer Exam: $30 per student
