The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has launched an online training resource to help law enforcement agencies and private security firms collaborative more effectively.

The training course, "Team Up: Action Planner for Police-Security Partnerships," provides police and private security partners with assistance in establishing and sustaining partnerships, helping create a customized action plan, and highlighting aspects of successful police-private security partnerships that can be easily replicated.

The training takes just over an hour to complete and is divided into three sections — Introduction to Partnerships, Starting a Partnership, and Strengthening a Partnership.

"As local law enforcement budgets are being reduced, police departments are seeking new strategies for efficiently providing high level services, and the Team Up training is a resource that helps to address this need," according to COPS Director Bernard K. Melekian. "Police -private security partnerships represent a natural extension of community policing and serve as a force multiplier for the many departments that are seeking ways to do more with less manpower and fewer dollars."

The "Team Up: Action Planner for Police-Security Partnerships" training was developed through a collaboration between the COPS Office and the Law Enforcement-Private Security Consortium (LEPSC), which works to support partnerships between law enforcement and private security organizations to improve public safety.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide through the provision of grants and the development of numerous knowledge resource products, including community policing publications, training and technical assistance services.

To access the "Team Up: Action Planner for Police-Security Partnerships" training, visit the LEPSC Web site.