Missouri 2024 Lesson Summaries

This lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding:

1. What facts provide exigent circumstances that will justify an officer entering a home without a warrant to check on unattended children.

2. Whether a motel manager finding drugs inside a motel room can justify officers entering and searching the room without a warrant.

3. Whether an officer can be liable for failing to include exculpatory information in a warrant affidavit.

4. Wha facts will support the existence of reasonable suspicion to permit an investigatory stop of an individual.

5. Whether officers will violate a person’s First Amendment rights by requiring them to move outside a fenced-in festival area to speak.

This is an online interpersonal perspectives course regarding work-related harassment. This course reviews new guidance from the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on harassment. Section one addresses the types of work-related harassment prohibited by federal law, including harassment based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, and genetic information. Section two addresses how to determine if harassment is based on a protected characteristic. Section three addresses evaluating whether the harassment affects a “term, condition, or privilege” or employment. It helps both employers and employees understand what types of behaviors create a hostile work environment that will violate federal equal employment opportunity laws. Section four addresses when employers will be liable for work-related harassment. It explains that an employer’s liability will depend, in part, on the harasser’s role in the organization. Section five addresses what actions will constitute prohibited retaliation. Section six addresses what employees can do about work-related harassment, including notifying their employer and filing a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.

This is an online technical skills course. Section one explains the basic requirements under the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations (VCCR) that apply to law enforcement officers who arrest or detain foreign nationals. It defines critical terms necessary to understand an officer’s responsibility toward arrested or detained foreign nationals.

Section two explains the procedures officers must follow when they arrest or detain a foreign national. It explains the difference between mandatory and non-mandatory notification countries. This section also outlines applicable requirements when for when a foreign national dies, becomes seriously injured or ill, or faces the possibility of having a guardian or trustee appointed for him/her. This section explains the right of consular access.

Section three addresses additional information regarding: a) detentions and other situations triggering the VCCR requirements; b) determining who is a foreign national; c) who has responsibility for making required notifications; and d) notification requirements.

This is an online interpersonal perspectives course addressing police ethics. The lesson explains the importance of ethical behavior in policing, presents a model code of ethics, sets out practical benefits from having high standards, exposes the Code of Silence, and warns of the slippery slope of engaging in progressively worse conduct. It defines and discusses ethical breaches such as accepting bribes, behaving in an unprofessional manner, and committing crimes of moral turpitude. It explains the importance of avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. The lesson sets out the rights of Missouri law enforcement officers during a disciplinary proceeding, including Garrity Rights and statutory rights. It discusses the importance of fair treatment for all, including avoiding sexual harassment and unlawful discrimination, and the effect that implicit bias can have in policing. It illustrates ways in which officers have deviated from high ethical standards through case studies taken from actual, recent disciplinary proceedings.

This is an online interpersonal perspectives course designed to assist law enforcement officers in interactions with persons with mental illness. The lesson explores why the issue of mental illness is important to the law enforcement community, by examining the prevalence of mental illness in the United States population and specific encounters between persons with mental health disorders and law enforcement officers. The lesson examines the symptoms of various mental health disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, neurocognitive disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, impulse-control disorders, and others. The lesson provides detailed tips for recognizing a person with mental illness and guidelines for interacting with persons with mental illness. Finally, the lesson explains Missouri’s involuntary detention procedures.

The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding:

1. Whether an officer is permitted, under the Fourth Amendment, to conduct a warrantless search of an individual being taken into custody pursuant to a warrant for a civil commitment due to mental health issues. Also, whether the “Good Samaritan” law, Missouri Revised Statutes section 195.205, applies in these circumstances.

2. Whether, when police officers seize personal property, owners of that property are entitled, under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause, to an adversarial preliminary hearing.

3. Whether an officer must say “You are under arrest” or place an individual in handcuffs to effect an arrest. Also, what officer actions will suffice to make a reasonable person believe that he or she is not free to leave.

4. Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits police officers from removing homeless individuals from public land pursuant to laws prohibiting camping on that land. Also, how the Fourth and Fifth Amendments may apply when officers clear homeless encampments from public land or remove homeless trespassers from private property.

This lesson identifies and explains many of the 2024 amendments to the Missouri Revised Statutes that are relevant to law enforcement. The first section examines procedural laws, including restrictions on arrest warrants for certain unpaid traffic citations, increased authority for law enforcement to request audits of governmental agencies, changes to reviewing convictions based on claims of actual innocence, limitations to powers of civilian police oversight boards, and the creation of a task force to help police officers stop cyberstalking and harassment. The second section examines real property laws, including peace officers’ ability to arrest squatters, changes to the notice sheriffs must give before a tax sale, the new offense of criminal mischief for unlawfully occupying someone else’s residence, and prohibitions on eviction moratoriums. Section three examines laws pertaining to juveniles, including committing the crime of endangering the welfare of a child by aiding a child to commit a weapons offense, new restrictions on when a juvenile may be certified as an adult and be paroled, and the non-violation of compulsory attendance laws if the child is absent from school due to mental or behavioral health concerns, needing to participate in criminal proceedings, or because the student is receiving instruction in a FPE (family paced education) school. Section four examines new criminal offenses including aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of a motor vehicle, delivery or distribution of a controlled substance causing serious physical injury or death, and unlawful discharge of a firearm within or into the limits of a municipality (Blair’s Law). Section five examines other legislation, including criminal violations of the Money Transmission Modernization Act of 2024, changes to expungements of criminal records, and increased penalties for several criminal offenses.

The lesson addresses the importance of clear, complete police reports for criminal investigations and other purposes. It discusses the various ways police reports are used and the audiences they may be for. It provides advice and recommendations for effective report writing generally, as well as specific recommendations for certain types of criminal investigations. Finally, the lesson discusses writing tips for effective search warrant applications.

This lesson provides guidance to police officers regarding the Missouri Sunshine Law. The first section explains the purpose of the Sunshine Law and its general policy that public records are open. This section also gives an overview of Sunshine Law provisions that apply to all public governmental bodies, including law enforcement agencies and their peace officers. The second section summarizes and explains the provisions that apply chiefly to law enforcement agencies; including special rules governing arrest reports, incident reports, investigative reports, and expungements; and rules about disclosing information when doing so poses a clear and present danger to the safety of any person (including victims, witnesses, and undercover officers), would jeopardize a criminal investigation, or would expose law enforcement techniques. The third section provides some best practices, including preservation of requested materials, utilizing the custodian of records, protecting the safety and legitimate privacy interests of victims and others, using “safe harbor” options, and demonstrating good faith when evaluating requests for public records. The lesson also explains the civil and criminal penalties that can be imposed, including fines and attorneys’ fees, for Sunshine Law violations.

This lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding: 

1. Police liability for injuries to suspects, passengers, and innocent third parties in connection with police officers’ pursuit of fleeing suspects; 

2. What facts and circumstances will show that property was abandoned such that officers may conduct a warrantless search of the property, what facts and circumstances will show that a third party had actual or apparent authority to consent to a search of a container within a vehicle, and what evidence must be presented to justify admission of evidence under the inevitable discovery doctrine; 

3. The Fourth Amendment’s restrictions on an officer’s use of force; and 

4. When officers may, consistent with Missouri law and the Fourth Amendment, require individuals to identify themselves or may only request them to do so.

The lesson provides guidance to law enforcement officers regarding an overview of domestic violence and sexual assault. It discusses forms that domestic abuse can take, the dynamics involved in an abusive relationship, and scenarios common to sexual assault cases. It also provides information about the impact of trauma on victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and how that trauma affects investigations. The lesson discusses techniques that officers should use when interviewing victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, and general investigative techniques that are useful when approaching a domestic violence or sexual assault case. Finally, the lesson discusses victims’ rights and resources available to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

This is part 2 of a two-part lesson that teaches law enforcement officers skills needed to combat the crime of elder financial exploitation. This lesson identifies state laws that provide enhanced punishments for elder financial exploitation and identifies the types of evidence officers would need to gather to prove these crimes. It explains the laws regarding mandatory reporters, explains why financial institutions may hesitate to report suspected financial exploitation to police, and suggests ways police officers can encourage financial institutions to protect their elderly customers. It summarizes federal and state law on Adult Protective Services, including their duties and ability to investigate reports of elder abuse and to help the elderly in general. The lesson describes strategies for effective interviews of elderly victims, including planning for the initial interview by considering location, timing, and presence of a victim’s advocate and representative from the Department of Health and Senior Services; and strategies for conducting the interview, including adjusting the interview to the victim’s particular strengths and weaknesses, minimizing distractions, ensuring access to assistive devices, using the T.A.L.K. method, formatting questions for reliable responses, and concluding the interview. The lesson also identifies best practices in combating elder financial exploitation, including acting quickly, obtaining financial documents, being careful not to misidentify the case as solely a civil matter, understanding when it is important to obtain a neuropsychological assessment of the victim, forming and using multidisciplinary teams, contacting federal law enforcement agencies, and conducting community outreach to educate others about signs of elder financial exploitation and prevention tips.

This is part 1 of a two-part lesson that teaches law enforcement officers skills needed to combat the crime of elder financial exploitation. This lesson explains why criminals target the elderly for financial exploitation even though tactics used to perpetrate their crimes work on the general population—including the possibility of stealing someone’s life savings, the increased likelihood of the victim’s living alone, the victim’s hesitation to report the exploitation, and the criminal’s perception that this population is especially vulnerable. The lesson describes the three main categories of perpetrators who financially exploit the elderly—those who have access to the victim due to the perpetrator’s special status as a family member, caretaker, or legal representative; strangers who initiate contact with the victim through door-to-door sales, by attending community events, or by using online social media or dating websites; and criminal organizations that often have call centers run out of boiler rooms and use money mules to move stolen funds. The lesson also describes and gives examples of the current methods criminals most commonly use to perpetrate elder financial exploitation, including caretaker fraud, fiduciary abuse, home repair fraud, medical identity theft, romance/confidence/trust scams, grandparent scams, advance fee scams, call center scams, and investment scams. The lesson describes how perpetrators often combine different scams when targeting a potential victim and explains why an elderly individual who falls prey to one scam will likely be immediately targeted by the same criminal and/or other criminals for additional financial exploitation, and therefore why prompt law enforcement action is essential for preventing even greater losses.

This is an online interpersonal perspectives course on racial profiling and improper bias in public safety, designed to promote understanding and respect for racial and cultural differences, and the use of effective, non-combative methods for carrying out law enforcement duties in a racially and culturally diverse environment. This lesson defines racial profiling, examines the importance of training on this topic, and explains how it violates the United States Constitution. The lesson emphasizes the corrosive effect biased policing on the community and the agency. The lesson provides highlights on the latest federal guidelines on using listed characteristics, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, gender, etc., in police work. The lesson examines the most recent Attorney General Vehicle Stops Report, summarizes its findings, and explains how individual law enforcement agencies can use the Report to combat racial profiling. The lesson gives examples of best practices to effectively reduce racial profiling and improve community relations. The lesson explains how individual officers and agencies can practice cultural competence as an effective method for building trust and legitimacy in a racially and culturally diverse environment. This lesson has been designed to help satisfy the CALEA standard regarding training on unlawful or improper bias in public safety.

This is an online legal studies course. The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding: when minors can consent to a search; when a warrant is so deficient that police may not lawfully rely on it to conduct a search; the circumstances under which police may conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle reported stolen; what evasive action from a suspect will give officers reasonable suspicion of criminal activity justifying a brief, investigatory stop; and whether the use of force to disperse protestors always constitute a seizure, such that officers can be liable for using excessive force.

This lesson teaches law enforcement officers about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The first section explains the nature of ASD, including the criteria that form its diagnosis, current scientific theories about its causes, its prevalence in the general population, and available therapies. The second section explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits police officers from intentionally discriminating against people with autism and failing to provide reasonable accommodations for them while officers are executing their law enforcement duties. This includes on-the-scene interactions, arrests, transportation, interrogations, and incarceration. The third section provides descriptions of common outward signs police officers can use to give officers clues that an individual may be on the autism spectrum. These include stimming, sensory sensitivities (including hypersensitivity to touch), delayed or lack of response to verbal commands, awkward stiff or loping gait, speaking in an odd cadence and tone, echolalia, and lack of normal eye contact (either extreme avoidance or staring). The fourth section outlines best practices for interacting with autistic individuals, including preventing the escalation of an encounter, effectively responding to wandering calls, increasing the effectiveness of interviews, and engaging in community outreach regarding autism.

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 lesson has four sections. The first section uses the recent case of State v. Klein to teach officers about the “plain feel” doctrine, the scope of a permissible Terry search, and the scope of a consent search. The second section uses the recent case of Nieters v. Holtan to teach officers about the concepts of probable cause and arguable probable cause, the importance of reevaluating the existence of probable cause in light of new information, the facts and circumstances that limit an officer to using only “de minimus” force to effect an arrest, and liability under 42 United States Code section 1983. The third section uses the recent case of State v. Laughlin to teach officers about the different types of evidence they should look for in order to prove crimes, such as driving while intoxicated or careless and imprudent driving, where operating a motor vehicle is an element of the offense, especially in cases where the engine is not running when the officers arrive at the scene. The fourth section explains the origin and meaning of the term “color of law,” the uses of that term in state and federal law, and circumstances where an officer will, or will not, be found to be acting under color of law.