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Nationwide vendor will train officers on latest city, state, federal laws

The Andalusia Police Department will implement new and ongoing training for its officers utilizing a nationwide system that is continuously being updated to help law enforcement personnel stay up-to-date on city, state and federal policies.

The city council approved Tuesday to enter into a contract with Lexipol, which will provide a learning platform that combines public safety online training with features that make it easier to build assignments, manage credentials, and track and report officer training hours. The training sessions range from short videos to full-length classes.

Lexipol is utilized by police departments across the country, including over 30 in Alabama.

“They go through and update policies. If legislation or court rulings come out that effects our policies, they will help us with that. There is a check-and-balance system that helps ensure all officers are up to date. They do other things, such as daily training bulletins that are 10-15 minutes long and reviews policies. We will be training 365 days a year through this program. Keeping our policies up to date is extremely important,” said Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson.

The cost for the first year the program, which includes implementation of the system, is $31,400 with that decreasing to approximately $15,000 annually thereafter.

“This is something very important. Having policies that our department can reference, learn and know will help us avoid bad situations. Having a way to keep our officers up to date and getting our policies updated is a big, big step for us. There are court rulings across the nation every day that could affect the way an officer reacts to a certain situation. It’s up to us to give our officers all the help, data, and information available to ensure they are aware of what the policies are,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

Hudson said implementing the Lexipol system and its review of city policies will be done in stages.

Other items discussed by the council included:

• approving the following as nuisance properties: 309 Perry St., 618 Dunson St., 501 Dunson St., 101 Chickasaw St., and 205 Cherokee St.
• introducing as a first reading an ordinance on the 2024 back-to-school tax holiday. A second reading will be held at the next council meeting. The tax holiday is slated for July 19-21.

Due to the primary runoff election on April 16, the second meeting of that month was rescheduled for Wednesday, April 17, at noon. The council also approved moving the first meeting of May to Wednesday, May 8, at noon due to scheduling conflicts.